To get you set for “Songs of Freedom,” Brueggergosman explains her musical origins, as well as what led to her interest in African American spiritual music.

-Adam Grant/Siddharth Gandhi

More from Measha Brueggergosman on her Songs of Freedom journey: I started classical piano and singing lessons when I was seven years old. Now I am a classically trained opera singer. I was strongly influenced musically by the Brunswick Street Baptist Church, where I grew up watching my teacher perform every other Sunday. He was a professional musician and from there my lessons began. Getting that sort of musical engagement at such a young age was essential – it encouraged me and made me realize that going into classical music was possible. Once I dove into classical music, it consumed me.

From the outside, classical music can seem extremely confining. There are a lot of rules required to perfect the technique – but the result can be extremely beautiful. You must allow the rules to free you instead of constrain you.

In classical music you’re a part of this huge tradition of singers and musicians who have come before you. The genre spans centuries and reflects many societies, so there is a lot I can draw from. I’m standing on the shoulders of some pretty great people. It allows me to be better than I actually am. But now that I’m 37, I want to expand on what I know. I’ve lived with this voice for so long that as my life experiences expand – challenging, joyful and opulent – I can’t help but want more. So now I have begun to explore African American spirituals.

My exploration of African-American spirituals is a way for me to challenge my classically trained mind. It is helping me to become a better musician. But there is another reason why spirituals are so important to me. I wanted to explore this repertoire because it’s dear to my heart. These spirituals are close to my Christian faith. They are also a very important part of my family’s history. It is the music of my people. My ancestors were stolen from Africa and sold into slavery in the United States before finding freedom in Nova Scotia.

The spirituals were born out of a time when my people were oppressed and needed to find a way not only to communicate with each other, but also to express themselves. They created a powerful snapshot of their lives that still resonates with people today. The reason the songs survived so long is because of their immediacy. They have the universality of a mournful yet hopeful existence. They have strength. Every group of people who have held their elbows out to create room for themselves has these kinds of songs. My people have spirituals, which played a huge part in how my ancestors came to be here – free, no longer owned, no longer stolen – on the east coast of Canada.

I believe that life is about seeking freedom. Learning to be free is a lifelong process. I had to work for the freedom that I experience now. I try to feel as free as possible in all of my roles as a Christian, a human, a musician, a mom, and a wife, but some areas of my life are freer than others. Finding a way to let God control what can be controlled is helpful. It is so liberating for me. I don’t have to worry; His work is done with or without me. I’ve begun to realize that nothing is a mistake and I’m clearly meant to be here because I’ve been close to death several times. I can’t control things but I can react to things and I must do something with the time and the relationships I have.

To view “Songs of Freedom Preview: Go Down Moses,” performed by Measha and Cameroon’s Sanzy Viany please click below.