When it comes to gaining valuable experience and bridging the gap between academia and the professional world, budding vocalists have a plethora of opportunities to choose from.
Programs known as pay-to-sings have long been a common stepping stone for aspiring singers seeking additional training. But it can be difficult for singers to know whether or not they are getting the full experience they are paying for. Furthermore, several prestigious programs can be unattainable for singers on tight budgets, regardless of their skill set and talent level.
But two highly renowned programs are changing the dynamic, moving away from pay-to-sings to tuition-free models, while still offering talented singers a competitive edge with the opportunity to further their professional careers and get the training they need to become well-rounded performers.
Here Classical Singer takes a look at those programs and weighs the options of pay-to-sings versus tuition-free programs.
The Martina Arroyo Foundation
Established: 2005
Became tuition-free: 2010
The Martina Arroyo Foundation opened its doors in 2005 in the heart of New York City, offering young, aspiring singers a professional training ground and haven for networking.
The plus is that it includes a wealth of educational opportunities, from role preparation to voice coachings, masterclasses, stagecraft, diction, and more. The drawback? Like a variety of its fellow operatic training programs, the Martina Arroyo Foundation’s six-week summer intensive came with a hefty price tag, making it a challenge for singers on tight budgets to feasibly afford.
But pay-to-sings, which often can be expensive for young singers in training, are not uncommon, according to Sadie Rucker, a foundation staff member.
“It was a necessity for us in our first five years,” Rucker says.
Unlike other pay-to-sings that are affiliated and funded through opera companies, the Martina Arroyo Foundation functions as an independent organization. It depends largely on donations and its annual fundraising gala. But in 2010, the board of directors took the leap of faith to go tuition-free.
“We always wanted that option to be available for singers,” Rucker says. “There were always those singers who wanted to be a part of the program but couldn’t because they couldn’t afford it. To try and sustain yourself in New York City isn’t cheap, even if you’re just paying for your housing.”
But since the program made the transition from pay-to-sing to tuition-free, Rucker says she’s noticed several positive attributes, such as a heightened level of singing and greater funding toward the program from several generous donors.
“We’ve always attracted good singers—they weren’t finished products, but they were at a level that they could benefit from the training we provided,” Rucker says. “But across the board, since we’ve become tuition-free, the level of singing we’ve seen from those auditioning and participating in the program has gone up. I think this is because more are able to audition and take part in the program—and for more of them, it’s now a feasible option. There are a lot of really wonderful singers that struggle with how to afford these kinds of training programs, and they’re an essential part of gaining valuable experience and building your résumé.”
Additionally, Rucker says, teachers and individuals in the opera industry now look at the program a little differently and pay more attention to the Martina Arroyo Foundation.
“The funding we’ve received has increased,” she says. “We’re just thrilled. I don’t think we could have asked for a better reception.”
Opera New Jersey
Established: 2002
Became tuition-free: 2004
Opera New Jersey’s professional training program, aimed at grooming up-and-coming young artists en route to the professional stage, is a fully fledged opera company that also has gone from pay-to-sing to tuition-free.
The company, originally christened New Jersey Opera Theatre, was founded in 2002 by the husband-and-wife team of Scott and Lisa Altman after the couple realized a gap in available emerging-artist programs for singers in the New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., region.
“There was no apprenticeship program. Most singers had to go up state [New York] for it,” says Scott, who has since gone on to become the executive director of Arizona Opera—another company with a fledgling Young Artist Program. “It was kind of curious considering the location. There was really a need for this niche.”
There were other facets as well.
Another operatic outlet—New Jersey Opera Festival—had ceased operations, which had left a hole in the area’s cultural calendar, Scott says.
As a result, the Altmans made it their mission to create a strong vehicle for a cutting-edge, professional training program utilizing the best conductors, stage directors, and vocal coaches to give singers the best possible educational opportunity to bridge academic training and a professional career.
The company originally sustained itself through a pay-to-sing business model. But in only two short years, Opera New Jersey went from investing on its return from singers in order to build and provide its extensive training program to gaining steady support and eventually offering the program at no fee.
The company, furthermore, went on to stage full operatic productions.
“Once we were able to sustain our mission and our vision, singers were only responsible for their housing, and we would help them arrange that,” Scott says. “It made it a possibility for those talented young singers who would benefit from such a program but wouldn’t have been able to afford it.”
Like the Martina Arroyo Foundation, the quality of singers Opera New Jersey’s program attracts also seemed to strengthen.
“We had some amazing talent,” Scott says. “If you look back through our program participants, many of them are enjoying professional careers today.”
And, while Scott says he’s hopeful that more training programs will adopt tuition-free or no-fee models, he’s noticing many American companies moving toward a more European-styled plan.
“These companies rely on a core group of apprentices to sing with a company over a certain period of time,” he explains.
Final Thoughts
While the positive side of tuition-free programs versus pay-to-sing programs is obvious, the latter continues to serve a worthwhile and important purpose among the variety of operatic training outlets available to singers.
The catch, Scott says, is for singers to do their homework. Some programs can offer singers more bang for their buck than others.
“My advice to young singers is to really look deep into the faculty of these programs,” he says. “Who are you going to get to study with? Are you going to be offered opportunities that are worth the amount you are paying that you are not getting in school or elsewhere, and are you going to get that in writing? It’s very important to evaluate. If you’re not going to get the experience you’re paying for or that you are already getting elsewhere, why invest in the program?”
Surprisingly, Scott noted, there are many singers that come out of undergraduate and conservatory programs that are “not fully baked.”
“They have never set foot on a stage or had the opportunity to sing or cover a role,” he says. “To be able to say that you have sung a role rather than only performed scenes, coached with a specific individual, gotten extensive lessons or language training, and made those connections is something that makes a program worth your while. Otherwise, you are only continuing the status quo of your college program. And, if your college program isn’t providing you with the training you need, that’s something to talk to your school’s dean about.”
Scott also advises that each singer mature at his or her own pace and seek out programs that provide opportunities to singers at all ages and levels of vocal development.
“That’s one of the reasons we never imposed an age limit with Opera New Jersey,” he says. “Whether you were 21 or 33, if you were the most appropriate and deserving person for the role, you earned it. And, it was competitive!
“It’s very important to realize a niche to be filled,” Scott adds. “Look carefully to make sure you’re really getting what you’re paying for.”
