The Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics will be long gone by the time you read these words, but as I write, they are happening right in my back yard. The whole city is bright with the Olympic spirit as well as the Olympic lights, and it has been a wonderful experience. To watch people who are the best in the world is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I’ve watched these athletes go through exactly what singers go through before a performance: the nerves, the deep breathing, the visualizing right before performing, the concentration, and then the explosion of perfect performance.
How did they get to this level of peak performance? How can singers get to that Olympic level? How can we get back to that level when we lose it?
In this issue, we are introducing the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, along with several singer groups that have begun to use the book and its concepts. The Artist’s Way details a revolving, 12-week self-help program to help you find your peak performance, and to help you to move forward in your career and your life. It can be done by yourself, in a group or online. There are many ways to get to peak performance, but many singers and other creative types have used this particular program successfully, and I thought I would suggest it to the Classical Singer community. It seemed that since the feeling of coming together after 9/11, we might be ready for a group approach. Our writer Marney K. Makridakis introduces the program and the singer groups who already have started the program.
Singers who would like to be part of an online group working through The Artist’s Way or similar self-help programs are welcome to join the new CS online forum. Only those who join will be able to view this forum because we wanted it to be a safe place meant only for singers who are serious about helping each other. There is no charge but you will have to request access from the moderator. (For more information, see page 15.)
In the coming months, CS will continue to discuss concepts from The Artist’s Way and other books that singers are finding inspiring. Please let the CS community know about books that have helped you. Write me at the address below and I’ll pass the word along.
Marney will introduce you to four singer groups in New York, Boston, Ohio and Los Angeles that are doing wonderful things for their members, and she’ll tell you how to form your own group and why.
Another topic you’ll find in this issue has to do with how to find a good voice teacher. I’ve had a tough time knowing how to approach this topic because it is politically very sensitive. Yet singers really need information here. We are grateful to David Jones and Cindy Sadler for taking time out of their schedules to help singers with some principles to use when making this critical decision. I want to stress that even though teachers are mentioned, CS does not and will not endorse any teacher or method of singing. Our job is simply to present different viewpoints.
The last point I want to raise is discussed in David’s article on voice teachers, but I want to say it again. We continue to hear too many reports about abuse in the teaching studio. It has been several years since CS has discussed this and a new generation of singers obviously needs to have this brought to light again. If you’re facing abuse now and want help, or if you’ve dealt with it in the past and can help other singers, please contact me. We’re planning an article on the topic again to help the next generation of singers to be able to recognize what abuse is and to remove themselves from these damaging situations. This is a time where we need members of the Classical Singer community to come forward and tell their stories so that other singers can recognize themselves and take appropriate action.
Thanks for all you do. —CJ Williamson, Editor
cjw@classicalsinger.com
P.O. Box 95490
South Jordan, UT 84095
