Cortez Mitchell, countertenor, is a native of Detroit, Mich. and graduated from Morgan State University with a B.A. in music and a B.S. in mathematics. He has traveled extensively with the world-renowned Morgan State University Choir. Mr. Mitchell has been featured in the following solo performances: Adolphus Hailstork’s Done Made My Vow and R. Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise with the Lincoln Jazz Ensemble and the Paris Orchestra at the Theatre Des Champs Elysees, Joseph Haydn’s Mass in D at the Prague Castle in Czechoslovakia, and Rachmaninoff’s Vespers in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he was reviewed by The Baltimore Sun as “the startlingly pure-toned countertenor.”
Mr. Mitchell has done excerpts from Mozart’s Idomeneo in the role of Idamante and chorus work in Kurt Weil’s Down in the Valley with Morgan State University’s Opera Workshop. He has done excerpts from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro in the role of Cherubino and chorus in Dominic Argento’s The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe with the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music’s opera workshop.
Mr. Mitchell has also made his mark in the competition arena, where he won critical acclaim in the National Association of Teachers and Singers competition, the Baltimore Music Club Competition, the Maryland Opera Society Competition, the Washington International Competition, second place in the Dayton Opera Competition and semi-finalist in the Palm Beach Atlantic Competition.
Mr. Mitchell is currently pursuing a master’s in music at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and is a soloist at St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
What were some influential experiences in your youth that led you to a career in music?
Some of my influential experiences in my youth include singing with the Courville Elementary School concert choir and my church choir. During this time, I was exposed to the classical literature of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and other prominent composers. Even then, at a fairly young age, I knew that music would be an integral part of my life.
What are your goals for the next five years? For the next 10 years?
My goals for the next five years include finishing my master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, spending time in a Young Artist Program, improving my stage presence, and becoming fluent in Italian. Within the next 10 years, my goals include singing leading roles with major U.S. and European opera houses, maintaining a steady career in performance, and starting a private teaching studio.
What has been your career highlight to this point?
It’s hard to narrow my career highlights to one single event. The first is my acceptance into the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program, which helped build my confidence. It is very difficult for me, as a countertenor, to find programs that are interested in my voice type, as well as [interested in] Baroque repertoire. I was turned down by several opera companies because they were not interested in countertenors as young artists. This did not upset me, because I knew that because of my voice I would have a hard road ahead of me. But with this accomplishment, I now know, and believe more strongly, that anything can happen.
The second is my recent success winning third place in the Houston Grand Opera McCollum Competition.
What is your favorite part about being an opera singer?
My favorite part about being an opera singer is the education gained in learning new repertoire, a sense of fulfillment for participating in such a difficult art form, and most of all, just being able to sing and express myself in a variety of ways.
Who are some of your role models, mentors or influential people in your life?
Some of my role models include Leontyne Price, Derek Lee Ragin, and David Daniels. The mentors and influential people in my life are the late Dr. Nathan Carter, Karen Lykes, Betty Ridgeway, Alice Lloyd, and above all my mother, who is not too familiar with opera and classical music but continues to support and encourage me.
If you could sing any one role, what would it be?
If I were able to sing any role, it would be Sesto in Handel’s Giulio Cesare. It is a wonderful role and it suits my voice perfectly.
Are there any other thoughts you’d like to share with Classical Singer readers?
No matter what kinds of adversities and trials come before you, whether it be rejection or negativity, continue to work hard and your efforts will not be in vain. Most of all, remember to be patient, for success is a journey through time and will not become a reality overnight.
Baritone Jason Kaminski received his B.F.A in voice from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.M. in opera from the University of Maryland. Mr. Kaminski is a member of the distinguished Spectrum Resident Opera Artists with the Virginia Opera. During the 2005-2006 season he will perform Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, understudy the Count in The Marriage of Figaro, and participate in the education and outreach program. Mr. Kaminski has sung the roles of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Marcello and Schaunard in La bohème, Dottore Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen, Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, and Sid in Albert Herring.
Recently, Mr. Kaminski placed second in the Classical Singer Competition in New York, fourth in the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, and was one of three singers chosen as a finalist of the National Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists’ Competition. In the past, Mr. Kaminski has been engaged with Pittsburgh Opera, the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Olney Theatre Center, Opera Theater of Northern Virginia, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Bay View Music Festival, and the Music Festival of Lucca, Italy.
What were some influential experiences in your youth that led you to a career in music?
From as early as I can remember, music was part of my life. As a child, I went through two guitars, three keyboards, a drum set, a violin and a karaoke machine. I still feel bad about the racket I must have caused growing up in our house. In the 8th grade, I started to teach myself how to play the piano. We didn’t have a piano at home but conveniently, one was being stored in my classroom at school. I would stay in my homeroom during lunch and recess and practice. I began taking voice lessons and was accepted into the voice program at Carnegie Mellon in my hometown of Pittsburgh.
The program at CMU was designed so that a student could choose to focus on either opera or musical theatre, with a stress on learning a classical vocal technique. In addition, we had dance and acting three times a week. I quickly realized that I couldn’t dance! That’s how I got into opera. I fell in love with it instantly!
What has been your career highlight to this point?
I auditioned for the Lindemann Program this past fall. The auditions were at the Met, in List Hall. I arrived early and was vocalizing in the bathroom. As I was returning from the bathroom, I walked past the main doors to the auditorium, which were open. There was nothing going on in the auditorium at the time, so I decided to take a walk around. I found myself standing right behind the conductor’s podium looking up into this vast hall full of so much history. It was incredible.
At that point a voice in my mind said, “Sing! This may be your only chance for a long time!” And another voice said, “You can’t sing here! You could be caught and banned from singing at the Met forever!” This battle went on for a few minutes. Finally, I decided I had to give it a shot—so I did. I sang a few lines from my audition arias—and now I can say I’ve sung at the Met! I just hope it wasn’t my farewell performance.
Who are some of your role models, mentors, or influential people in your life?
First are my voice teachers, Mildred Miller Posvar and Dominic Cossa. They were not only voice teachers but also mentors in the truest sense. Another is Lorenzo Malfatti, who accepted me into the Music Festival of Lucca Solisti program in Italy. That summer changed my life as a singer. He has the largest catalog of baritone repertoire of anyone I know. Every time I coach with him, he pulls out some old baritone aria that I never knew existed. Finally, a very dear friend, Charlie Riecker. He knows good singing and how to get the best out of his students while always staying positive.
For all of these people who have touched my life, I have immense respect. They are all at a period in their lives when they could be sunning on a beach in Florida, enjoying the pleasures of retirement, but they aren’t. Their pleasure is opera, music, young singers, and sharing knowledge. For this we should all be grateful.
How do you handle rejection?
As an opera singer, we have to have two sides to our personality: the artist side and the business side. We must know when and how to use both sides. Rejection hurts, no matter how much we try to not take it personally, because singing in its nature is completely personal. But that’s where the business side comes in. If you think of the audition process from the opera company’s standpoint, you realize that all they want is to make money from a good product. If they don’t hire you, it simply means that you don’t have what they need to make money from you right now. You may be six inches shorter than the soprano they hired, too young to fit in with the rest of the cast, or anything! One never knows. But it doesn’t mean that you should doubt yourself or feel like you aren’t good enough.
