Love of music sparks career

When young Ashley Prewett was growing as part of the third generation to live on his family's farm west of Pep (a tiny community in southern Roosevelt County), "I was all about baseball, basketball, and hunting," he said.

But by the time he graduated from Dora High School in 2002 - president of the 13-member senior class - he was quite literally singing a different tune.

In the 2002 yearbook, there's a photo of Prewett assisting the Dora School music teacher Ginger Tull by directing the music for the school's elementary Christmas program. The caption notes that "the teachers really appreciated all his help and musical talents."

He was also a regular in the voice studio of Eunice Schumpert of Portales, a legendary local music educator who nurtured Roosevelt County students for 70 years.

That love of music became a career path for Prewett, one that took him around the world before it brought him back to the United States a few years ago and to his current position as the choir director for Estacado High School in Lubbock.

Back to New Mexico

This week that musical path has crossed the state line into eastern New Mexico, where Prewett is singing the baritone solos for Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana," in a joint production with the Eastern New Mexico University choirs, Clovis Community Chorus, and the ENMU percussion ensemble.

The first staging of the production was Saturday in Buchanan Hall, but local audiences are also invited to a free encore performance at 7 p.m. Tuesday at First Methodist Church, 1501 Sycamore St., Clovis.

"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to come home and sing with such a talented group of people," Prewett said. "It has been really great running into folks I haven't seen in a very long time as well."

'I liked to sing'

Prewett reels off a list of a dozen names when asked if there were any people who especially inspired him in his career choice, but music surrounded him from the day he was born.

"I think my musical abilities can primarily be attributed to my mom being a pianist," he said. "Her piano was on the opposite side of the same wall as my bed, so I went to sleep most nights to the sound of her practicing. Also, both of my parents sing well and singing was a regular occurrence in our house."

Even so, how does a farm kid from Dora discover opera?

Ironically, the first opera that Prewett ever saw was one he sang in as a freshman at Texas Tech University.

As one of Schumpert's students in Portales, Prewett said he was in a voice competition in Albuquerque. One of the judges was a professor from Texas Tech "who told me about her colleague who later became my voice teacher," he said.

"I went into studying voice with the idea that I would try it for a year and then reevaluate," said Prewett. "I really didn't have any expectations. I just knew I liked to sing and had been told I had potential."

One year at a time

"My freshman year I sang in the TTU production of 'La Traviata,'" Prewett said. "I think singing in the first opera I ever saw was part of the magic, but also the graduate students singing the leading roles had a major effect on me."

As a sophomore, Prewett was cast in his first leading role at Texas Tech, "and I continued this path of, 'let's do this for one more year and then reevaluate,'" he said. "I was completely obsessed with singing and, before I knew it, I was in graduate school."

During his last year of graduate school, the director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City came to Lubbock to teach a master class, and ended up inviting Prewett and a few others to a program she was doing in Israel.

That experience led to a contract singing in Basel, Switzerland, which in turn led to a choice of two more contracts. Prewett chose Stuttgart, Germany, and became a member of the state theater there for the next five years.

"I was able to sing in Israel, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy before the singer lifestyle started to cost my family more than I was willing to pay," he said. "It was an amazing season of my life for which I will always be incredibly grateful."

'We missed our families'

In 2018, "my wife and I decided to come home to raise our boys," Prewett said. "The most difficult part about life overseas was that we missed our families. Our friends were all military or theater folks, both of whom moved often. It was difficult to raise kids without family around or being able to build a somewhat permanent community.

"My wife was there supporting me through all of it starting just before grad school," he said. "I don't believe I would have been brave enough to do any of it without her being an absolute rock in my life."

Outside the box

Prewett has some sage advice for high school kids who might be considering stepping out of the mold like he did.

The first is to develop a "relentless spirit," he said. "You can't give up when things get hard or feel impossible."

Next, "you also must be brave enough to do what your competition won't," he said.

"For me, it was moving to a country where I didn't speak the language. Even with an incredibly supportive wife and a strong belief that I was doing what I was called to do, I was terrified. Some of the best things in life come directly after taking an enormous risk that most people wouldn't take."

Lastly, "remember, no one's path looks the same," said Prewett. "There are as many ways to where you want to go as there are people trying to get there. Think outside of the box and take the opportunities given to you. They're the only ones you're going to get."

An epic masterwork

Prewett hopes local audiences will enjoy hearing the Carmina Burana as much as he's enjoyed getting to return to the stage for this performance.

"I love the reaction of audience members who hear the opening few measures of the piece and realize they've heard it before in various films, commercials, etc.," he said. "There is a reason this is considered one of the most epic masterworks of the 20th century, and I'm excited to be a small part in presenting it in eastern New Mexico."

Betty Williamson loves it when a hometown kid takes a chance and succeeds. Reach her at:

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