What does the HGO [Houston Grand Opera] High School Studio program offer?
This is a one-year scholarship program for kids who have a strong desire to major in vocal music and performance, as well as enough talent and good grades. They don’t have to become a performer; they might choose education. We take eight high school seniors each year to prepare them for college auditions. The students are accepted into the program in April or May of their junior year, and it costs them nothing. In the summer, they take a few voice lessons, depending on my availability. Then we start in late August, early September, when school begins.
During the year, they receive a one-hour voice lesson every week, a monthly class in which they work in front of each other, and a master class to get used to singing in front of people. They attend rehearsals at HGO and have a chance to talk to singers as well as staff. They are able to see professional singers do the things we talk about in class. It helps them get the whole picture. And we help prepare them for conservatory auditions and interviews, assisting them in figuring out where they want to go to school.
Are you affiliated with any conservatories or universities?
No. Not at all.
How did you come up with the idea for this program?
Well, I sang for years in the HGO chorus and as a soloist around town, but I realized I am more of an educator at heart. I did some teaching at local universities and at the High School for Performing Arts, and I started working at the opera part-time. So I looked at our Opera Studio and thought: “Why can’t we build something on a much smaller scale for high school students going into college, like our Opera Studio does for people out of universities going into careers?”
I was already involved with these age groups, and I knew people in the Studio and their work there, so it just made sense. Then, as I tried to work this out with the head of the Education Department, I asked myself: “What would have been the neatest thing for us when we were in high school?” So that’s how the whole thing got started. We presented the idea to David Gockley—who thought it was wonderful—if we could find funding—and everyone has been very supportive.
Do the students get a chance to perform?
Yes. They get two recitals. The one in January is the pre-audition recital so they can try out their audition pieces in front of an audience. The second recital takes place in May and is also a competition for three scholarships. They need to have four pieces ready. They present one, and the judges pick one of the remaining three. The winners receive a $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000 scholarship respectively.
How many high school seniors audition each year?
Sixty to 80. We send notices to our choir directors in the county and ask them to be selective of those they send to audition. We never advertise it in the newspaper, because we don’t want this to be this “I want to be a star” kind of thing.
What qualities do you look for in such young performers?
Pitch. Is their pitch consistent? Does the sound have a strong core, even if it’s not huge at 17? I also look for an innate sense of musicality. I want to see that they love to sing. We only study art song literature in the program, and some light arias by Handel, Mozart or Purcell. We don’t do musical theatre or big arias.
Some kids are able to do more, so we don’t pigeonhole them. We try to allow a little bit of freedom. Last year, we had a young lady who could handle the Mozart “Alleluja” beautifully. That’s not something that I would normally assign to a 17-year-old, but since she was able to handle it, why not?
Some kids have stage experience, others don’t, but you can tell where there’s a real core. I try to work at different paces, depending on [the student’s] level. But they all study about four to six pieces. Come December, we narrow it down to their top three, and really polish those.
How do you structure the voice lessons?
The lessons are primarily technique. As they become stronger technically, we drift more towards interpretation. They are required to understand, word-for-word, everything they sing. I help them with the languages.
You have taught in universities before. How do you find teaching voice for high school students, as opposed to college students and adult singers? Do you take a different approach?
I find that high school students are so used to being taught everyday that they seem much more open to instruction than some college students. I do have to change my approach and stick to the basics with them. I also try to help them understand early on that they shouldn’t stick a label on themselves and say: “I’m a soprano,” or a tenor, etc. I help them let the voice be what it’s going to be. Someone may sing baritone at this age, but in four to six years, he may become a tenor. Sometimes you have a girl who thinks she’s a mezzo because she’s been always asked to sing the lower voice in high school choirs, since she has a bigger sound. But she might actually be a dramatic soprano down the road.
I’m helping them listen to different kinds of music, not just opera, but art songs. Most students come into this program thinking that they’re going to sing opera because it is sponsored by the Houston Grand Opera! But they get here and learn that they will mainly sing art songs because arias would be asking them [to do] too much too soon. It’s usually a disappointment to them, because at their high schools they’ve been the bigger and better voice, and sometimes they’ve been singing things that are too huge for them. So it takes some adjustment on their part, but that trains them for their future career, too. We want them to learn early to sing in a healthy manner, and take care of their voices, not strain them.
What would you say that such young performers bring to HGO and to the community?
There’s so much energy and excitement at that age! We are the only program around like this. There are many outreach programs at different opera companies, but we are the only one modeled after our own young artists program: the Opera Studio. We audition people and bring them to us. We have 40 graduates of this program already. Most are still studying here and abroad. A few have changed their minds about pursuing singing as a career.
Is it difficult to maintain the funding for this program?
So far, no. We’ve been very lucky. But a lot of what we do is within our own resources at the opera. Many wonderful artists have given master classes for free when they’re in town to perform. Most of them say they would have loved to have had such a program when they were studying! When the kids give recitals, we use the Studio pianists to coach and accompany them for a month prior to the recitals. So, we are able to use what we have, and it comes out much less expensive than if we tried to create such a program away from an organization like HGO.
The company has been so agreeable. The stage manager has kids sit backstage with her and explains everything; or during rehearsals, they are able to sit with the librarian, who points out what the conductor is doing, and so on. Many have seen one or two operas at the most, but with us, they get to see six or seven. It’s a wonderful early exposure to opera.
