July is Coach and Accompanist Appreciation Month!
We’d like to encourage singers and teachers to honor accompanists and coaches this month. (Next month we honor teachers.) Think about the coaches and accompanists who have made a difference in your life and honor them with a thank you card, flowers, a gift or a phone call-some token to tell them what a difference they have made in your career or personal life. You have 31 days, but don’t put it off, because the days go by fast.
Can’t remember your former coach’s address or phone number? You can find about 200 coaches on our ever-growing Classical Singer Coach and Accompanist Directory at www.classicalsinger.com, or use the Classical Singer University Directory if your coach is affiliated with a university. You can also use www.411.com. There is a service on this directory which allows you to send a gift directly. While you are at it, you can make your appreciation public and permanent by posting your tribute on the Classical Singer Coach and Accompanist Forum (find it from the homepage listed above.) Let other singers know how great your coach is and build the Classical Singer Community’s knowledge base.
Gratitude is a powerful force. Louise Hay in her book You Can Heal Your Life writes about the power of gratitude as an energy force to bring good into our lives. No matter what their religious persuasion, most people can understand the principle behind the story in the Christian faith about ten lepers who were healed. Only one of the ten bothered to turn around and thank the person responsible for giving him a future. Only one out of ten. Interestingly, the tenth former leper-the only one who returned thanks for the good that was done to him-was told, “Your faith has made you whole.” The very act of expressing gratitude has a healing effect on both mind and body. Gratitude to the coach who has helped you with your future is a just principle that makes us whole. You don’t have to be a believer to find out that it works. Try it and find out. You’ll be amazed how powerful it is. Send out gratitude to your coaches/accompanists and watch what happens. And if you need a practical reason to thank those around you, gratitude is also a powerful networking tool!
I wonder how many singers have thought much about the situation of coaches. Next to students and singers who are trying to break into the field, coaches are the most underpaid segment of our industry. Except for those working in one of the top opera houses, they don’t have a union. They spend years and years training but make far less than others with comparable training. (How much do you pay your coach-and how often have you cancelled at the last minute?) Consider that coaches may have Master’s degrees and doctorates, speak several languages, and have years of experience under their belts-and yet most have trouble getting a mortgage unless they are married to someone with a strong income. The singers they coach may go on to fame and fortune, but coaches’ earnings remain small unless they sign on with a university. Yet they continue to give.
Has your coach/accompanist ever:
*Dropped everything to run to an audition for you?
*Helped you over the phone when you couldn’t come in?
*Fit you in at the last minute?
*Helped you through a tough role?
*Helped you through tough times personally?
*Played for your senior recital when you were really wet behind the ears?
*Let you pay on credit during hard times?
*Written terrific ornaments for you?
*Given you the advice or coaching that really helped you land the job?
*Recommended you for a job?
*Given career advice that was right on the nose?
*Believed in you or your idea when no one else did?
*Taught you a role patiently and slowly?
*Accompanied you in such an inspired way that you were moved to sing beyond yourself?
*Suggested incredible repertoire that moved you in new directions?
*Sight-read material that was impossible?
*Figured out how to teach you a role/songs in half the time? *Taught you how to memorize?
*Taught you how to pronounce an unpronounceable language?
*Taught you to do something no one else could?
*Helped you break out emotionally in a song/aria?
*Been tough when you needed toughness?
Coaches are often brilliant, and most of them are caring, giving people who got into the field because they really love singing and singers. If you think about it, I’m sure you have at least one thank you letter to write.
It’ll make your day. Think what it’ll do for someone else’s!
Have a great month.
CJ
