Steven A. Telian M.D.

How is art/singing valuable in your life?

In a couple of different ways. I find it to be an outlet for my own creative impulses. I also love the comradery of getting with other people and preparing to perform. There is also listening - this is setting aside time which is protected from the intrusions of demands and of responding to other people's problems. It is a feeling of letting the music wash over you.
Personally I feel like music speaks subjectively and powerfully to the mind in ways that are incredibly meaningful. My wife and son are both fine artists and I feel that their creativity is a God-given talent that enables them to produce something; something meaningful and also something worth experiencing. Music resonates in a different way though. You can sing a concerto from over a hundred years ago, but it's fresh because it is being sung in the present. For me, this is much different than staring at a painting from over a hundred years ago. This is probably why I'm an ear doctor and not an eye doctor!

How do you find time to do your job and still find the time to participate in the Choral Union?

My level of involvement has been influenced by my life stages. Throughout high school and college I did theater and choral singing. When I started doing my medical training and raising my family I became a little less involved. Eventually my children grew up and when my youngest graduated I joined the Choral Union. My involvement allows me to be involved with something that is truly meaningful; even if it is only one night a week.

What would you say drives you to continue singing‹to keep singing such a large part of your life?

Probably my love of fine music and love of the ensemble. To be able to produce something beautiful and excellent for others to listen to is quite gratifying. I know my part in all of it is quite small, and that the group went on just fine when I wasn't a part of it, but I really feel the musical gifts I have are natural and God-given. If God gives you these gifts I also feel that He gives you the impulse to use them.
Also, performing is really secondary for me. I enjoy practicing as much as performing, if not more.

Is there a relationship between your career and your art activity (singing)?

Yes, in the sense of hearing restoration. I am motivated by my appreciation for music. The impulses and abilities I have bring me to the love I have for microscopic ear surgery. Singing and surgery are both ways for me to improve other people's quality of life.

What inspired you to start singing? How long have you been doing it, and how long do you think you will continue with it?

Probably the comradery of it all. I was new to my high school and was trying to make new friends. Singing gave me the opportunity to engage in something I was good at and something that was meaningful. After a short time I was hooked. Musical theater was a rush. Seeking improvement and competition at new and higher levels is pretty intense for someone so young.
In college I had the opportunity to go to Europe with a choral group. We sang songs from Austria and Germany in the native languages right in the respective countries. This was definitely a different experience than singing here in America. To sing to people who understand the language you are singing in, brings about a whole new kind of appreciation from the audience.
So I think the promise of being energized and then the fulfillment of that promise, has kept me intense with my involvement. I think I can say I'm in it for good. It is hard at times to block out time for every practice and performance but the fulfillment I get out of it is what keeps me going. I never dread the practices. They are demanding in a way, but not in the usual sense. For example, dishing out ideas at a meeting can be rather taxing, but with the practices it is more of a demand on time and attention. Rehearsing, while enjoying the interaction and singing with a group not dependent on the director is meaningful for me. There is nothing else that compares.

Are you involved in any other kind of arts? Or is there another medium aside from singing that holds your interest?

I play the piano a little bit, but only dabbling for fun. Other than that it's pretty much just music. Well... unless you consider microsurgery to be an art, which it can be in many ways. There is detail, precision and practice and it is just as demanding. In surgery though, the cost of a mistake is much higher of course!