By Tyler Goff ’14, Staff Writer

An avid opera singer and self-proclaimed “headbanger”, Newark Academy Senior Ellen Fishbein certainly has an interesting taste in music that reflects her rare personality. Moreover, because of her synesthesia, Ellen is yet another example of the many individuals in the Newark Academy community who look at life from a fascinating perspective.

Tyler Goff: How did you acquire a taste for opera?

Ellen Fishbein: My grandparents took me to operas, ballets, and classical concerts, so I really got into it as a kid. I used to listen to Mozart exclusively until I was 13. I was just into Mozart, and then I began to really expand my horizons, and I got into opera. I only really started to study it two and a half years ago.

Goff: What is appealing to you about opera?

Fishbein: Opera is like every art form combined. I’m really into opera because it has dance; it has beautiful sets, costumes, and of course music, which is gorgeous, along with fashion and visual arts. So, every art form comes together in opera and I think that’s awesome. I also love to sing in different languages—it’s really fun for me to explore another language. For example, in pretty much every opera Strauss wrote, he wrote in German and I love singing in German. It’s really fun… I don’t understand German people when they talk, but I love the sound. I could tell you what each word in a particular opera means and if I hear it out of context I will know what it means but I don’t know the actual language.

Goff: What are you current artistic endeavors outside of school, where do you practice opera and what are your plans for the future?

Fishbein: I sing outside of school for money at weddings, and with churches; I also sing with an adult choir based in my town. I practice intensely with my private teacher and at home, and I take adjunct classes at Manhattan School of Music on Saturdays with the precollege division. I would say that outside of school, I practice music at least twenty hours a week. I’m planning on pursuing a career in performance after conservatory music school.

Goff: I understand you have a condition called synesthesia where you associate specific letters and sounds with colors. Do you think this helps you in life?

Fishbein: I don’t know what my world would be like if I didn’t have synesthesia. A lot of people ask me if it makes my life more interesting, but I don’t know, because I’ve never had my life be less interesting. I had it since I was born. I used to do a lot of funny things when I was little. My Kindergarten room was Room 17, and I would call it Room Green by accident. I would do a lot of things like that; sometimes I would say “Mom, play the blue song,” and my mom would respond “What are you talking about?” I didn’t actually realize that it was abnormal until I was around twelve or thirteen years old. And then I realized that not everyone has what I have, but I didn’t know any other way.

Goff: In terms of these letters and sounds, have the colors you’ve associated with them always stayed the same?

Fishbein: They’ve always been so for as long as I can remember; every letter has had the same color. However there are a couple of letters that have changed slightly. I really have no idea how it happened, but the number six used to be neon pink but now it’s salmon pink. I have no idea how it happened or why, but it’s a very isolated case.

Goff: Is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself?

Fishbein: I listen to a lot of metal and alternative music that other people don’t necessarily listen to. I love metal music in particular; I think there is so much merit to the genre as seen in the music of the band Kamelot. One of the band members hired a massive orchestra. Metal combines my favorite things: I love headbanging, I love classical music, and I love the sound of an acoustic orchestra. The fact that old music and new music can come together is so beautiful.