On a warm May afternoon I sat down in a quaint, historic restaurant in the heart of Philadelphia for lunch with Martile Rowland. The Classical Singer Convention had ended the previous day, and Martile had made the trek from Colorado Springs, Colo. to accept her Voice Teacher of the Year award at the Convention’s closing session.
In the months previous, I had spent some time getting to know Martile’s work. I read the myriad of nominations from her loyal students, each recounting the impressive reasons she should be named Teacher of the Year. I read about Opera Theatre of the Rockies and the Vocal Arts Symposium summer program—both of which she founded and still directs—and I read about her successful singing career in the United States and abroad.
Knowing Martile on paper, however, in no way prepared me for the impact of meeting her in person. After two hours of conversation, my initial admiration for Martile’s accomplishments had deepened to respect for Martile the person. Her warmth, her openness in sharing things about her career and teaching success, her genuine humility and understated sense of herself, deeply impressed me.
In the weeks after that lunch, as I transcribed the interview and prepared it for this issue of Classical Singer, one message kept rising to the surface in the stories, insights, and wisdom this remarkable woman shared with me: Each singer has a unique and individual voice, and each singer has a unique and individual path to follow. The idea that there is just one path for everyone is pervasive in this profession, and if the circumstances of your life veer from that path, your hopes for a career are over.
Martile herself bought into that mentality, until her own path—her own life—proved otherwise. Now, in her own work with singers, Martile recognizes the importance of viewing every student who comes to her studio as unique.
Good voice teaching requires seeing students as individuals, recognizing their different needs, hearing their different timbres, and adapting to their different learning styles. Teachers shouldn’t try to mold every voice into a “cookie-cutter sound,” as Martile says, but rather guide each student to discover the true, tension-free voice within.
In addition to honoring voice teachers in this issue, we also report on the Classical Singer Convention 2006. One singer, whose path strayed from singing for a time, shares his Convention experience, and how attending the Convention helped him find his way back. Meeting other singers, listening to industry professionals, and hearing Robin Follman’s concert, all helped this singer draw his line in the sand.
This issue also features another gifted teacher and singer, a singer who has truly walked through the valley of the shadow. Victoria Hart, in the midst of a thriving career, experienced the unimaginable: cancer in her throat. Confronting every singer’s nightmare, Victoria faced the challenge head on, with courage and determination. Now, on the other side of this unexpected detour on her journey as a singer, Victoria once again enjoys a burgeoning career and remarkable success in the teaching studio.
As you read this issue, ponder your own uniqueness. What makes you, you? Embrace it; capitalize on it. Don’t let old-fashioned stereotypes and preconceived ideas stop you from finding your own individual path to your own individual success.
