Between tuition, airfare, room and board, and the money you lose by not working for a summer, your three month summer program may cost more than you think. And while many offer a training that over time will pay for itself, it’s understandable that this economy (whether the recession is “over” or not) is not conducive to a summer in Austria. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t still get in some extra credit this year with a more affordable, shorter-term program. And for the classical singers supplementing their income with a nine-to-five, many can be done within your allotted vacation days (imagine getting paid to study singing).
Whether you want to stay close to home or are eager to get to Europe, and whether you’re looking for focused study on one specific rep or want to try your hand at everything from ice skating to Isolde, we’ve laid out some options for affordable summer programs that will give you considerable bang for your buck.
Chanticleer in Sonoma Choral Workshop
It’s basically an extra-long weekend (this year, June 15-19), but if you live near the Napa Valley-adjacent town of Sonoma, you can get a five-day intensive study with the 12 members of Grammy award-winning ensemble Chanticleer for $450 (including a $25 application fee), culminating in a concert performance.
“We just basically try not to make money off of it,” explains Chanticleer’s director of education Ben Johns. “Most of our education mission isn’t for profit, at least not for monetary profit—it’s for educational profit. I would say it’s important to make something like this available to students and not to price them out.”
The fees double if you’re in need of room and board at Sonoma State University ($360 for full-time college and university students, $415 for everyone else), but that doesn’t stop even remotely located out-of-towners from taking the chance to expand their choral expertise. Many of the 65 to 70 participants (ranging from students to septuagenarians) are even like tenor-countertenor Eric Dalbey, who returns in 2011 for his third year of study.
“Not only do you get to see this world-class group rehearsing—they give a little performance—but each of the members throughout the weekend will give warm-ups and give you their perspective on different things,” Dalbey says. “You work in small groups with these people and they give you challenging music. You get all these sorts of things that you get to work on, and I really felt as a singer I could grow musically in a style I wasn’t as familiar with singing and performing.” Dalbey
adds that the chance to network and bond with both fellow participants and the members of Chanticleer is priceless.
Find out more at www.sonomabach.org
Assisi Performing Arts
Formerly known as the Assisi Music Festival, one of the best-priced summer programs in Italy is in the city whose patron saint took a vow of poverty. The charming village of Assisi, however, has a wealth of musical offerings (not to mention proximity to Florence, Bologna, and Rome) that singers can take part in within 36 hours of landing. While this two-week program may seem intense, board member and bass-baritone Robert Violette points out that it’s part and parcel of the
program’s professional experience.
“It’s not school,” he goes on to explain. “We rehearse a lot to get things ready. It’s expected that everybody be performance-ready when they arrive.”
Whether your primary aim is to sing mass at the Basilica of St. Francis or try on a new operatic role, the offerings of APA also extend from chamber music to jazz, and participants are encouraged to dip their toes into as many performances as they can—from either side of the curtain. “It’s amazing how much music is out there that performers never take advantage of,” says Violette. “Here in Assisi, everybody’s got the advantage to hear what else is going on. And it just raises our own professionalism as well as our own appreciation of everybody else.” The opportunities have paid off: alumni have gone on to apprentice at the Pittsburgh Opera, perform with the Caramoor International Music Festival and Metropolitan Opera Chorus, and stay in Italy to perform in Bologna and Catania.
Musicians aren’t the only ones joining in. Assisi’s natives look forward to the festival each year—especially in the wake of Italy’s own budget cuts in music programs. “We’re there at night and the tourists aren’t,” Violette says. The familial relationships locals have culled with the festival each year have led to discounts in room and board and warm support when it comes to showtime. As of press time, the board has yet to set the details for the 2011 season; however, the program will happen in July and Violette doesn’t anticipate a hike in last year’s tuition cost of $450 (plus additional costs for room and board and airfare—both available at a group rate). Read more at www.assisiperformingarts.org.
New York Summer Opera Scenes
With a lengthy career that has included performances at the Met, Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Paris’s Bastille Opera, and the Glyndebourne Festival, dramatic soprano Carol Yahr turned her focus in 2005 to fostering the next generation of Donna Annas and Azucenas. Taking into consideration where many singers live, Yahr set up shop in Manhattan (each year culminates with performances at the Lincoln Center-adjacent Christ and St. Stephen’s Church) with her former coach and Metropolitan Opera assistant conductor Joshua Greene. Yahr also takes into consideration the schedules of most singers living in Manhattan and keeps rehearsals to weekday evenings and weekends in the 10-day rehearsal period.
“A lot happens in 10 days,” Yahr explains of the condensed rehearsal period (tuition for which runs at about $725). “People have frequently said to me they can’t believe how much they learned in such a short time. All the rehearsals are open to all the participants, so you can come and watch other scenes getting staged and listen to other people and watch other people make the same mistakes that you make and just glean as much as you can. Whether it’s repertoire you like to sing or not, it’s usually very educational to watch.”
In addition to coachings and rehearsals with a pianist and conductor (a means, Yahr says, of “pulling up to the next level”), Yahr gives masterclasses on technique, repertoire, and audition dress and decorum.
With the pedigree of the educators at hand and the opportunity to network with other singers and get notice from other industry professionals, singers get strong value for their dollar (Bruce Zemsky of Zemsky/Green Artists Management calls NYSOS an “invaluable experience for a young singer pursuing a career in opera”). Moreover, the ability to work while participating means you don’t have to lose out on your regular income while learning from a program. Not a bad way to spend your summer. Learn more at www.nysummeropera.com
Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival
OK. Alaska is a schlep if you don’t live on the West Coast. And you probably won’t be able to wave at Valery Gergiev from your front porch. But you can study at the same program that fostered vivacious mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux for under $600. Classical Singer profiled the FSAF in last January’s summer program issue about its managerial shift from founder Jo Scott to current director Terese Kaptur, and while Kaptur has already begun to leave her own fingerprints on the festival, the original mission of providing affordable training for artists remains consistent. “We’ve always tried to keep the prices for all of our programs at a reasonable level. Our whole core value is for personal growth and a nurturing study environment, and we want folks to be able to enjoy that regardless of their skill level or economic standing,” says Kaptur. “So we try to make it really affordable for everybody so folks on a professional track can continue to pursue that . . . and we also have a fair number of scholarships that we can offer.” Beyond the classical music course load, singers at Fairbanks can also dabble in native Alaskan tunes, Shakespearean stage technique, classical dance, figure skating, healing arts, and music education—all useful tricks for the 21st-century singer’s trade. Moreover, courses completed here can be used toward college credit. And the savings are much higher if a powerpacked two weeks can save you from an extra semester. Read more at www.fsaf.org
