Singer JESSYE NORMAN on PBS NewsHour Tonight

While singer Jessye Norman's voice is known across the globe for its size, power, range and beauty, few people know that she credits her middle school choral director for helping her find it. Tonight on the PBS NewsHour, Chief Arts Culture & Society Correspondent Jeffrey Brown sits down with Jessye Norman to discuss her voice and her new memoir, "Stand Up Straight and Sing."

In the interview, Norman volunteers that she "feel[s] comfortable singing in the great cathedrals of the world because I spent so much time as a child singing in church." When Brown asks her about finding her voice in middle school, she offers her advice for young singers, "that it can be a very difficult profession, but you have to find your joy in that part of the profession, otherwise it's just too hard." Brown and Norman then speak about the work involved with maintaining your vocal instrument, and the need to know "how it feels, not how it sounds" to sing. Finally, Norman reflects on her loving family and her efforts to give some of that love back to disadvantaged children in her hometown.

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