Comedian Richard Jeni once mused about the Windy City, “I think that’s how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, ‘Gee, I’m enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn’t cold enough. Let’s go west.’” The Classical Singer Convention is also heading west to Chicago this year, although for slightly different reasons.
Chicago, the third largest city in America, is home to more Classical Singer subscribers than any other city outside of New York. Its central continental location with transportation hubs at two major airports makes it a relatively easy destination from most anywhere. Perhaps that is in part why it is also a hotbed for the arts, including being home to one of the nation’s most reputable opera companies.
Along with a new location, we have added lots of fresh content to this year’s Convention. This issue of Classical Singer highlights many of the presenters from the upcoming Convention. Get a taste of who they are and what they have to share as you peruse these pages.
Ellen Hargis, featured in the cover story, describes her journey to becoming one of the premier performer’s of Baroque music. She offers advice for others wanting to break into the early music scene. At the 2009 Classical Singer Convention, she will work one-on-one with singers, sharing advice about appropriate stylistic practices. She will also provide practical tips on finding out about auditions, how to network, and, most importantly, how to get hired.
With so many talented singers auditioning for a limited number of jobs, luck often seems to be the deciding factor on who gets hired. But is it luck, or is it something else, an extra spark, something special, maybe that almost indescribable quality called charisma? CS invited four experts to talk about charisma, what it is, and whether it is simply innate or can be acquired.
Join these four and other expert panelists in a new event at this year’s Convention: the Audition Feedback Experience. Participants will have the opportunity to present a complete audition package before a real audition panel and then receive immediate, candid, and individualized feedback. Learn what impression you are conveying to those sitting on the other side of the table.
Along with the new you will also find our most popular classes, like the Managers Panel, this year featuring Robert Mirshak and Kristin Cowdin. Read Carol Anderson’s interview with these top managers to find out what they look for in singers they sign to their rosters and changes they see to the arts industry from the challenges of the current economy.
As many are tightening their belts, we begin a new series to aid in your own frugality: “How to Live on $50 a Week.” Each month, Olivia Giovetti will offer budget saving strategies specific to a singer’s unique lifestyle. This month she tackles travel, including ways to save in Chicago this May.
That is just the tip of the iceberg. This issue also brings you great audition advice from CS Stage Director of the Year, James Marvel, interviews with two musical theatre gurus on what you need to know for crossing over, and a guest column from otolaryngologist Robert Bastian on avoiding the far too common diagnosis of acid reflux. All of this and more will be at this year’s Classical Singer Convention, so be sure to check out full details online and on pp. 28-29.
I hope you will head north, south, east, or west to join us in Chicago this May. In the meantime, may you find a little inspiration in the pages of this issue.
