Student Annette Farrington Kramer is only taking one course at Tufts this semester. While this may seem like a light workload, Kramer is also juggling two young children, releasing a new album, teaching vocal lessons and working as a development intern at the Museum of Fine Arts - all while wrapping up her bachelor's degree in English.
Kramer is part of Tufts' REAL program, which supports men and women who never had the opportunity to attend college or who left mid-degree, but want to return to obtain their degree in higher education.
Through REAL, Kramer can chip away at an English degree without stifling her career as a self-described "acoustic-electric-psychedelic-singer-song-writer" on the Boston rock scene. Kramer founded and sang lead vocals for Gothic rock band Opium's Den throughout the '90s, but broke off on her own to release the more mellow "Azure Wonder & Lust" in 2001.
While music dominates Kramer's life today, she was more intrigued by theatre when she was growing up. Her childhood ambition to grace the acting stage was far from a secret.
"I had always thought that I would be an actress," she said.
Kramer spent her childhood pursuing drama and dreaming of a future at Julliard. When the acceptance letter didn't come, Kramer moved to New York City anyway and continued to study acting.
According to Kramer, her passion was the stage, and she was still banking on a future in theater. A brief stint touring with a repertoire company changed all of that, however.
"I felt like a piece of furniture; I wanted to find a medium where I could actually express myself," she said.
That medium was music. Kramer founded her band Opium Den and began experimenting with different sounds as part of the Gothic rock movement. Kramer received rave press reviews, with several of her compositions receiving national radio airplay. They were even picked up by ABC soap operas "One Life to Live" and "The Young and The Restless," as well as by talk shows including "Good Morning America."
Throughout this time Kramer was married to a prominent MIT professor/scientist, while her own coursework was limited to a handful of vocal performance classes at the Boston Conservatory. Time for taking courses was sparse since the pair was busy raising a son and daughter who are now eight and 11, respectively.
With a family and budding solo career in the wake of Opium's Den, it's difficult to see how Kramer found time to think about pursuing a bachelor's degree. Kramer, however, stands by her decision: "I needed to switch gears a bit, needed to reach my potential," she said.
In 2002, Kramer enrolled at Tufts in the wake of her first solo album, discouraged by how her record label handled her work and looking for a change in her life.
According to Kramer, she was able to find that change at Tufts by dabbling in political theory and peace and justice classes before committing to a bachelor's degree in English.
"I'm a really big idea person, and I'm very active in politics" she said. Kramer was able to bring both her passion for politics and newly acquired academic perspective to the board of ARKS New England. A non-profit group that helps to relocate Hurricane Katrina victims, the organization has successfully aided 11 families to date.
Jaded by the political scene, however, Kramer hopes that music can convey the ideas needed to create change in society.
"Music expresses the ideas I want it to," she said. And Kramer believes that her experience at Tufts has helped her fine-tune these expressions even more. With a new album slated to come out soon, Kramer is using it as the perfect opportunity to showcase the newfound insight that she has gained at Tufts.
"Coming here has given me more confidence, especially about knowing who I am and what I want for myself," she said. Kramer currently channels this confidence into as many activities as possible, from academics and family to her music career and political activism.
Her latest project is taking on a coveted internship in the Development Department of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). "There is a cultural renaissance happening in Boston right now, and I'd like to be a part of it," she
said.
On top of everything else, Kramer is even contemplating a novel as her next challenge.
"Tufts and the REAL Program have really given me the tools and self-assuredness I need to realize my goals" Kramer said. "What intrigues me the most now is creative writing - and I've got a lot of material to work with."
