Alumni Spotlight: Jezra Kaye ’80

President of Speak Up for Success, Jezra Kaye '80 is a Brooklyn-based public speaking coach, workshop leader, speechwriter, and keynote speaker with more than 25 years of experience in corporate, not-for-profit, academic, and start-up communications. Her clients range from CEOs to celebrity chefs, and from scientists to social entrepreneurs. A former jazz singer, she is the author of three popular books on public speaking and a novel, and has authored or co-authored four books on management, negotiations, and fundraising.
 

Why did you choose NEC?
I chose NEC for its reputation, its quality of teaching and students, and for its Third Stream department (now known as Contemporary Musical Arts).

What are some of your favorite memories from your time at NEC?
Studying with Ran Blake. He is as unique and gifted a teacher as he is a pianist. He loved his students, and was always pushing us to try new things and interact with each other in new ways. He had high standards. He once said to me, “I’m not asking you for anything I wouldn’t ask of myself,” to which I replied, “Yeah, but it’s not my fault that you’re unreasonable!”

I’m still friends with many of my wonderful classmates, including Jamie Baum ’81, Cercie Miller ’83, Denice Karamardian ’75, Danny Bittker ’80, Wade Matthews ’77, and Marty Ehrlich ’77. My marriage to Jerome Harris ’77 is due in part to Ran Blake’s machinations. He somehow decided that Jerome and I would make a good match, and repeatedly told us things like, “You know, I think Jerry Harris really likes your singing,” and “Jezra Kaye wants to do a jam with you,” none of which we had said!

When I was at NEC, the Third Stream Department had four vocalists—Jan Fornéy-Holden ’79, Laurie Reynolds ’81, Wendy Shermet ’79 MM and myself—and we produced a Billie Holiday tribute concert in Jordan Hall. We performed a capella quartet arrangements, experimental arrangements, and solo numbers, and I performed a duet with Dr. Janet Grice ’78. A highlight of the concert was when I read a no-holds-barred letter about Billie’s personality from her former pianist Mal Waldron. It was a great experience!

Singing in the NEC Chorus for Lorna Cooke DeVaron ’88 hon. D.M. under the baton of Seiji Ozawa ’82 hon. D.M. four times was incredibly special! Cookie DeVaron was an extraordinary musician and a master at shaping up young talent—and when we got to the stage at Symphony Hall and watched Seiji Ozawa polish her work, it was like dining with the gods. Once we were premiering a composition in which, at every moment, there were 40+ unrelated atonal lines at play, and Ozawa stopped the rehearsal and said, “Second trumpet, that’s a B flat.” We all waited, agog, and the BSO’s second trumpet looked at his score, and said with real consternation, “Maestro, I’m sorry.”
 

Share a story about one of your favorite faculty or studio instructor.
When I was in the NEC Chorus, we traveled to Israel to perform as part of the country's 30th anniversary celebration. Cookie DeVaron gave us very strict instructions to stay out of the sun, stay hydrated, and stay rested before concerts—instructions that, of course, we ignored. We were doing a big open-air concert one night—I was on the top riser in the alto section—and I started hyperventilating. Little black dots started dancing across my field of vision from both directions and I knew that when they met in the middle I was going to pass out. So I dropped my book and next thing I knew I was lying on my back on the ground, staring up at the stars and listening to the big finish (I think it was Haydn). It didn't make any sense to get up, so I stayed there until the piece was over and the next thing I knew, Cookie was standing over me saying, "Well, at least you did it on the downbeat."

What have you been up to since graduating from NEC? What projects have you been working on?
A year after graduating, I moved to NYC and found, to my sorrow, that the kind of jazz combos I'd been leading in Boston had nowhere to work here. So I learned enough piano to play at piano bars and hit the local airport hotels and Mafia restaurants for a year and a half, after which I decided to pursue a new career path.

I married Jerome Harris ’77, whom I met at NEC, had a child, and eventually segued to corporate speechwriting and public speaker coaching.

Since 2003, I've had my own business, Speak Up for Success, and am very happy using everything I learned at NEC to help all kinds of public speakers be their best.

How have your NEC experiences shaped your artistic approach?
As one of the older students in my class (I was 28 when I graduated), I already thought I was pretty sophisticated. But four years in a hothouse of talent and artistic ambition taught me how to advocate for myself; how to chip away at complex and lofty goals; and how to manage sheer terror. I also learned the value of community, and perhaps most importantly, the difference between sort of knowing something and really, bone deep knowing and being able to execute on it.

I also use the things I learned at NEC every day, as a speechwriter, a speaker coach, and a workshop leader. Musical basics like rhythm, meter, emphasis, attack, volume, etc., apply directly into public speaking and writing. So do performance skills, and the ability to manage yourself and your relationship with your instrument under a wide range of emotional and external conditions. And NEC is where I learned (to use a business phrase) “what good looks like,” which helps me to inspire and motivate my own clients toward that goal.

Do you have any advice for young musicians?
My first thought was, “Practice!,” but of course NEC alumni already know that. So I would say work on being proud of what you’re achieving every day. The standards you learned at NEC are so high, and some of your peers are so accomplished, that it’s easy to feel like you’re not measuring up. Don’t fixate on the negative—that mindset is the first, second, third, and fourth reason why my speaker coaching clients struggle, and was the main thing that held me back as a vocalist.

So my suggestion is to meet it head on, using every means you can to combat it - affirmations, meditation, self-talk, exercise, reality checks with your friends, deep breathing and, in my case, ice cream. Just remember, that sneering voice in your mind is never right, and if you were really in danger, you would be running for the hills, not berating yourself. So try to refocus, do the work, have as much fun as you can, and congratulate yourself at every step.
 

Register for Jezra’s upcoming webinar:

How to Speak Up For Your Music!

Monday, October 3, 2022 | 11:00 AM ET

Many musicians struggle to talk about things like:

• What makes your music unique?
• Why should a musical director, club owner, or concert promoter hire you?
• Where do you stand in your musical market? Are you "the best"? "Up and coming"? A "leader"? A "newcomer"?

If questions like this aren't easy to answer, this hour-long, interactive workshop is for you.! We'll explore how to talk about your music using the public speaking skills you've already learned at NEC.

And yes, your musical skills transfer directly to public speaking. Because it's hard to let your music speak it you're not getting gigs. And it's hard to get hired if you don't speak up for your music.
 

Learn more about Jezra:

Current Job: President, Speak Up for Success
Major: Contemporary Musical Arts (formerly known as Contemporary Improvisation and Third Stream Studies)
Degree: Bachelor of Music
Class Year: 1980

Website: speakupforsuccess.com
Facebook: facebook.com/jezra.kaye
Instagram: @jezra_kaye
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jezrakaye

Read about Jezra in the New York Times!

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