Most people who have visited Albuquerque, New Mexico, know the city for its beautiful views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the spicy green chile enchiladas, and the adobe houses that dot the desert landscape. It may come as a surprise then that the largest city in New Mexico is developing a reputation for art song, largely due to the efforts of Jacqueline Zander-Wall, the founder and director of the Vocal Artistry Art Song Festival. Now in its fifth year, the festival highlights the beauty and importance of art song and adds an important event to this richly varied artistic corner of the Southwest.
Every spring, singers ranging from junior high to young professionals gather from all parts of New Mexico for two days to perform art songs, attend recitals, and participate in masterclasses with renowned artists. The stated goal of the festival is “to encourage the further study of art song repertoire.” However, just as important to those who attend is that the festival is also a competition with generous cash prizes and performance opportunities for the winners. Because the competition is open only to New Mexico residents or those who attend school in the state, these singers find in the festival a unique opportunity.
The idea for a competition in the “Land of Enchantment” came to Zander-Wall as she considered her own financial struggles in finishing school. Zander-Wall was teaching at the University of New Mexico when somebody asked if she knew any arts organizations that needed funds. “Well, everyone needs funds, especially in New Mexico,” she tells me in a recent interview. “I gave them a list of about seven groups that needed funding, and the last thing I put on the list was the possibility of a vocal competition.
“When I was studying in Santa Barbara, putting myself through school and so poor, there was a competition put on by the Pillsbury Foundation,” she continues. “The prizes paid just enough to get you through a semester, and it really helped me for a few years. I was so grateful for them, and when I moved back to Albuquerque, I realized there weren’t these kinds of opportunities for the students here. So many of the students work too much while they’re going to school, and that’s a shame.”
Most singers these days know the struggles of working jobs while studying full time and singing part time. Zander-Wall decided that she wanted to do something that would help in a genuine way. The prizes of a vocal competition needed to be significant to offset some of the costs associated with being a music student.
“The prizes for this competition won’t solve the problems of paying for school,” says Zander-Wall, “but they might allow students to take a coaching, study with a teacher, or have experiences with summer programs and the like.” The idea is to provide not only the artistic experience of art song but also a monetary support to help students through their degrees or to move on to the next step. Private donors have made this easier to achieve by providing the money for the awards and personally presenting them to the winning singers at the final concert.
The application fee is kept very low, just $15, so no one is discouraged from entering. If the singer can’t bring their own pianist, one is provided for them, so the process is made as accessible as possible. The low overhead costs are largely offset by a generous grant from the festival’s sponsor, the Meredith Foundation. Because of the affordability of entrance and the generous prizes, the competitors arrive from all corners of New Mexico and from families both wealthy and poor.
Zander-Wall insists that this competition is also about educating not only the singers but also educating the community about art song. “New Mexico doesn’t have a lot of activity in the arts compared to many other states,” she says. “It’s nice to have an organization and a competition that highlights this beautiful and stimulating world of art song.”
The festival’s goal to educate sets it apart. In contrast with other competitions where the singer competes and simply waits for results, singers who participate in the Vocal Artistry Festival spend the whole weekend singing, meeting other singers, and attending masterclasses. It is like a mini conference. All of the events are free and open to the public, including the competitors’ performances, recitals by the guest clinicians, masterclasses, and a finals concert where the awards are given.
Zander-Wall elaborates on why she chose art song as the focus of the festival as opposed to opera. “I’m a lover of art song,” she says, “having studied with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He and Lotte Lehmann were first opera singers and then put it aside to concentrate on Lied. Art song is such a huge, delicious world, and a lot of it is untouched in many regions. The singers aren’t judged in the competition on their selections, but it’s so great when they bring in songs that aren’t well known and people are exposed to the literature.”
Zander-Wall’s choice to focus on art song also corresponds with her target audience for the competition—singers from junior high to graduate school. “Young singers sometimes are too young to sing opera, which requires more maturity,” she reasons. “You can also develop your artistic senses earlier with art song than with opera. Art song doesn’t require an orchestra. You just need a good piano and a good pianist. There are also so many things out there already for opera with the Met auditions and other things like that, so why not highlight art song?”
Zander-Wall’s love for this art form is obvious as she describes each song like a blank canvas. “The singer doesn’t have a costume, a set, an orchestra, or other singers,” she says. “You have to create an entire world in a tiny miniature painting, all created musically. Each song is its own painting and its own world. The singer is the director, conductor, and everything else. It’s exciting and scary at the same time.”
Learning to work with a pianist is also a skill that is built through the Vocal Artistry Festival. “It’s hard sometimes for these kids to find the harmony they need with the pianist if they haven’t worked with them for a long time,” explains Zander-Wall. “This year, we’re trying to encourage more student pianists to work with the singers. We can then offer something for the pianists as well, as there is a great deal they can gain from an experience like this. It’s so important because those two people are just the medium of the composer and the poem.”
The Vocal Artistry Art Song Festival has evolved and expanded since its first year in 2008. The competition was first offered every other year but now takes place every year. To accommodate singers at different ages, there were first three divisions and now there are five. Consequently, the number of entries grows every year despite the competition being limited to New Mexico residents and students.
Another aspect that has evolved is the festival’s choice to focus on a different national style of song each year. This began in 2012 when French Canadian baritone Bruno Laplante was recommended as a clinician for the festival. “Since he was a French speaker and specialized in mélodie, I thought it made sense to highlight these different styles,” says Zander-Wall. “Last year we did Italian song, which really shed some light on songs that aren’t performed a lot. This year is the one everyone has been waiting for, with Herta Werner coming from Hamburg and focusing on Romantic German Lieder.” Zander-Wall is excited about future plans to highlight English song and, especially, Spanish song—a must for New Mexico.
While the prospect of beginning a competition like this may seem daunting, Zander-Wall stresses that it is within anyone’s reach. Having the support of the University of New Mexico was a big deal, and now there is a board with members that help share the load. “It is a challenge,” Zander-Wall acknowledges, “because I tend to try and do everything myself to get it all done, but there are others who can help. People in other states can do just as I have done!”
The Vocal Artistry Festival continues to expand its mission, including an outreach program to junior high and high schools that introduces students to the beauty of art song. Zander-Wall hopes that this will encourage more young singers to enter and take advantage of this unique festival in their states. “Kids in high school and junior high need these kinds of performing opportunities. I think they are some of the most important divisions that we have. They’re the ones who really need art song, and so do their families.”
Most of all, this is the reward for Zander-Wall: to see young singers be inspired by beautiful music. “I want the experience to be positive for everyone involved,” she says. “The world of music is very cutthroat. Eventually, everyone is going to run into that—but the world of art song is open and inspiring and everyone can have a part in that. I want people to come away from the competition having an inspiring experience. There aren’t many art forms like this where one singer stands up there with no microphone and sings from memory. People don’t see that very often. There’s a universe of possibility when you’re standing up there singing, and that’s the beauty of art song.”
To learn more about the festival, visit www.vocalartistryartsong.com.
