Artistic Statement by Executive Producer, Brad Bradshaw

Artistic Statement

Brad Bradshaw, Executive Producer

My name is Brad Bradshaw and I am an artist. I made the decision be an artist and to devote my life to music many years ago, probably around age five—the same age when I would steal uncooked spaghetti noodles out of my mother’s kitchen cupboard to use as conducting batons. At that time, our fireplace hearth was my podium, a scratchy LP of Beethoven’s sixth symphony my orchestra, and our tiny little living room my Carnegie Hall. My imagination could take me anywhere and with a little help from Mr. Beethoven, I could be three feet off the ground in just a heartbeat, feeling the electricity of excellent music run through me.

I have now taken that same passion for music into the wider world. Having completed my Doctorate of Music at the University of Minnesota, I’ve worked alongside Libby Larsen, one of America’s leading classical composers. I have a successful singing career full of rewarding opportunities—including my national operatic debut in a world premiere; I have produced several musical productions of my own, and am surrounded by wise mentors and gracious colleagues. All of these elements contribute daily to my role as an educator and leader as well. But how I got to this place is partially due to my upbringing and the town where I grew up as a child.

Whenever I begin to speak about the Ladysmith Story project, the first question out of everyone’s mouth is: “Why do you want to do this? People are puzzled at why I would want to devote such great amounts of my time, talent, and efforts to a project such as this. It is at this moment that I reflect on some of the live performances that I attended as a child in Ladysmith. Within our town theatre I saw musicals, country western singers, dancers, choirs, bands, and orchestras. I also remember our town’s 1985 centennial celebration when I was introduced to Ladysmith’s early founders and to the story of how Ladysmith received it name. This story captured my imagination as a child and through the many colorful activities of our town’s centennial celebration, I was not only introduced to our city’s history, but was given the opportunity to join together with my community in a common bond and witness first hand the universal story of human perseverance, hope, and faith. These festivities and performances touched me in a way that confirmed the instinctive artistic aspirations within myself and provided a connection to the people around me. Just as the centennial celebrations inspired me, I now want to contribute to the next generation of Ladysmith’s youth and provide that experience to someone else. That’s why I want to do this project. As our county faces the future economic, social, and environmental challenges laid before us, we will have to enter into a new paradigm of thinking. And our success in this new paradigm without question depends our ability to work together and foster community connections wherever possible.

Like many small rural towns, Ladysmith is part of our America that is silently fading away. Troubled by geographic isolation, economic hardships, and the quick changes in industry, there now seems to be a disconnect with the young people, the town, and its history. Perhaps it is a lack of pride, perhaps even a lack of hope. With our proposed musical project, I believe we can show in a profound and meaningful way how our town has had to reinvent itself before and that we can do the same for a successful future. I strongly believe that this project has the ability to bring our community closer together. It can provide an opportunity for us to examine our past and discover something truly unique and praiseworthy about our history, thus allowing us to look at our ancestors, so that in turn we may perhaps observe and see ourselves more clearly.

There is a fascinating and romantic story here to be told about our town. Big things do happen in small places. If we can reach out and inspire one person, we can give that individual hope. If we can inspire hope in a whole community, the outcomes are endless. Through the retelling of one small American town’s history, our project provides the opportunity to ignite hope in a community and build new connections for a more successful future.