Jennifer Gill, mezzo-soprano, will be appearing on Portland Opera’s main stage this spring as Second Secretary to Mao in the company’s production of Nixon in China, by John Adams. Last fall, Jennifer performed the role of Marian the Librarian inThe Music Man with the Lakewood Theater in Portland, Oregon. Other roles include Flora in La traviata with Oregon Lyric Opera; Hansel in Hansel and Gretel as a resident artist with Portland Opera Works; Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Hata in The Bartered Bride and Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus with Indiana University Opera Theater; First Witch in Dido and Aeneas with the Bel Canto Northwest Vocal Institute; Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte with Portland State University; and with the University of Montana, she played Laurie in Oklahoma, Trudy in the contemporary opera Ruth, and the Beggar in The Beggar’s Opera.
As a featured concert artist, Jennifer has performed with Opera Plus, the Portland Summer Festival, Astoria Performing Arts, Artcore Wyoming, and as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with members of the Billings Montana Symphony.
Jennifer received her performer’s diploma from Indiana University while studying with Costanza Cuccaro, and her bachelor of science in music from Portland State University while studying with Ruth Dobson. Ms. Gill also was a finalist in the 2004 Eleanor Lieber Awards Vocal Competition.
Originally from Wyoming, Jennifer now resides in Portland, where she studies with Rodney Menn and Pamela South.
What were some influential experiences in your youth that led you to a career in music?
When I was 11 years old, completely out of the blue I informed my mother that I would be singing in a talent contest, and I ended up winning first place. From then on, I sang in choirs, vocal competitions, and performed in plays and musicals, on into college. Midway through college, I had briefly switched majors, but a college voice teacher of mine encouraged me to stick with music. It was then that I seriously jumped into the study of music and classical singing with both feet and decided to aim for a career in vocal performance. From that point forward, I haven’t looked back.
What are your goals for the next five years? For the next 10 years?
To keep singing music that I love—and to continue loving it. My goal has always been to develop a path that encompasses music, my family, travel, and the out-of-doors. Ultimately, I would be happy performing four or five main-stage roles a year, supplemented with concerts and voice students.
What has been your career highlight to this point?
Honestly, I would have to say that a career highlight for me was when I had the pleasure of singing a recital for Artcore in Casper, Wyoming. I had come down with a terrible cold and was trying to decide if I could get through the recital. I decided to go for it, relying heavily on technique.
To my surprise, it went beautifully. Technique may have helped carry me through my passaggio with stuffed up, swollen air passages—but in the end, it was about raw determination and a love for singing. In spite of my cold, the audience was full of enthusiasm and very appreciative of the music.
This concert happened to fall on the heels of months of intensive competitions and auditions all over the country where I continually had to try and sell myself. The concert was very timely. It really brought me back to the center and reminded me why we do what we do. There was something so honest and fulfilling about that concert.
What is your favorite part about being an opera singer?
What is there not to love about being an opera singer? We get to research roles and operas. We have an opportunity to act and sing very challenging music in each original language, dressed in full costume, while collaborating with an entire orchestra. It’s an opportunity to take yourself and the audience somewhere else.
How do you balance career and family?
Balancing family and career is ongoing. I am fortunate to have a supportive spouse—that is crucial. Quality of life, home and family have always been important to me. We are also planning to have children in the very near future, which I am thrilled about. But I know there will be sacrifices. However, I am determined to find that balance. I am a firm believer that we all make our own path and we have to make it work for ourselves and those we love.
Soprano Rebecca Whitlow is a versatile artist who performs in concerts and operas both in the United States and abroad, most recently in recital in Florence, Italy. Her opera credits include Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Ms. Wordsworth in Albert Herring, First Lady in The Magic Flute and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni while a resident artist at Academy of Vocal Arts; Annina in La traviata and Amelie in Grand Duchess of Gerolstein at the Opera Company of Philadelphia; and Chocholka in Cunning Little Vixen in Spoleto, Italy.
As a soprano soloist, Rebecca has sung Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Washington Oratorio Society at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., the Fauré Requiem at the Spoleto Festival in Spoleto, Italy, and the Verdi Requiem with the Wayne Oratorio Society in Wayne, Penn.
Rebecca is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts and now performs regularly on the stage of Philadelphia’s Academy of Music in productions mounted by Opera Company of Philadelphia. Upcoming engagements include Verdi’s Requiem in Haverford, Penn., a solo recital in Chestnut Hill, Penn., and participating artist in Lyric Fest in Philadelphia.
What were some influential experiences in your youth that led you to a career in music?
My mom was a fantastic pianist, and I can remember hearing her playing wonderful music when I was young. I think that her love of music and her desire to have me experience making my own music was the most influential experience that led to my career in music. I also really loved performing, and my 4-H leader helped nurture that.
I was playing the piano and narrating skits in elementary school for local and state competitions. We even got one of the skits on a local TV broadcast!
What are your goals for the next five years? For the next 10 years?
Tough question. Basically, I would like to be able to sing more and teach less. It doesn’t mean I dislike teaching—I just like performing more!
In the next five years I would like to see myself established as a soprano “in demand” on the opera as well as concert stage—and then spend the next five years living that dream.
What has been your career highlight to this point?
Singing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
What is your favorite part about being an opera singer?
That would have to be the ability to become any number of personalities—romantic, dreamy, crazy, intense, flighty, bitchy, etc. How fun it is to explore and portray characters [who are] out of the ordinary. Singing high notes is a bit of a rush, too!
Who are some of your role models, mentors or influential people in your life?
One of the most influential people in my life is a colleague that I have known since graduate school. He is also a singer and performs around the world. He has taught me a great deal about the business, not only of singing, but of how to get what you want out of a performance career.
I would hope that, should I ever attain the status that he has as a singer, I can remain as true to myself and down to earth as he has and remember the important things: family and friends.
How do you handle rejection?
You know, as I grow older it is a lot easier to handle than when I first started in the field—not because it is happening any less frequently, but because I have finally learned that it really isn’t anything personal. It is true that we all experience more rejection than acceptance, but without the bad, the good wouldn’t feel as good, would it?
Are there any other thoughts you’d like to share with Classical Singer readers?
Oh, yes! Don’t give up your dreams! It is never too late to find fulfillment through singing. It may not be financial fulfillment, but if it feeds your soul and brightens your outlook, it is worth it. And who knows what may happen down the road!
