I sing what I sing.

I sing what I sing.

Wynton and Christopher were really great experiences for me because they are both very gifted artists.

The question is not... if art is enough to fulfill my life, but if I am true to the path I have set for myself, if I am the best I can be in the things I do. Am I living up to the reasons I became a singer in the first place?

From the spiritual came the blues, gospel, and rhythm-and-blues. I heard all of that music growing up, and that has influenced how I approached classical music. I'm sure of it.

How many of the original songs survive intact from the slave cabins? Probably not many in their original form. Time has transformed them like light in a prism. What we hope to present is a version of those spirituals, and they speak not just to black Americans, but to people worldwide.

I bring my classical training - some of it, but not all of it - and also my background and culture, to spirituals. And I try to leave room for that unpredictable factor, where the feeling of the song is allowed to come through. The same ethos can be applied to singing Mozart, or Schubert, or Bach. It's not just about what's on the page.

I can't imagine life without singing.

I hear music that comes out of need, out of grief, sorrow, suffering and out of overcoming these things, as well. That journey to freedom still goes on today. It's an incremental change, the culmination of many events in your own life and the lives of your children and grandchildren.

I sing what I sing. And that's recitals and orchestra concerts. To appease - no, that's not the right word - let's say to satisfy - any opera urgings that my public has, I'll put in an aria.

I think for more than half of my career, I have refrained from talking to the media.

I'm a consumer as well as a performer. Among my leisure-time activities is going to the theater. I'm very interested in that.

In spirituals, the talk of heaven and deliverance was code for a better life. 'Crossing the River Jordan' was code, of course, for escaping to freedom.

New York is a great place to be fed in the arts. The arts in general are a large part of my life. The city was my postgraduate course.

People are drawn to the spiritual. It has a universal appeal.

Some of the music I listen to is pop. I sing it in the shower - and then for public consumption.

Some of the things that have been the most meaningful to me have been experiences I've shared with my family.

When I do concerts and recitals, the two most common requests are spirituals and opera.

Wherever and whenever I sing, if there is only one spiritual on a program, people will talk about two things afterward, and one of them will be the spiritual. What I bring to this is the best of my classical training - not all of it. I apply what is appropriate.

It could be a walk in the park, it could be a ride on your bicycle. It does not have to be an organized team activity... Be as creative as you want, but find a way to get your exercise in.

Boredom is a sickness the cure for which is work pleasure is only a palliative.

There's always cause for concern if bad policies are pursued.

I was labeled at a young age - Miss Unemotional, Miss Cool, and that would carry over to my press conferences.

I don't think there should be a hierarchy of what is valid in the arts.

Most of the most important experiences that truly educate cannot be arranged ahead of time with any precision.

Living with a saint is more grueling than being one.

Sending you warm wishes for a quick recovery and good health.

Our experience is composed rather of illusions that of wisdom acquired.

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

We always have a good time playing, and I'm glad it shows.

Even the most sensitive person can get used to even the most insensitive thing. Cruelty isn't a personality trait. Cruelty is a habit.

I love winning more than I love playing badminton. Winning is everything.

I don't know if I ever really bought into the eternal damnation bit.

The visionary who is serving God ceases to live for personal ambitions, but rather for God's ambitions.

Bishop Hostettler explained that baptism was not the means by which one is saved but simply an outward sign of salvation. Just as an Amishmans beard is an indication of his marriage and commitment to his wife so baptism symbolizes our covenant with Christ.

It's funny, I was talking to somebody who writes for a cop show, and he was saying how they aren't allowed to acknowledge Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, just because it has to be able to play forever.

We can not wait until we have enough trained people willing to work at a teacher's salary and under conditions imposed upon teachers in order to improve what happens in the classroom.

Give. But don't allow yourself to be used. Love. But don't allow your heart to be abused. Trust. But don't be nave. Listen. But don't lose your own voice.

The role of private equity as fiduciaries is certainly to make money.

Prosperity depends more on wanting what you have than having what you want.

E-cigarettes are a tobacco product.

He's been so successful, arguably the best quarterback ever to play the game. If you were trying to follow his footsteps, it would be incredibly difficult. I'd go crazy if I woke up every day and tried to compare myself to Peyton Manning.

Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them.