Andrew Garland lives in the coastal town of Kingston, Massachusetts, just to the north of Plymouth Rock and 40 miles south of Boston on Route 3. While he has sung at some of the most important opera houses and concert venues in the United States, instead of being a divo, Garland says the character he identifies the most with is Papageno. “I’m an everyman,” he explains. “I’m at home, I pick up the kids from school, make dinner for them, raise the chickens, split the firewood, paint the house.”
It is exactly that personality that has helped propel his career and that brought him to the attention of his agent, Robert Mirshak. “You can see when there’s a really good person on-stage, and that’s what Andrew brings,” Mirshak says. “He’s just a really good guy. I want an artist that I can trust will sing and represent themselves in a friendly way, not be fake or awkward. If you can speak in a genuine and interested way, you set yourself apart.”
Garland’s career as a young American baritone has blossomed with an enviable variety of work. While he has sung with major companies like Seattle and Cincinnati Opera, he is known for his masterful song recitals, including a Carnegie Hall debut with Warren Jones, and has released two albums of American song. This led the president of NATS in 2014 to name him “the next Thomas Hampson.”
In a similar way to Hampson, who is one of his role models, Garland considers opera, concert work, recitals, and recordings to be important vehicles to his art. “It has come about that way because I sought all of those opportunities,” he says. “At one level, you take the opportunities that you get—being judicious, of course, about what you take. I’m able to work in all of those settings, finding roles that my voice serves.”
One of the ways Garland has stood out from the hordes of lyric baritones is as a champion of American song, as well as being a sought-after interpreter of new music. In May 2016, he will sing the world premiere of Stella Sung and Ernest Hilbert’s The Book Collector at Dayton Opera. He will continue in 2017 by singing the premiere of William Bolcom and Mark Campbell’s new opera, Dinner at Eight, at Minnesota Opera and Gabriela Lena Frank’s Requiem with the Houston Symphony. His most recent CD of American songs was ranked #1 on Amazon’s classical recordings list.
Foundations for a Career
Like the fabled Plymouth Rock that lies just to the south of Garland’s town, and upon which the Pilgrims supposedly stepped as they entered the New World, the foundation for his career came through childhood experiences with music. “I started playing piano at age 9 and I liked playing, but I did not want to take lessons,” the baritone says. “I thought I could just teach myself, but my parents forced me to take lessons, and I’m glad they did. I didn’t compete or aspire to perform in public. I just played. I was blissfully unaware of the fact that I was not good. So, then, in high school, I played the piano in jazz band and picked up some instruments that were needed. I was strictly instrumental, though.”
During his sophomore year in high school, he went on an exchange trip to Scotland, which included the exchange student hosts and the women’s chorus. He took advantage of the fact that he was sharing a tour bus with so many girls. Toward the end of the trip, the chorus director suggested he should join the choir. He declined, saying that he was strictly an instrumentalist. The teacher pointed out that Garland could accompany the chorus on piano, and for that he would receive an A grade. He also pointed out that the girl he was sitting next to would be in that class too. The teacher was obviously a very smart recruiter.
So, Garland changed his schedule around to register for chorus. The first day of class, the director said they wouldn’t be using the piano that day and perhaps he could sit in the back with the other guys. Since the other guys were singing, Garland decided to go ahead and sing along with them. Probably just as the teacher had hoped, Garland found his calling. “Singing in choir eventually became my favorite thing to do in high school,” he says. “I went to All State and I loved it.
“I knew that wherever I went to college, I would be in the chorus. I [wasn’t] going to major in music, because that’s crazy!” He ended up at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, which he says was his safety school. Music education was a possibility in his mind, though he was still not considering a musical career. He auditioned for the choirs at the beginning of school.
“Dr. E. Wayne Abercrombie was the director and he heard all our auditions,” Garland says. “I was the first one of the day, and he said, ‘You’re in!’ I said, ‘Don’t you need to hear the other people?’ He said, ‘No. Also, you should sign up for voice lessons, which you can take as a non-major with a grad TA.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not serious about this. I just want to do chorus.’
“The next morning, he called my dorm room at 8 a.m.! You remember college, so you know what 8 a.m. means to an undergraduate just starting college. He meant business! He said, ‘The sign-up for voice lessons is today.’ I said, ‘All right! All right!’”
Garland signed up for an audition, but he didn’t have any solo songs to sing. So they gave him a German folksong and told him to go ahead and learn it. Garland didn’t know German, but he learned and pronounced it correctly for the audition. The rest, as they say, is history.
“They put me with a great TA, and in one 30-minute voice lesson I made more progress than I had in nine years of piano study,” he says. “He told me to do this and this, and this sound came out, and it was really good. That first 30-minute lesson, I learned about the ping, getting the tone forward in your mask, and proper breathing. Somehow we covered all that stuff in 30 minutes. It usually takes a year to hit all those points. I liked it, so I switched my major to voice performance. Just to be safe, I kept my music education major as well.”
When asked if coming to solo singing later in life was an advantage or disadvantage to him, Garland says that his musical ability didn’t just happen at once. “This goes back to my theory on talent,” he explains. “No one questions that Mozart was a genius. But he was playing instruments, exploring, enjoying, and making music from the time he was 4 years old. All of that work went into his ability. That environment and those experiences played a larger role than some people might think. I always wanted to play, listen, and figure out chords. A friend of mine had music notation software and, instead of playing outside, I sometimes locked myself in the computer room and figured out how to write the notes to ‘Wipe Out’ or whatever rock song of the time.”
His last two years of chorus in high school, a new director took over who was a vocal technician. The director insisted that they learn technique and learn to read music, and Garland really paid attention. He shares this to say that when he stepped into that first voice lesson in college, his singing voice didn’t appear out of nowhere.
Graduate School
“There are two important things when you’re choosing a grad school,” Garland says about why he chose the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for his master’s and artist diploma. “Your private teacher has to be a perfect match, and Bill [William] McGraw was a good match for me. We had four wonderful years. Apart from that, it was the comprehensive education that they promoted in the master’s and artist diploma. You need to study your languages, acting, and dancing. It was a tough environment in that they held you to a high standard, but it wasn’t competitive in a toxic kind of way. That was just what I needed at the time.”
Garland remembers that during the orientation for auditions, his soon-to-be teacher stood up and said, “Your master’s degree doesn’t guarantee you a career. In fact, it doesn’t guarantee you anything. It’s about networking, making connections, and spreading the word about yourself. You cultivate an image.”
“Your education is what you make of it,” Garland says. “You sign up for the courses. You take the classes. You ask the questions you need to. You do the homework. You practice and then practice it again. I spent a lot of time in the library, and when I was learning a song, I would listen to everyone singing that song. There’s definitely something special about having to pull out the CDs and vinyl records and putting them on.
“They tell you everything you need to know when you’re at school,” he continues. “Whether you take that advice is a different story.”
In discussing Garland with his manager Mirshak, it’s clear that learning those lessons helped set Garland apart. “When people come in and sing for me, less than 40 percent of the people come in and say ‘hello.’” Mirshak says. “Of those, many are not an honest hello. I wonder if they know anything about the company or the agency they are singing for. If they don’t, that’s a mistake. If you’re able to ask one simple question or talk about an artist they represent, you already put yourself in the top 20 percent. But singers want the job so badly that they forget that companies want good people—singers that they can relate to and their audiences can relate to.” That friendliness and collegiality is what Mirshak values most in Garland and all of the singers he represents.
Managing an Image
Garland is an excellent example of the successful 21st-century classical singer in that he is an artist that also understands how to promote himself and create the right image. He talked about the recent controversy with Knoxville Opera’s audition listing for “age-appropriate, attractive” people.
“Kim Whitman wrote a very intelligent response to that,” Garland says, “and her point was that while the optics of the posting were unfortunate, you do have to make yourself attractive in the larger sense. You need to make yourself attractive to the company and you do that by getting the best headshots, putting together your reviews, and overseeing what people say about you in articles.
“I remember Barbra Streisand on CBS Sunday Morning, and they showed footage of when the cameras were rolling but they hadn’t started the interview yet. She is telling them how to light her face and adjusting the camera angles. At first, I thought she was telling them something that wasn’t her job, but then later I thought, ‘No, that is her job. Millions of people are going to see this, and she has to be portrayed as the great Barbra Streisand as she always had.’ So, don’t put out grainy YouTube videos for everyone to see. Don’t have less than perfect headshots. Don’t let yourself be quoted as something that’s contrary to your image.
“I’ve heard that this is strictly emphasized at the Academy of Vocal Arts and this is something I’ve noticed in their graduates. They’re always friendly—but they never say the wrong thing when they’re in rehearsal, when they’re being introduced to somebody, when they’re meeting donors, when they’re hanging out after rehearsal.”
Garland didn’t always understand how to present himself. “Early on, I was socially quite awkward, and it’s still something I need to work on,” he reveals. “But, how you interact with your colleagues is important, and it’s not so much about being clever. It’s about interacting with polish. Also, the general director that casts you is going to want to hang out with you for five weeks. Unless you’re Sam Ramey and you have a monumental voice, there are lots of people who sing as well as you do, and you have to be fun to hang out with.”
A quick search of “Andrew Garland” on Google will inevitably result in shirtless pictures of the singer from the notorious “Barihunks” website, including a picture of Garland pumping iron in his Barihunks t-shirt. What does he think about the Barihunks phenomenon? “Dan Okulitch said it best: It’s like the Kardashians. If you stop talking about it, it will go away,” Garland says.
“I want to go on record, though, saying that the man who runs that website knows his opera—and while he does sometimes feature images of people who are not international-level singers, he does know a good singer when he hears one,” he continues. “It’s tempting to get the free press, and I can’t deny that I have given into it. It increases your visibility on the web but, of course, it’s not purely musical and artistic content. The best way to balance that is to use production photos.”
Garland insists, however, that working out is not about publicity. “I don’t enjoy going into gyms and lifting weights and [doing] other resistance-based exercise, but I force myself to do it because it’s good for me, like eating my vegetables,” he says. “Recently, a lot of regional directors have you running around onstage and singing the same notes that Rossini wrote. There’s a lot more running and singing. I have to be in peak physical condition for this.
“Working out is good for you, anyway, and is also good for mental focus,” he continues. “So, it’s not primarily a physical appearance thing, although that does not hurt you. Also, you cannot eat anything you want. I’m not talking about getting fat. I’m talking about being healthy and having energy and focus.”
Aside from physical aspects, how singers represent themselves musically also determines success. “There are a couple things that set me apart from the numerous other lyric baritones,” he says. “One of them is the legitimate recognition for the quality of my recitals, and the other is coloratura. You have to be known for doing something. If they talk about Andrew Garland, they should be able to say A and B right away.”
Singing Songs
When asked why he wanted to represent Garland, Mirshak knows immediately. “I am really impressed with artists that can do opera, concert work, recitals, and crossover as well,” Mirshak says. “He can do a lot of things. Not that it’s completely necessary, but when you have that ability, it will help you get work. He would say it’s not important, but he is a good looking guy and he works out a lot. Andrew has a lot of qualities that people are looking for. Conductors love working with him because he is so flexible, and I can say, ‘If you don’t believe me, just ask this person and this person.’ I love that.”
Garland’s flexibility has been a great strength as his recital career has grown. “I have very successful colleagues who sing all over the world,” Garland says, “at La Scala and the Met, and they ask me how to get recital work. I say, ‘You’re asking me?’ The recital component requires that you go after it a lot harder. I have a lot of people to thank for that. I would not have my recital career without Donna Loewy and without the Marilyn Horne Foundation or the New York Festival of Song.”
Garland also credits Warren Jones, with whom he collaborated at Carnegie Hall and in other New York recitals. Speaking of Jones, Garland insists, “He is a model for how you should do everything, including greet people, remember their names, how to pack for a trip. He does everything right, not just the practicing, but the performing, the speaking, and the teaching.
“It takes so much to prepare the program, but then also to perform it like it’s a role that you’ve performed a hundred times,” he continues. “When you do get that serious recital opportunity, you should perform that same program in front of a live audience at least three times before the big opportunity. Sometimes, you have to accept less money to do that, but you have to perform it a number of times before you do it ‘for real.’”
Coloring the Sound
If you listen to Garland in person or in one his clips online, his marvelous technique and beautiful tone are immediately obvious. He doesn’t just sing with one unending flow of beautiful sound, however. One of his greatest strengths is his ability to use different colors and articulation to characterize the songs and bring out the meaning of the poetry.
“Stephen Lord said, ‘Once you realize you’re not Jascha Heifetz, you have to realize how you contribute to the musical world,’” Garland shares. “Fortunately, early on, I realized that I wasn’t Dmitri Hvorostovsky. He gave a recital in Chicago recently, and it was just Russian romantic songs, and that lack of variety did not bother anybody. Matthias Goerne sang a program of all obscure Schumann, and I was not bored for a second because he has that sound. So, where do I contribute? What is it that I do that contributes to the audience? It’s presenting variety and songs that I can say something with.
“It was a discovery I had to make through lots of programming, but also sitting through years of monotonous and formulaic recitals,” he continues. “Now, granted, your degree recitals have to feature French, German, Italian—but even within that, you can find a nice flow and variety. On one level, I ask what would I want to sit through—but on another level, I want to be entertained myself. Another thing is not to make it too challenging and pace yourself.”
Mirshak agrees. “The essence of great singing for me is coloring the music and taking a chance to make it your own, not just doing it like the recording,” he says. “I always go back to the question, ‘What is the purpose of music? Why are we doing what we’re doing?’ We’re out to make a difference in this world and music is important. If I’m out for the money and I’m an artist, I’m going to be miserable. Artists like Andrew remind me [about that], because they break that fourth wall in performance. That’s what I want to feel when I go to the concert hall. I want to be moved. I want something different. I don’t want to hear the recording.”
And when you talk with Garland, you get the feeling that he is genuinely enjoying himself as an artist. “We had our second Cenerentola last night, and this morning we visited a group of fifth graders,” Garland says. “One of them asked me if I liked acting. I said that I hoped it showed and I wanted the audience to share in my enjoyment. Dandini is my favorite role. I don’t identify with him any more than anyone else would, but who wouldn’t want to be a prince for a day and do whatever you want with no consequences? Then, you can sing the coloratura and interpolate even more. Secretly, I like to sing Dandini even more than Figaro. All the responsibility of the plot is on Figaro’s shoulders and he only has two bars of coloratura. That’s not enough. Every page of Dandini is coloratura!”
Maintaining Balance
While enjoying a thriving performing career, Garland is also a husband and father. He stressed that none of this would be possible without a support team. “That’s a wife who is willing to let me go for periods of time and work and keep the house,” Garland says. “We also have parents who will watch our kids.
“It really is true that behind every successful man is a great woman and she is great in her support of me,” he continues. “How do you make it work? If everyone is willing, then it will work—but if someone is not willing, then you have to sit down and talk about it. That can change. Maybe you signed up for it 10 years ago, but it’s not what you thought it was going to be and you have to reevaluate.”
Managing a Career
Part of Garland’s support team has also been his agent. Mirshak has run his own agency for the past 13 years after working at prestigious firms like Columbia Artists Management. He began managing after earning his degrees in voice, teaching at universities, and realizing that he could help bridge the divide between singers and the business of singing.
“Just like any relationship, the singer and I have to work at it together,” Mirshak says. “Not every voice teacher is great with every student, and it’s the same with an agent. We have a planning meeting once a year, set forth our goals, talk about what’s working and not working. That’s really important. I have to be involved with the career. I don’t want to be a booking agent. That’s not for me. I wanted to make a difference since I knew about singing and knew about the business.”
Garland is shaping a career that is increasingly varied and increasingly common in the modern classical music industry. His focus on making each performance meaningful and personal ensures that he always has something unique to say.
