“We spend all our lives trying to find the right tone. I say, forget tone. Find yourself, and then you can sing.” Those were the words printed on the program for Daniel Ferro’s funeral service, quoted from Ferro (1921–1915) himself. Ferro spent the first part of his career realizing that on the opera stage, and the rest instilling it in others as voice teacher and program director.
Ferro was born Daniel Eisen in New York City on April 10, 1921. A Juilliard and Columbia University graduate, Ferro received a Fulbright scholarship that allowed him further study in Austria and Italy. As a bass-baritone, Ferro sang with the Graz Opera Company, the Israeli Philharmonic, and on the Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center stages.
Ferro was always committed to teaching and education. He joined the faculty at Butler University while still pursuing his solo career. He then returned to New York City where he taught at Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music. In 1972, he joined the Juilliard faculty where he remained until receiving emeritus status in 2006, but continued a relationship with the school giving masterclasses.
Ferro’s teaching extended well beyond Juilliard. He was a guest teacher at nearly all of the major universities both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as maintaining a vibrant private studio in New York City.
In 1995, Ferro and his wife, Joy, started the Daniel Ferro Vocal Program, a summer program where singers could study Italian and beautiful singing in the charming village of Greve in Chianti, Italy. Ferro’s work there over the last two decades (the program celebrated its 21st year last summer) earned Ferro recognition from the city’s mayor.
“The mayor, Paolo Sottini recognizes Daniel as the ambassador of lyric music in Greve in Chianti and acknowledges his international and cultural contribution to Greve and the region,” shared Ferro’s wife, Joy, in an e-mail after her husband’s passing. “He attributes Daniel for establishing Greve in Chianti as a capital of music culture.”
It’s no surprise, then, that even after Ferro’s passing the program will continue. “The [city] of Greve is very supportive and wants to ensure that Daniel’s legacy also continues in Greve,” says Joy.
And Joy, longtime manager of the program, intends to carry the torch. “I am committed to continue to pass on to the next generation Daniel’s legacy and life-long commitment to the vocal arts,” she vows. “So many of his students and so many of our faculty are very enthusiastic about continuing his work and we will be moving forward after the first of the year.”
Not long into his career, Ferro changed his given name of Eisen, which means “iron” in German, to Ferro, which means “iron” in Italian. From his firm dedication to teaching, to his unwavering love of and commitment to healthy singing, his name is most fitting to his iron-clad approach to life and song.
To read more about Ferro and the Daniel Ferro Vocal Program, see “Torch Song,” in the January 2014 issue available in the online CS archives or visit
www.ferrovocalprogram.com.
