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When Mary Petro was growing up in Chicago she always dreamed that one day she would live by the sea. And by a rather circuitous route involving the Metropolitan Opera and various other national and international venues, she has seen her dream come true. These days, she lives right on the water in Fairfield County.
Mary Petro is one of those energetic people who enjoy having two jobs. By day, shes a member of KMS Partners, one of Coldwell Bankers top performing real estate groups. By night, shes a trained soprano, singing in the chorus at the Metropolitan Opera in New York or as a soloist in concert.
I studied music at DePaul University, she says, Then I went to Yale for my masters in vocal training. At the time she was living and working in New York, and she would look forward to her trips from the city to New Haven. Fairfield County is so beautiful and interesting, she says. And of course, there was the sea.
I reached a point where I was disillusioned with being home for one week then traveling again, says Mary. Its very difficult to build friendships when you travel all the time. While she wasnt ready to give up her singing career she needed something that would give her more stability. A friend suggested real estate.
Mary has found quite a few parallels between her life as an opera singer and her new career as a realtor. Singers go on endless auditions before they get a role, she explains. Realtors spend a lot of time pitching for new business. Its not all that different. Mary has been with KMS Partners for the past two years and couldnt be happier. The six women in the group work as a close-knit team, supporting each other at all times. So when Mary needs to go into New York for a rehearsal she knows her colleagues are there to cover for her. And vice versa. Thats the benefit of working in a team, she says.
Mary Petro and several friends, including Samia Bahu, soprano, of Wilton and Steve Magnuson, baritone, of Greenwich will be singing operatic arias in a benefit concert Saturday Jan. 8 at 7p.m. at the Greens Farms Congregational Church in Westport. The concert is to benefit a fellow singer and long-time Connecticut resident, September Bigelow, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
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