Post-Panel Postmortem

(FYI, I am using the word “postmortem” as it is defined secondarily by Merriam-Webster, i.e., “an analysis or discussion of an event after it is over,” as opposed to the primary definition, AUTOPSY. Because there was nothing “deadly” about the event.)

And also, because alliteration is my jam.

Yesterday’s panel discussion – I think I might have mentioned once or twice or three or four times – went extremely well except for the fact that Zoom decided that when I changed my email from my personal one to my studio one, my account was now Basic and that I could hold meetings with 3 or more people for a maximum of 40 minutes. So I logged in 15 minutes early and we got knocked off at 25 minutes into the meeting, and then again 35 minutes later (I logged off so that we wouldn’t be in mid-question when we were disconnected), and again right after we finished, when there were just 3 of us chatting. This meant I had three separate videos that I had to piece together for the video that everyone who registered got to watch.

(The Zoom issue will be dealt with another time.)

I have not yet watched the video in its entirety, but here are a few TAKEAWAYS.

  1. Matt Edwards, Shenandoah: ” TAKE TOP 10 LISTS AS A LIST OF SCHOOLS GETTING THE MOST APPLICANTS, not a list of the best schools.”
  2. Karla Hughes, Viterbo: “GO WHERE YOU FIT BEST. Go where the experience is best for you.”
  3. Elizabeth Futral, Peabody: “BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Believe in the fact that you love to sing and want to sing and have to sing and have to perform. And we will see that and help you grow that germ of an idea that just can’t be suppressed.”
  4. Andrew Ryker, Ohio University: “OPENNESS [TO DIRECTION] and the ability to turn on a dime is definitely something that has saved several students that we weren’t sure about.”

The questions submitted by the registrants were fantastic. Many were variations on “how do I stand out?” but there were some that made me wonder “What happened to make you ask that?” Some really great, insightful questions. We couldn’t get to them all – and some of them were questions that would vary from school to school, or that you can find on the website.

One I didn’t think about until later today was – what if you take a gap year? What if you decide to work for a year to save money, to get experience, to mature a little more, to really focus on solidifying your technique? Do schools look on that favorably or askance?

If you weren’t there, and have any burning questions about college auditions, please let me know in the comments and I will see if they were answered in the panel discussion. And if they weren’t, I’ll be glad to steer you to the right place to answer them.

Here’s a lovely screenshot of the full panel near the beginning of the discussion.

Panel discussion screenshot
Top Row: Matt Edwards, Christine Thomas-O’Meally, Iyana Johnson Second Row: Lauren Manna, Olive DeVille, Elizabeth Futral Bottom Row: Karla Hughes, Andrew Ryker

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It may come as a surprise to any of you who have spoken to me for more than 5 minutes, but I actually don’t know everything (I know, I was shocked, too!). If I don’t know something, I reach out to people who do. If you’d like to be a part of the Curiously Strong Singing journey, find out how you can work with me.

 

Last call for registration

Registration is closing for tomorrow’s panel discussion! Have you registered yet?

I auditioned for one college when I auditioned for colleges.

My students in Milwaukee from 1998-2013 started out auditioning for two or three schools. By the time I left, musical theater was getting to the point where you had to audition for about five to guarantee they were getting into one. Things have changed. RADICALLY.

This article, from 2014, says that classical students should audition for between five and ten schools to get into one. It refers to three categories:

      1. Reach schools
      2. Probable schools
      3. Safety schools

I have heard that, for musical theater, you need to audition for between 15 and 25 schools. The competition is fierce. Even before COVID, schools started doing pre-screens to filter out who would get called in for an actual audition. It used to be just the top-tier schools, but now it’s all of them.

(I blame it on Glee.)

This will be an opportunity to find out what it takes to get into a well-regarded university. Our faculty panelists come from:

*Both listed in the top 30 programs

*****
Don’t miss this opportunity!
Register HERE

Any Questions?

As part of the registration process for What To Know/What I Wish I’d Known About College Auditions, I have had people fill out an intake form asking, specifically, what burning questions they have about the college audition process. I will be compiling those questions into some organized format to posit to the panel.

Some of the questions I’ve received so far include the following (which I’ve divided into categories):

  • Repertoire
    • Is it ok to use songs outside of the originally intended gender of who the song was written for in college rep?
    • How important is it to you to choose rep that is not ‘overdone’?
    • What is on the Classical Do Not Sing list?
    • Do you have repertoire you never want to hear again ?
    • Are self-composed songs appropriate for the pop song selection?
    • What are the most over-sung audition songs for MT, CCM, and Classical?
    • If you absolutely had to choose, does it matter more if students sing songs that are relevant to their age or their range?
    • Since Music Theater encompasses so many styles of music, are singers choosing just a few to show or are they still expect to have representation from many they “auditions books” (Golden Age, 50s, 60s, rock, pop, rap, legit, belt, etc et?)
    • What is the best way to form your audition repertoire?
  • Demeanor/Dress
    • Is weight/body type a consideration for your program?
    • What is the appropriate dress code for MT/CCM programs vs. Classical?
    • In a live setting, do you want the individual to approach the panelists and shake hands?
    • How should students interact with faculty outside of and inside an audition – asking questions, advocating for their needs, etc.
  • Prescreen videos
    • What makes a prescreen really stand out?
    • What’s the strangest wildcard video you’ve received? Has a wildcard video ever changed your mind about a student?
  • The Audition Process
    • BA vs BFA MT programs– do auditions differ?
    • Flow of a typical audition
    • Tips/tricks to auditioning in person v. virtual
    • Do you think that virtual auditions will remain? Or will in-person auditions resume?
    • Did you prefer virtual auditions over live auditions?
    • For the student: What do you wish you’d known before your audition?
    • For the student (I think):How do you deal with performance anxiety and feel confident in your performances?
  • The Interview
    • For the student: What was the most shocking/strange question you were asked in the audition process? [I didn’t know this was a thing]
    • What should classical students prepare for interview questions?
    • How do I best prepare for conversations with the people behind the table?
  • Admission
    • How important is sight singing and music theory in the admissions process for MT, CCM, and Classical?
    • How are schools dealing with the over saturation of singers in the music industry? How does each school help students prepare for a market that’s in transition especially in classical music?
    • If you have three equally talented voices for one role and you have to make a final decision, what’s the one thing you look for when making your final decision
    • How do you think college acceptances are going to change since the pandemic has stolen 2 years worth of performance opportunities away from so many high schoolers? This will inevitably create a gap in their resumes and I know I for one am somewhat anxious about how to present myself after losing so much time and experience.
    • What are typical acceptance rates?
  • The Decision-Making 
    • Will the lack of a strong dance background prevent the student from getting into a musical theater program?
    • What is the truth about how valuable it is to be a triple threat? (When going into Musical Theatre)
    • What are some of the most surprising moments in an audition that helped a student stand out and ultimately get accepted?
    • Are there any big NO’s in auditioning? Dealbreakers?
    • How can you make an impression without trying too hard?
    • What makes certain auditions stand out from others?
    • And what are the true expectations of high school aged students in their auditions?

And my FAVORITE question:

Tell me about an audition that EXCITED you!

I have 21 people registered so far, and there is plenty of room for more! The sooner you register, the more likely it is that I’ll be able to include your question, especially if it’s an juicy one. You can register HERE.

So – as Dr. Pangloss asks at the end of Bernstein’s Candide – any questions? (FYI, this video is supposed to be copied to start at 4 minutes in but if it doesn’t, either advance yourself over there or enjoy the whole song, because it’s my favorite choral piece in the world anyway.)

When To Take Things to Heart

Last Thursday, I wrote about Taking Things Personally, and how you needed to accept that rejection in an audition doesn’t mean it’s a rejection of you.

(And I just realized now that I had written a blogpost with that exact title back in November. Oops. Although that blogpost was a little emotionally naked than last Thursday’s, so I was only unoriginal as far as title.)

There was more that I’d written on Thursday that I thought was necessary. to write about but not include in that particular blogpost When should you take things personally? Or rather, take them to heart? (There’s a difference, and I’ll explain that below.)

If you consistently

    • aren’t getting the gig;

    • aren’t placing in the competitions;

    • aren’t filling the halls;

    • aren’t selling the class;

perhaps there is something that you need to accept feedback about and make some changes. If the feedback is honest and the source is someone you trust (a teacher, an adjudicator, a business coach, a parent or colleague), figure out what you need to implement those tweaks/changes to your process. It doesn’t mean you’re compromising your identity. You’re doing what you need to do in order to achieve a goal.

Maybe you need to:

    • address some technical issues

    • change out your audition material (what? cool obscure songs might not win that competition? impossible!)

    • tweak your marketing

    • do some market research (of course people want to sit in front of Zoom for two days after being online for a year! who wouldn’t?)

If implementing these changes doesn’t feel organic or natural, or you feel like you are compromising your identity, examine your actions and/or your goals. Is it resistance to something new just because it’s something new? Is it uncomfortable? A lot of things are uncomfortable when you first do them. If they stay uncomfortable or go to the point of pain, then, yeah, it’s probably not good for you.

Zumba didn’t feel good at first. Now it’s my favorite form of exercise. Barre, on the other hand, really aggravates my knee arthritis, and I let that go because it’s not ever going to feel better.  And there other ways to get the same results that don’t hurt me.

I had a voice teacher who told me that the secret to singing was to pull in my lower lip when I went for high notes. That didn’t feel good. My first teacher told me that I should hold my larynx down when I sang to get a rich, dark, mature sound. I sounded like an old woman. Those are things that I was able to recognize weren’t working for me and let go in favor of things that did work for me (like, say, healthy, science-based technique.)

There are ways of taking things to heart without taking them personally. According to Guillaume Hervé,

Taking something to heart means that you care about and are committed to the purpose and the outcome. It also means that you have a high level of conviction that what you are doing has meaning and can make a difference. Because you are taking this to heart, you are able to bring a high level of energy and enthusiasm to the task at hand.

Taking things personally makes it about you.Emoji of myself cursing

 

Taking things to heart makes it about the work. Emoji of myself taking things to heartWhich do you think is healthier for you and more productive?

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A little over a week till What To Know/What I Wish I’d Known About College Auditions.
There’s still time to register! Only $25 will get you not only access to the content
in real time, but two months of replay on a platform TBD. Register HERE.

Taking Things Personally

Boy, can I relate to this.

I take things personally way too much for someone in the performing business. Or even just in business.

I take it personally when people:

    • don’t attend concerts I’m putting on
    • stop taking voice lessons
    • unsubscribe from my mailing list
    • don’t pick me for something for which I’ve auditioned
    • don’t read my blog (that wouldn’t be YOU, because you’re here)
    • look at me funny

I’m not as bad as I used to be, and I think it’s because my Estonian-accented inner critic (now where could that have come from? And why is she named Renate?) is a lot quieter in her whispers of, “I guess they don’t like you” than she used to be. (Seriously, my mother actually did say that to me when something fell through. It’s amazing I can function at all.)

Some people schedule their blogposts for the whole month. I try to do that, and when I have something in mind that I’m working on, like, oh, I don’t know, the upcoming college audition panel discussion on June 30, I do structure my posts around that and write related things. Other times, I check my Notes file to see what juicy tidbits I’ve saved that I thought could be something.

That’s where today’s post comes from. Seth Godin wrote back in April that,  “When I say I don’t like your idea, I’m not saying I don’t like you.” He goes on to say that we’ve been convinced that our identity is based on what we do and say, and that as a result, we find it difficult to accept feedback and evolve as needed.

As singers, having someone not hire you feels like they’re saying, “I don’t like your voice,” which then makes us feel like they’re saying, “I don’t like you.” And it very well could be that someone doesn’t like us, voice and all, or maybe they like the voice but not us. Not everyone is going to like everyone, for whatever reason. But it’s very unlikely that no one likes you, even if you do have a Renate in your head/life telling you otherwise.

Not taking things personally is the second of the Four Agreements:

Taking things personally... - CUInsight

Don’t assume (#3) that people don’t like you (#2) because they don’t like what you have to offer. Maybe it’s not for them – but it will be for someone else, as long as you’re honest (#1) and are working at the highest level you can right now (#4). All of these factors should be in place whenever you prepare for an audition, a performance, or just in your daily life.

And sometimes, you just gotta say:

I’m still working on it. How about you?

*****
To reserve your spot for the June 30 panel discussion,
What To Know and What I Wish I Had Known About College Auditions, register HERE.
(If you do, then maybe “Renate” will go away once and for all.) 😀

College Audition Panel Discussion: Meet the Panel (Part 3)

Before we meet the panel, an important announcement:

Now that we’re done with that…. 

As promised, it’s time to meet the student panelists on our June 30 panel discussion.

Lauren Manna, Minneapolis, MN

Coming to us from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lauren Manna.

Lauren Manna is a musical theatre student from Minneapolis, MN. She studies voice with [my Speakeasy Cooperative colleague] Jerry Elsbernd, with whom she has won the State and North Central Regional NATS, and is currently a National Quarterfinalist. She also is an NSDA speech student, and will make her second NSDA nationals appearance this June. Some of her favorite roles she has played include Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, and Rusty in Footloose! Theatre is a huge part of Lauren’s life, and she is so excited to continue her musical theatre education at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee this fall.

Our second student panelist is Iyana Johnson of Annapolis, Maryland.Iyana Johnson, Annapolis, MD

Iyana Johnson will be an incoming freshman at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, studying vocal performance and music production. She identifies as a mezzo soprano (but her teacher, my MDDC colleague Alyssa Amber Cox, calls her a “baby contralto”) and she has been studying music “classically” for the last 5 years. Iyana has a particular interest in exploring spirituals and African American song, which she hopes to focus on in her studies at B-W.

Our final student panelist is Olive DeVille of Towson, Maryland.

Towson student Olive DeVilleOlive DeVille recently graduated from Carver Center for Arts and Technology, where she was a Vocal Music student. Over the past 4 years she enjoyed performing in local community theatre, performing in shows such as Man of La Mancha (Antonia), Newsies, The Music Man, Hello Dolly!, and studying voice and dance. In the fall, she will be attending Long Island University as a BFA Musical Theatre student. Olive is a student of Christine Thomas-O’Meally at Mezzoid Voice Studio (why, that’s ME!)

These three young singers went through the audition process this year, which was entirely virtual! Hear what they have to say about the experience, what they might do differently if they could, and what they’re looking forward to as they take the next step in their musical and educational journey!

*****
To reserve your spot for the June 30 panel discussion, What To Know and What I Wish I Had Known About College Auditions, register HERE.


It’d be a great birthday present for me.
And since June is birthday month,
I’ll accept presents up through June 30.
Just sayin’

College Audition Panel Discussion: Meet the Panel (Part 2)

(I couldn’t wait till Tuesday.)

As promised, it’s time to meet the musical theater teachers on our June 30 panel discussion who teach in musical theater programs.

Meet the Panel: Karla Hughes, Viterbo UniversityFirst up – Karla Hughes from Viterbo University in LaCrosse, Wisconsin (named one of the top 30 musical theater programs in the country).

Karla Hughes heads the Music Theatre voice area at Viterbo University where she instructs vocalists in a wide variety of genres including music theatre (legit and belt), classical, pop, rock, gospel, country, and R&B. In addition to her work as a voice instructor, she has also taught acting and stage movement courses and works as a music director. Former voice students have gone on to perform on Broadway (Six the Musical, Amélie, A Bronx Tale the Musical, Tina; The Tina Turner Musical), off-Broadway musicals, national and international tours, international cruise lines, regional and international theaters, voice overs for animated Disney films, and have been featured vocalists on national public radio (NPR) and television programs (ABC, NBC).

As a professional musician Karla has performed throughout the U.S. with opera, musical theater, and theater companies and is represented by Wade Artist Management (NYC). Hailed as displaying “vocal pyrotechnics” and “effortless dexterity” (Opera News), being “nimble of voice and feet” (The Toledo Blade), and “exceedingly convincing [as an actress]” (Opera News) she is equally talented as a vocalist, actress, and dancer. Highlights from Karla‘s performing career include Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Ellen in Lakmé, and Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro with Michigan Opera Theater, Flora in Turn of the Screw with the Toledo Opera, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Dainty June in Gypsy, and Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof with The Ohio Light Opera, and Sophie in Terrence McNally’s Master Class with Chamber Theater (Milwaukee).  In 2011, Karla made her Lincoln Center debut as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass, presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY). As a recording artist, she can be heard on over 15 different titles with Albany Records and Newport Classics including the roles of Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. Karla earned a Master of Music in Opera Performance at Wichita State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Colorado State University.

We’re also honored to have Matt Edwards join us from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, VA.Meet the Panel: Matt Edwards, Shenandoah Conservatory

Matt Edwards is one of the leading voice teachers for commercial and musical theatre styles in the United States. He is currently an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Musical Theatre Voice at Shenandoah Conservatory. He is also Artistic Director of the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute. In 2017, he was the recipient of the Van Lawrence Fellowship and in 2018 he was a master teacher for the NATS Intern program.

Edwards’ vocal interests encompass many styles. He has performed numerous roles in plays, musicals, and operas. Former and current students have performed on American Idol, Broadway, off-Broadway, on national and international tours, and in bands touring throughout the United States. He has written numerous articles for the Journal of Singing, Journal of Voice, VoicePrints, American Music Teacher, The Voice, Southern Theatre, and Voice Council magazine. He has contributed chapters to “A Dictionary for the Modern Singer,” “Vocal Athlete,” “Manual of Singing Voice Rehabilitation,” “Get the Callback,” “The Voice Teacher’s Cookbook,” and the CCM, Sacred Music, Gospel, A Cappella, and Country editions of the “So You Want to Sing” book series. His book “So You Want to Sing Rock ‘N’ Roll?” is published by Rowman and Littlefield and was called “an authoritative text on rock ‘n’ roll singing” by Classical Singer magazine.

He has presented at the National Association of Teachers of Singing National Conference, Voice Foundation Annual Symposium, Acoustical Society of America, Southeastern Theatre Conference, Musical Theatre Educators Alliance, Pan-American Vocology Association, at numerous universities including Penn State, Florida State, University of Toronto, Brigham Young, Wright State, Otterbein, Illinois Wesleyan, Missouri State, University of Northern Colorado, Bårdar Academy (Oslo, Norway), NATS Chapters in Toronto, Virginia, Oregon, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Arizona, and many others.

Online at CCMInstitute.com and EdwardsVoice.com.

This is not to be missed.

I have worked closely with both of these artists, with Karla at the Skylight in Viva La Mamma and with Matt at Shenandoah Conservatory in a training program. Karla has taught several of my Milwaukee studio alums, and her students routinely win at Wisconsin NATS auditions. Matt is well-regarded internationally as well as nationally, as you can see if you search his name in Google.

Stay tuned for part 3 of this series, in which I will introduce you to the three students who successfully navigated the 2020-2021 audition process (and lived to tell the tale), and who will be attending college in Fall 2021. 

*****
To reserve your spot for the June 30 panel discussion, What To Know and What I Wish I Had Known About College Auditions, register HERE.

 

 

College Audition Panel Discussion: Meet the Panel (Part 1)

Today I would like to introduce the teachers on our June 30 panel discussion who teach in classical/opera programs.

Meet the panel: Soprano Elizabeth FutralOur first panelist is American soprano Elizabeth Futral, who comes to us from my alma mater, Peabody Conservatory.

Elizabeth Futral has established herself as one of the world’s leading sopranos. She is currently a Professor in the Vocal Studies department at Peabody Conservatory.

 Reared in Louisiana, Ms. Futral studied with Virginia Zeani at Indiana University. She joined the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, won the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions in 1991 and was catapulted to stardom with critically acclaimed performances of Delibes’ Lakmé at the New York City Opera in 1994. Career milestones soon followed, cementing her star status: a win in Placido Domingo’s Operalia Competition, the title role in Rossini’s Matilde di Shabran in Pesaro, her debut at the San Francisco Opera as Stella in the world premiere of André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, and her Metropolitan Opera debut in a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor.

Since that time, she has returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Princess Eudoxie in a new production of La Juive, Princess Yeuyang in the world premiere of Tan Dun’s The First Emperor, Elvira in I Puritani, and additional performances of Lucia. With the Lyric Opera of Chicago she has sung a vast range of roles including Cunegonde in Candide, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Handel’s Partenope, La Traviata, and The Merry Widow. She has notable relationships with the Washington, Houston, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, New York City, Vancouver, and Minnesota opera companies. Internationally, she has been heard at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Theater an der Wien, the Grand Theatre de Genève, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Hamburg Staatsoper.

Ms. Futral debuted with the New York Philharmonic in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 under Zubin Mehta and has returned there for Handel’s Messiah with Sir Neville Marriner and Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio with Sir Colin Davis. Other orchestral highlights include Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony, To Be Certain of the Dawn with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra, the Brahms Requiem with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, arias and duets with Placido Domingo and the Chicago Symphony led by Daniel Barenboim, and a New Year’s Eve Gala with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic.

In demand for contemporary repertoire, Ms. Futral has sung the world premieres of Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne at the San Francisco Opera, Andre Previn’s Brief Encounter at the Houston Grand Opera, Philip Glass’s Orphée for the American Repertory Theatre, Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice for Great Performers at Lincoln Center, Dominic Argento’s Evensong: Of Love and Angels at the National Cathedral, and Stephen Paulus’ Three Poems of Dylan Thomas with the Tucson Symphony. Other notable performances include concerts and recording of Paulus’ To Be Certain of the Dawn with the Minnesota Orchestra and Osma Vänskä, Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall and Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men at the Houston Grand Opera.

Our second panelist is opera director Andrew Ryker of Ohio University.Meet the panel: Andrew Ryker, Ohio University

Andrew Ryker is the Director of Opera and Assistant Professor of Voice at Ohio University.  He is the former Artistic Director of Boston Opera Collaborative and he has served on the directing staffs at New England Conservatory, Opera New Jersey and Des Moines Metro Opera.  Ryker’s productions have been seen with the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Intermezzo Chamber Opera, Eastern Nazarene College, Boston Opera Collaborative, Millikin University, MetroWest Opera, Drake University and New England Conservatory.  Andrew was the 2006 recipient of the Goldovsky Directing Fellowship with the Harrower Opera Workshop in Atlanta and was a member of the Resident Artist Program at Opera North. Ryker has been featured in The Boston Globe, The EDGE and Classical Singer Magazine; his production of Benjamin Britten’s Curlew River was named Boston’s “Best Staged Opera of the Year” by the Boston Phoenix.

Ryker has been heard with the Boston Pops, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, La Musica Lirica, College Light Opera Company and the Des Moines Gay Men’s Chorus. He was baritone soloist for Trinity Church Boston’s performances of Durufle’s Requiem and Bach’s Johannes Passion. Operatic roles include Papageno (The Magic Flute), Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Marco (Gianni Schicchi), Silvio (Pagliacci), Don Alfonso (Cosi fan tutte), John Brooke (Little Women), Strephon (Iolanthe), St. Brioche (The Merry Widow), Le Suritendent (Cendrillon) and Jenik in the US premiere of Dvorak’s Kral a Uhlir.  Andrew has sung in master classes with Pierre Vallet, Vinson Cole, Alan Held and Warren Jones and has been featured on the St. John’s Concert Series as well as various gala performances throughout the Marché region of Italy.

Ryker is also very active in musical theatre and has a diverse background as a performer, director and educator.  Recent highlights include the title role in Andrew Lippa’s I am Harvey Milk, Leo Frank in Jason Robert Brown’s Parade and a solo cabaret at Noce Jazz Club. He’s performed regionally in Titanic, The Scarlet Pimpernel, 42nd Street, Kismet, South Pacific, Brigadoon and On the 20th Century with Alice Ripley.  Andrew has staged productions of Cabaret, Into the Woods, West Side Story, Candide, Side by Side by Sondheim and Songs for a New World.  Music directing credits include Ragtime, The Wild Party, Jesus Christ Superstar, Spring Awakening, Fiorello, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Rock of Ages and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  Andrew’s 2015 production of South Pacific won Best Musical at the Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Arts Awards.

Andrew began work with Des Moines Metro Opera in 2010 and has staged touring productions of The Elixir of Love, Cenerentola and The Barber of Seville as well as directing for their nationally recognized Apprentice Artist Program. Ryker previously taught at Drake University and New England Conservatory.  He’s an active adjudicator and clinician who has judged for the National Opera Association and he continues to serve as an advisor for the Entrepreneurial Musicianship Program at New England Conservatory.  Andrew’s students have been accepted into many of the premiere graduate and young artist programs in the US including Sarasota Opera, Cincinnati, Ash Lawn and Sante Fe Opera. An active participant in the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Ryker has had over 50 winners in regional and state NATS competitions as well as multiple award winners in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Ryker studied voice with Kathryn Hartgrove and William Cotten and is a graduate of Millikin University. He received his master’s degree in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory where he was a student of John Moriarty and graduated with Academic Honors.

I cannot tell you how honored I am to have both of these fantastic artists/educators.

I am particularly thrilled about their interest in new music (Futral) and in crossover/musical theater (Ryker). I believe that, for classical music to continue to thrive, it must grow and encompass new art forms. The big tent, folks!

On Tuesday (or maybe before, if I can’t contain myself), I will introduce you to our Musical Theater panelists in Part 2 of this series, to be followed by Part 3, introducing the music students of tomorrow (or at least Fall 2021).

Stay tuned!

*****
To reserve your spot for the June 30 panel discussion, What To Know and What I Wish I Had Known About College Auditions, register HERE.

 

 

The Cicada: Nature’s Krumhorn

This past Sunday, we held the 2nd annual outdoor studio recital in my backyard, called “For the First Time in Forever” (since it was the first time in forever that we got to sing in front of people – thanks to Nichole Feltner for the suggestion and for opening the program with that song.

It was a lovely event,  and everyone sang well, the program was entertaining, and people were supportive of each other.  However, we had a few uninvited special guests join the program. Actually, we had thousands of special guests.

CICADAS!!.

I did not take these into account when I planned the recital. I had set a rain date for next Sunday, just in case. But it’s been 34 years since I dealt with cicadas (I missed the 2004 invasion because I was living in Wisconsin). They didn’t seem as bad this time, although I did recognize that they were getting louder over the past week.

This is a recording I made while walking home from Hampden on Friday:

(I wasn’t just talking to myself, this was an audio I sent to my husband.)

I notice that they all seem to be tuned to F. The other day I had toads in my pond, and they were tuning to A, so I had a nice major third going on in my yard.

And they didn’t seem to be as loud on Sunday, or maybe I was just USED to them, so I didn’t think it’d be a factor. Plus everyone was going to be using a mic, so I figured we’d be fine.

It wasn’t until I got the first video that I realized how… present… they actually were. It was like a drone. And then I realized that what I should’ve done was embraced the cicada sound and programmed around it. After all, aren’t cicadas basically nature’s version of krumhorns?

So, mark your calendars. In June, 2038, the outdoor studio recital will feature music that allows the cicada to shine. Everything will be in keys that complement the cicada, rather than compete with it. The repertoire will be chosen carefully to enhance its drone-like qualities.

Or maybe we’ll just go inside.

**********

Three weeks till What To Know/What I Wish I’d Known About College Auditions! Reserve your spot here.
Can’t be there on June 30? That’s okay. The replay will be available through August 31 for all registrants. Registration is only $25.

Pay Attention to the Tension

(FYI: I know the end of this post will tick some people off but yeah well)

Yesterday, I was giving a lesson to one of my favorite people in the world, Sasha Kostakis, and we were talking about a little bit of tightness in her jaw that was getting in the way for her high notes in the song, “When he sees me” from Waitress. Sasha is a great belter, and belting requires a bit more mouth width than a song sung “legit” or classically. So this is not something that is unique to this particular singer, and I’m not telling tales out of school. While I’m not advocating for adopting a more vertical mouth position for belt (because that wouldn’t work), we still need to make sure that the temporomandibular joint is free and flexible and that the jaw can MOVE. It can’t come forward, it can’t be locked straight down,  and it needs to be flexible enough so that you can adjust your position quickly for the next pitch/phoneme you’re producing.

After working on finding where the jaw needs to “live,” we approached the song a second time and I invited Sasha to be aware of any possible tightness that might occur and to allow herself to release it, particularly at the jumps up to the high notes in the song. She replied with:

Pay attention to the tension

As singers (and as human beings), there are many places we can hold tension:

  1. In the jaw
  2. In the shoulders, either slumped over as shown here (the “smartphone slump” is real and can carry over from your devices to your singing!)
  3. or artificially pulled back in what is often called “noble posture,” a term that is still used as an example of good posture but often presents as tenseOld School 19th Singing tips on Posture and Respiration | goodkarmamusic
  4. In your tongue, like the lovely head I have in the picture above (which is above a window in my studio and used to be on the overhang of the steps leading down to my Milwaukee studio, which was intended to signal two things: “Singers Ahead,” and “Watch your head,” because that overhang was LOW)
  5. In your neck
  6. In your knees
  7. In your feet
  8. In your arms and hands (I personally used to stand with my right arms pulled down straight, my wrist bent and my fingers splayed – why, I don’t know)

Tension isn’t always a bad thing.  A tension rod keeps your curtain up (that’s definitely a good thing if it’s your shower curtain). Think of dramatic tension – it’s necessary for a play or story to be interesting. It builds and then it releases.  Tension keeps us upright – otherwise gravity would pull us down. In that case, tension allows us to maintain balance.

When tension is physical tightness, rather than balance, that’s where the problem lies.

Alexander Technique is one of the modalities that can help you release unnecessary tension (while maintaining that which keeps you upright). Another is Feldenkrais. Or yoga and dance might help inform you of where tightness happens in your body and offer you strategies on how to release that tightness.

Because I am a terrible person, I am attaching a video that, to me, illustrates tremendous tension in most of the body parts listed above. If you are a fan of the Hof, well, I will judge you. (Sorry.) But notice the position of his jaw,  the tension in his hands (which could be “acting”), the leaning forward posture, and his tongue. OMG, at 2:30 minutes in, there is so much tongue tension there that there is an actual groove in it. I can’t duplicate that in my own body. I have no idea how he’s doing it. But you could serve soup in that tongue. (N.B.: I do not recommend that as a serving utensil.)

I will say that his knees and feet seem very flexible. (See, I can be nice.)

(And yes, I realize that he has more money than I will ever make in my lifetime. This is not jealousy, it’s just an observation.)

Please … enjoy? … these video.

(And if you still like me afterwards, please feel free to register for the upcoming
College Audition Panel Discussion on June 30)

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