It was the end of my freshman year of college and I sat, palms sweating and throat dry, in the vocal department chair’s office. He asked why I had come to see him and, voice shaking, I made my case. I had very good grades, I haltingly explained. I had scored very well on recent vocal juries. I had had some significant solo opportunities. But even though I felt I was performing in the top of my class, the school of music had only granted me a $200 scholarship—not even enough to buy my books. What did I need to do to qualify for more scholarship money?
I couldn’t believe those words were coming out of my mouth. I didn’t like to make waves. Authority figures, especially my music professors, intimidated me to mortifying tears when I tried to speak my mind. And asking for money? Well, that just seemed absurd.
But the day before, I had ventured across campus to visit my university professor father in his office in the sociology department. I had expressed to him my woes at my pitiful scholarship. His advice came without hesitation. “Go to the voice department chair and make your case!” When I balked at that, he continued. “Sometimes you have to be the squeaky wheel!” he exclaimed. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
So with his pep talk giving me courage, there I sat, squeaking away. And that summer, just a month after that terrifying meeting, I got a letter from the music department offering me a half-tuition scholarship. By George, Dad was right!
A huge part of getting the education you need, want, and deserve requires being proactive. You have to research opportunities available to you at your school, as post-grad singers advise in Peter Thoresen’s article (p. 58). You have to attend class, take notes, study, network with students and teachers and, in short, be active! You also have to assess your own strengths and weaknesses and determine what you need to gain from your education.
Making that assessment can perhaps be the hardest part of all. To help you in that pursuit, CS asked Cindy Sadler to put together a list of the essential, must-have skills all singers need in their tool belt by the time they leave college, diploma in hand. Cindy always says it just right, and her 10 things you need to know (p. 22) will get you on track, whether you’re a freshman or a senior.
One item on Cindy’s list is to learn to budget. Megan Gloss delves further into this topic (p. 62), on everything from student loans to taxes to seeking out beneficiaries. The sooner you get your financial life in order, the sooner you can concentrate on your art.
Sometimes just as important as being proactive is learning to be patient. One singer learned this when she decided to take some time off before applying to graduate school (p. 48). At the end of a gap year that turned into two, she realized that taking a break from formal education actually helped her gain the knowledge and skills she needed. Andrea Carroll echoes this in her advice to singers—patience has become her mantra (p. 78).
Proactivity also requires persistence, and Nathan Gunn, featured in this month’s cover story (p. 34), is helping young singers at the University of Illinois learn this through his position as professor and the example of his long and varied career. Read why he thinks young singers often stall out too soon, what he considers the hallmarks of a solid and reliable technique, and what he feels classical singers can learn from musical theatre singers and vice versa.
For each of us, being successfully proactive with our education may mean something different. For some, it may be being the squeaky wheel to get either the funding or other opportunities we need. For some others, it may be learning to be patient and wait. And for yet others, it may be gathering the courage to persist in the face of challenging odds.
