He couldn't wait for his career to find him

Music has been Philip Evancho's life - from accordion-playing youngster to adult opera singer and now the artistic director at Craven Community
College.

It is his last stop, here in Craven County, as a teacher and conductor that he is most proud.

He said that teaching has always served as motivation. He is never lacking in that department, between his college students, the school's Encore show chorus and the 50-plus-member Craven Community Chorus.

"Eastern North Carolina was a place that provided me the opportunity to use all my talents," he said. "It was absolutely the right place to be, at the right time. Everything came together. I'm here and this is what I want to do. I feel I can do everything here that I was meant to do. I get to celebrate all my talents, and I want to continue to give all of what I have to my students."

His journey began in Ohio.

In his high school, he played trombone and sang. He sang loudly.

When the music director from Ohio State University, Maurice Casey, came to visit the school for a choral program, Evancho's high school teacher told him to "keep quiet."

Since Evancho was the lead, none of the other bass singers sang either.

The college teacher told Evancho to quit mouthing the words and so he did. Afterward, Casey told him he had a strong voice that needed training, and connected Evancho with a voice coach.

He was on his way.

But, along the way, he had to make a decision between trombone and singing. Voice won.

He went to Baldwin-Wallace College and got a degree in music education.

He spent five years as a music teacher in Ohio public schools.

In his first job, he had a combined junior and senior high school choir. But, he didn't have male singers, so he recruited from the football team.

He got the superintendent to arrange schedules so the players could take chorus.

He had no problem getting the players to attend chorus.

"I had the cheerleaders in there," he laughed. "So I had a choir of men and women which was kind of unusual for western Ohio at that time. I had about 80 people. The year before that, they had 12."

He then made a career change at age 27, and added a master of music in vocal performance from the University of Akron.

"I said if I am going to do anything with my career, I've got to go to my career," he recalled. "I couldn't wait for it to find me."

He then continued his studies for two years at the prestigious Boston Conservatory.

He performed with the Boston Concert Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and the Opera Company of Boston.

He studied under renowned opera coach Boris Goldovsky and was a top 10 finalist from 240 singers in the New England Regional Metropolitan Opera auditions.

During these times, he studied opera during the day and supported himself "mopping floors" at a grocery store, sometimes until 2 a.m.

He then moved to North Carolina in 1981 to join the National Opera Company Raleigh as a bass-baritone. The company toured the country, performing and putting on school workshops.

"It was an opportunity for me to sing opera, in English, and have a full-time job," he said. "And being a music teacher, it was a good fit for me."

His journey to Craven County began when he was part of the Visiting Artist Program with the state community college system at Pitt Community College in 1983 and 1984.

He was singing at an outing for 300 public school teachers in Greenville when he knelt in front of Brenda Redd and sang. She was the wife of the Craven Community College then-dean of continuing education, Steve Redd.

"Three hundred people were there, and God put me in front of her," he said.

She took his brochure home to her husband, and Evancho came to the New Bern campus the following year as the visiting artist. The college music program was established and it has been home ever since.

In 1990, he was chosen as the top teacher in the state community college system.