Pretty Yende on Dreams and Music Mentorship

Описание: Pretty Yende speaks at ArtSmart's 10th Anniversary NYC Celebration at National Sawdust in Brooklyn. ArtSmart.org

Internationally acclaimed soprano Pretty Yende spoke to audiences at ArtSmart's 10th Anniversary Celebration at the National Sawdust theater in Brooklyn, NY on Monday, October 20, 2025.

The following is a YouTube generated transcription of the artist's words:

"It is an incredible joy and an honor to be here tonight celebrating ten extraordinary years of ArtSmart—ten years of transforming lives through the beauty of music and the power of mentorship.

I grew up in a small rural town in South Africa, where opera was very far from anything I had ever known—until I heard one advertisement on TV in 2001, the British Airways ad featuring the Lakmé duet.

When I heard that music, my heart knew—though my mind had no idea what it was—that in those few seconds, something greater than joy, deeper than any love I had ever known as a child, awakened in me. It stirred a longing to understand it, to find it, and one day to share it with as many souls as possible.

Through faith and determination, I found my way to the University of Cape Town to further my studies in music. When I arrived, I met many dreamers—my colleagues—who were full of hope, yet burdened with financial challenges and doubts. I thought, If I could just have one person to pay for my return ticket, I could enter an international competition—not to win it, but to use it as a tool.

That opportunity became the audition of a lifetime for me. I wanted to know: Am I worthy? Am I worthy among singers who had grown up with music in their homes, with years of training and refinement? All I had was this treasure I had just discovered inside me, and I kept asking, Is it worth it?

Then one person—a mentor—believed in me. They helped me buy that ticket. That single act of kindness changed everything. It led me to my very first international competition in Vienna, which in turn opened the door for me to study at the Academy of La Scala in Milan. That journey carried me through to my debut on the global stage at the Metropolitan Opera House in 2013—a dream I never even knew I was allowed to dream.

All of it began with awareness, and it blossomed through mentorship. That is the miracle of mentorship. It finds young artists full of hope, dreams, and doubts—and gives them the faith to believe in the impossible. And when those artists rise, they give back. They become mentors themselves. That is how transformation flows from generation to generation, changing lives and making the world more compassionate and harmonious.

For ten years, ArtSmart has been that light—awakening hearts, nurturing dreams, and reminding us that we each carry within us, "Worth it."

It gives me great joy to dedicate this song to all of you—but mostly to every mentor whose faith lights another’s path, to every dreamer who dares to rise above fear, and to every heart lifted and transformed by kindness.

Because by every act of belief, every word of encouragement, and every hand that reaches out to help another, we create a ripple that echoes through generations—turning courage into song, and dreams into truth.

And dreams really do come true. I know it, because all of mine have—even the wildest ones, even the ones I was once told could never be mine.

Because somewhere, beyond the clouds, there is hope that has met music.

So, congratulations!"