Casting the VocalNet: Ohio
The Vocal Arts Resource Network, or VocalNet, is a non-profit service organization committed to ensuring that the vocal arts remain an integral part of Ohio’s cultural growth. Founded in 1994, VocalNet has made a striking impact on the vocal music industry in Ohio, supporting both professional and community-based vocal artists, choirs, presenters, educators, and other music organizations.
Founder Carol Notestine acts as the full-time executive director of VocalNet, which currently has 200 members and mails out 3,000 copies of its quarterly newsletter. Membership costs $25, with benefits including a personal listing in the VocalNet Directory, invitations to special VocalNet events, free publicity for personal artistic events, discounts to arts events and retail merchants, and access to specific members-only portions of the network’s Web site at www.vocalohio.org. VocalNet offers discounted memberships to students, couples, and groups of all sizes.
Notestine’s goals are encapsulated in the following five areas: communication, concerts, continuing education, advocacy, and community outreach. VocalNet’s communication programs facilitate networking throughout the whole vocal community in Ohio, with its quarterly Vocal Arts Resource Newsletter, its statewide directory and its Web site. The newsletter is full of information about statewide music events; on- and off-line resources for vocal artists, including books, Web sites, videos, and DVDs; listings of job and audition opportunities; and feature articles by professionals. For example, the 2001 winter issue featured a special section, “Your Vocal Health,” that focused on The Alexander Technique.
VocalNet also sponsors a recital series, an annual voice conference, several annual competitions, and continuing education endeavors. The VocalNet education programs create unique opportunities for Ohio artists to interact and grow both avocationally and as professionals. The “Meet the Masters” program, for example, allows members to mingle with artists at post-concert receptions and to participate in master classes with world-renowned artists such as tenor François Clemmons.
In addition to presenting a seminar at the VocalNet Voice Conference in June 2001, Clemmons also appeared in an unique concert that culminated the conference, Ohio Song with Style. The concert was a showcase of the diversity of song in Ohio, and featured Clemmons singing American spirituals. The concert included members of the Cleveland Opera performing classics by Verdi, Mozart, Donizetti, Offenbach, and Bernstein, as well as the Turning Point Barbershop Quartet.
Notestine’s enthusiasm for the concert is evident in her description of it: “It was thrilling to see these different types of music presented on the same concert. You realize that it’s the same voice, whether it’s blues, opera, or spirituals!”
Notestine believes that VocalNet’s inclusive, all-embracing mission is integral to its success. As stated in its brochure, “VocalNet recognizes that those who appreciate the vocal arts can be found in all walks of life, possessing many levels of experience, skill, and training.” Furthermore, programs sponsored by VocalNet encourage all styles and genres of vocal music, including classical, jazz, blues, gospel, musical theater, and barbershop.
Asked recently about which VocalNet activity brought her the most personal pride, Notestine pointed to the “Art Song Recital Competition.” It is a highly competitive, annual event that honors three singer/accompanist teams with the distinction of being named “VocalNet Art Song Winners.” As part of the “Art Song Recital,” VocalNet also sponsors three post-competition recitals each year to honor a leading vocal teacher in Ohio, and at each, one of the three winning “Art Song” teams performs their chosen repertoire. In addition to the honor associated with the competition award, the opportunity to perform in a different part of the state and the media attention generated by the post-competition recitals, the “Art Song” winners receive three hours of coaching with one of the Ohio vocal teachers honored by the recitals.
Notestine currently manages a VocalNet budget of $128,000, which represents funding from corporate, foundation, and individual sources. Also, 3 percent of the budget is supported by the State of Ohio. Part-time workers and contractors assist Notestine in the extensive administrative duties required in running this multi-faceted organization. She recognizes that the work never ends, but also that she is doing work she believes is important. While whistling—or singing, rather—while she works may make her demanding job easier, she can look to vocal artists and organizations across the entire state to realize that she has changed the face of the Ohio music community and enhanced its relationship with the general population at a time when spirited sharing among communities has never been more important.
To Sing or Not to Sing.. LA
Two years ago, my Internet search for a voice teacher revealed a whole new classical vocal realm of resources. Among the more intriguing resources was Classical Singer Magazine. Issue by issue, my insight into the professional culture of the classical singer has grown. Noticing a preponderance of training advertisements in the 212 area code, I realized that conspicuously absent, by comparison, were Southern California opportunities … or so I thought, not being “plugged in” to the “local” scene. For really serious classical vocal training, a New York move seemed inevitable. No small undertaking, this.
My Internet search brought new life to my singing aspirations with the discovery of another intriguing resource, the Classical Singers Association (CSA). To my delight, it’s a Los Angeles organization with monthly events a mere eighty miles from home! My first CSA encounter? It was with Horst Günter, the distinguished German baritone of the 1950s and 60s whom today’s classical singer generation recognizes as Thomas Hampson’s voice teacher. I was impressed. Over the next two years, monthly CSA events afforded opportunities to marry up theory from Classical Singer Magazine with practical insight into not only singing, but acting, scene staging, career management and vocal health maintenance. Just as important, the CSA events didn’t leave a major dent in my wallet. or play havoc with my otherwise busy schedule.
Occasionally, amazing parallels arose between Classical Singer Magazine articles and my experience at CSA events. For example, early on, Opera San Jose’s Daniel Helfgot held an opera scenes workshop. I had read in that month’s issue of his apparently out of print and unavailable book, The Third Line. My CSA association permitted me to procure a copy from Mr. Helfgot and read it in time for his CSA workshop, in which he transformed various CSA participants’ presentations into marvelously polished scenes in virtually minutes.
My experiences to date include a no-nonsense auditions class by Dr. Alan Smith of USC and Tanglewood, Los Angeles Opera’s William Vendice, and Opera Pacific’s Henry Venanzi; a class by Metropolitan Opera’s Ken Noda; a presentation by Nathan Wang, composer of On Gold Mountain (with the added treat of scenes performed by cast members); an opera scenes program by Los Angeles Opera’s Christopher Harlan; an oratorio workshop by Los Angeles Master Chorale’s new director, Grant Gershon; an intriguing look (complete with color slides!) at vocal physiology and care, by Robert Andrews, M.D., Director of The Voice Center of Southern California; and the singular opportunity of a private lesson with the eminent Mr. Günter.
An exceptional treat was Elizabeth Futral’s special appearance between Los Angeles Opera performances of Giulio Cesare. She graciously shared her career experiences, from early struggles to current challenges balancing her personal life with her now immensely successful professional career. The icing on the cake has been performing with an impressive array of high-calibre singers in CSA Spring Concerts. Collateral opportunities to network at CSA events have shown that Southern California is not a wasteland for aspiring vocal professionals after all. For instance, I discovered Ann Baltz’s OperaWorks practically next door!
Since 1992, the CSA has played host to such eminent singers as Frederica von Stade, Barbara Hendricks, Leona Mitchell, Rodney Gilfrey and Jerry Hadley; and to such distinguished conductors as Los Angeles Master Chorale’s Paul Salamunovich, Julliard’s Randall Behr, Metropolitan and San Francisco Operas’ Valerie Ryvkin, Los Angeles Opera’s Peter Hemmings and Christopher Hahn, Opera Pacific’s John DeMain, San Diego Opera’s Ian Campbell, and Long Beach Opera’s Michael Milenski.
A work of love and devotion by its founder, Shigemi Matsumoto, a distinguished classical singer and voice teacher in her own right, the CSA celebrates its tenth anniversary as a truly unique organization that educates classical singers in the ways of the profession, more than living up to its mission statement “to assist singers of opera and classical music to develop their performing and professional skills and to further their knowledge and understanding of a professional singing career.” Information about the CSA is available online at http://members.aol.com/thecsala/.
Russell H. Herbert Jr., lives in Riverside County, CA, and has studied voice with Jacqueline Jarrett at The Hartford Conservatory, Jane Westbrook, and Shigemi Matsumoto.
Embracing Growth, Empowering Change: NY
The Professional Women Singers Association (PWSA) currently is celebrating its 20th anniversary of networking and support for women singers. In two decades, the New York-based group has consistently morphed to adapt to the needs of its members.
First created to advance the careers of women singers, PWSA has become a major networking and support source for its members as well as for a larger singing community. Originating member Marilyn Florez Mosel recalls that the first meeting in 1982 was a seminar on auditioning, attended by a mere handful of PWSA members. The PWSA now embraces 43 active members in its two membership categories: 29 Performing Members and 14 Members. It also sponsors dozens of activities a year and last year it secured its non-profit status from the IRS.
Prospective PWSA members are required to audition for a panel of professional judges. Those who pass are invited to become Performing Members: they pay $85 yearly to attend meetings and events, be featured on the PWSA Website, be eligible for a yearly recital grant, and have access to comprehensive audition information. Each year, opera company managers across the country are contacted and encouraged to include Performing Members at management-only auditions. In fact, several of the PWSA’s Performing Members have landed positions with premiere companies via this networking forum.
Members include women singers who are supportive of the PWSA mission and enjoy the continuing education opportunities available to them. Members pay $50 a year to receive all general mailings, attend meetings, and receive PWSA discounts for master classes and seminars. They also may sing for feedback or advance to Performing Member status when those auditions are held each fall.
Current PWSA President Phyllis Fay Farmer said that the greatest challenge of keeping the group active is “recognizing that the activities that fulfill (the) PWSA’s mission change. The greatest challenge is to recognize the need for change and then respond with positive action.”
In the early 1980s, the PWSA’s primary goal was to generate auditions and job referrals. By the 1990s, many members were settling into home and family life, while struggling amidst the job scarcity invoked by the economy. PWSA meetings centered on discussions of the challenges related to obtaining singing work, as well as balancing singing with home and family. By 1998, e-mail was implemented as a convenient and effective way to keep in touch between meetings.
By 2000, “most (members) had transitioned from full-time office work to part- or full-time singer,” Farmer explained. “The needs of the group have become balancing time spent marketing one’s singing career with time spent practicing and performing.” Continuing education opportunities have sought to address this need through an impressive roster of guest speakers and seminar leaders, including the upcoming co-sponsorship of a career-planning seminar by Ann Baltz of OperaWorks.
The PWSA depends on the contributions of its members. Donna Slawsky, a singer who also owns a Web design business, lectured to members about Internet use and research, and created the PWSA’s comprehensive Web site at www.womensingers.org. Musicologist and singer Susanna Lodato recently spoke to members about strategic planning methods. Other members currently are generating mailings to producing organizations, setting meeting dates with guest speakers, and planning the 20th anniversary party.
A new PWSA initiative is the genesis of “Expanding Our Singing Career” focus groups. In 2002, focus groups of Performing Members are commencing for recitalists, cabaret artists, opera singers, and oratorio soloists. Groups are meeting to brainstorm and share resources that address the needs unique to their group.
Several members of the PWSA Executive Committee concurred that time constraints present a challenge for both their own volunteer positions and with scheduling events for members. However, they also agreed that their lives and careers have been richly rewarded through the support they have found with other group members.
Said BeBe Broadwater, PWSA Second Vice President: “When I first heard of (the) PWSA, I was doubtful that women singers would be anything but competitive with each other and I have found the opposite to be true … it is life affirming.”
As the famous author Leo Tolstoy once said, “true life is lived when tiny changes occur.” The tiny—and not so tiny—changes that have been implemented by the PWSA over the past two decades have affected the lives of many talented women, offering true opportunities, true friendship, and a bit of the true life that even Tolstoy would have envied.
Virtual Home is Where the Art is: Boston
The Boston Singers’ Resource (BSR) is an website for the New England music community, but it also is much more. It is a commitment to a community of individuals, and a passionate intention to nurture them and promote their singing careers.
The force behind the BSR is Lynn Shane, a self-defined “crossover” singer who works in both classical music and theater venues. She was inspired by the benefits that networking organizations such as The New England Theatre Conference and Stagesource have provided to the New England theater community, and had long dreamed of creating a similar resource for classical singers.
“I’ve always been ‘The Organizer,’ ” Shane said recently, “the one who gathered all the kids in the neighborhood to put on the plays in the garage, etc. So people who know me are not surprised that I started this group.”
The mission of the BSR is to strengthen and enhance the New England classical singing community by providing a place for networking and promoting new singers. From January to October 2001, Shane worked with Web designers Phil Montero and George Hughen to design a user-friendly site to meet these goals. She spent last summer compiling an extensive mailing list of nearly 1,500 people to who she mailed an announcement about the site when it was unveiled in October 2001.
The site can be found at www.bostonsingersresource.com. It is a wellspring of links and resources available to its 200-plus members, which presently include singers, directors, producers, accompanists, and composers from all six New England states. Resources include audition information, message boards, searchable directories, products, and event calendars. Membership costs $25 a year for unlimited access.
In addition to distributing information to singers, the site also provides a service for brides, churches, and event planners seeking singers and accompanists. Perhaps most exciting feature of the site is that it offers information about the BSR Annual Audition, the organization’s first major activity held March 22 and 23 of this year.
In the audition, singers are given four minutes (or six minutes if the accompanist also is auditioning) to perform to a room full of regional directors, producers, and composers who may call the performers back to discuss contacts or further auditions. Shane explained, “This allows singers to sing for a lot of organizations without having to schedule individual appointments, and likewise, auditors can screen many singers at once.”
In its short tenure, the BSR has already completed its first major event and its database is growing every day. But Shane clearly has far-reaching concepts for her organization: “(The BSR) is primarily a functional group for information right now. I look forward to expanding this way of thinking to include more peer support and recognition,” she said, adding that she is interested in creating on-going workshop opportunities and discussion groups that are specific to New England and classical singing.
Shane said that she has found it rewarding to create a centralized location for the New England singing network, which has for years functioned by word-of-mouth. She noted that one of her major marketing challenges is to reach individual artists who are not associated with a specific group or academic institution, and therefore may not have received her initial mailing.
Shane admitted that she also struggles with directors and producers who are hesitant to use the Web-based resource she has created because they are attached to their own personal networks. This has not been a surprise to her, but she remains hopeful. “While I realize that larger organizations like Boston Lyric Opera, Handel and Haydn Society, and The Boston Symphony Orchestra will always use artists of national and international stature, I am hoping that they will recognize the value of building community singing spirit and join us,” she said. These organizations could find other ways to support the BSR, Shane suggested, such as through community outreach, education, mentoring, and advisory programs.
Shane summarized her hopes for the BSR this way: “There are many of us who, by choice or not, cannot travel around the world to sing and audition. It is important for us to ally with one another and with other regional arts organizations to instill a sense of pride and ownership in this place we call ‘our arts home.’ ”
Indeed, www.bostonsingersresource.com is far more than an arts Web site: it is a place vocal artists can call home.
