I have always been fascinated with the passing of time. When I am anxious, fearful, or anticipating something exciting, time seems to stand still and can’t move fast enough. On the other hand, when I have really been looking forward to something, once it arrives, time seems to fly. In those moments, I wish it would move a little more slowly!
Perhaps it’s that obsession with time that has also led me to love milestones—like the changing of a calendar year each January 1 offers. And this January 1 marks a few milestones for both me and Classical Singer. As 2012 moves to 2013, CS begins volume 26. Twenty-six! And this issue marks the ninth summer program issue that I have been involved with. Nine! Now there are some milestones.
Over the course of nine issues featuring summer programs, I have learned an immense amount about good, better, and best programs—and, of course, the downright bad ones. Thankfully, the latter are the exception and not the rule. More importantly, I have learned that a really terrific program is not right for every singer. And a really fine singer is not right for every program. Singers should conscientiously and judiciously evaluate their own needs and what program will best meet them. Good programs, in turn, look for singers who can truly benefit from their offerings, not just contribute tuition.
The best news about CS’s annual summer program edition, other than my own personal education, is that every January issue since 1997 is available for your perusal in our online archives. So, say you see a program in our Summer Program Directory (featured listings printed on p. 60, with 300+ additional programs searchable online) that sparks your interest—like Brevard, Seagull Music Colony, AIMS, La Musica Lirica, or Songfest—a quick search in our online archives will give you an in-depth article on the program.
Don’t overlook, of course, the gems right at your fingertips. In this issue, you’ll find articles on two former pay-to-sings that are now tuition free (p. 38), an Early Music program in the Midwest (p. 42), an art song program in beautiful British Columbia (p. 32), and how to successfully audition for summer programs (p. 46). That last one includes the sage advice that it’s not just the program that is auditioning you, you are also auditioning the program—an important thing to remember before forking over your hard-earned cash.
With that in mind, I visited our online archives and selected “January” from the drop-down menu next to “Month.” Then I typed in the key word “money” and clicked “Search.” Moments later, after quickly scanning the results, I had three more articles to help me evaluate and choose a summer program: “When Is It Time to Do a Pay-to-Sing?” by Amanda White (Jan 2012), “Choosing a Summer Program: A Practical Guide” by Ann Baltz (Jan 2010), and “Choosing a Summer Program That Is Right for You” by Terree Rowbottom (Jan 2006). In addition, I found “How to Raise Money for Your Next Project” (Jan 2011) and “Grant Writing 4-1-1” (Jan 2007). And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
I hope that the hot-off-the-press articles in this issue will spark a search of our online archives for a wealth of information to guide you to the program right for you. A word of warning, however: the archives offer their own unique time warp. With so much information for your gleaning, you can get lost in there. After all, time flies when you’re having fun.
