This article first appeared in the September 2012 issue of Classical Singer magazine. It has been updated for this issue.
Maybe you’re at that point in your career where you’re not sure what to do next. You’ve finished college, maybe gotten your master’s, and are staring into the abyss. Do you stay in academia? Can you afford to cripple your future self with even more student loans? Or do you try for YAPs? Are you prepared to be on your own, without your teachers, with such a demanding singing schedule?
What if you didn’t have to choose? The Chicago College of Performing Arts has mixed its gooey peanut butter with Chicago Opera Theater’s sweet chocolate. The result is a dessert to your education that would please just about anyone.
The Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA), a division of Roosevelt University, has teamed up with the Chicago Opera Theater (COT) to offer a Professional Diploma in Opera that covers all the bases. This two-year program comprises voice lessons, both vocal and dramatic coaching, and is tuition free. Yes, you read that right: it’s free. And these diplomatists become the core of Chicago Opera Theater’s young artists. This arrangement allows emerging singers and pianists to remain in a nurturing academic environment, under the careful tutelage of trusted teachers and coaches, while simultaneously entering the competitive world of YAPs and professional opera work.
Program Director Scott Gilmore explains why this program is so valuable to young artists. “It gives them time—the most precious commodity—to continue to develop and focus on realizing their potential while being under expert, ‘loving’ guidance. I don’t believe that academic curricula give them enough time to really learn how to sing, let alone for a pianist to develop the complex set of skills demanded of a coach. These processes generally begin after a degree program. The career is hellishly competitive, more so than ever before. Singers, in particular, need to be finely tuned in their presentation of their individual ‘package.’”
It is generally at this stage in a young singer’s career and education—after a master’s degree and before moving to New York with five bucks in their pocket and stars in their eyes, trying to make it big—that singers vie for one of the few positions in this prestigious program. However, a master’s degree is not required (although a bachelor’s is), so some students enter straight out of undergrad, while others enter the program after a successful early career, having already completed YAPs and won competitions.
Bass Andrew Harris and tenor Matthew Newlin, who are now both enjoying first-class international careers at Deutsche Oper Berlin, are graduates of the program. “I had just finished my master’s degree and needed a bit more time to ‘incubate,’” Newlin recalls. “I still had some growing to do physically as well as artistically.”
Soprano Leila Bowie, like Newlin, entered the program after completing her master’s at CCPA. (The audition panel is made up of COT staff, who make the final selections, so no accusations of nepotism, please!) She describes her decision to audition for the Professional Diploma program: “I had a close eye on this program because I knew that it would mean I could stay in Chicago and with my teacher, Judith Haddon,” she says. “After only two years of study with her, I really wanted to stay close so that I could see her on a regular basis.”
Gilmore also speaks to the benefit of being under a teacher’s guidance during one’s foray into the professional opera world. “I think that if you were to ask most young singers/artists which they think would get them further in two years: one, being put out in outreach at 10 a.m., in n’importe quoi circumstances, with little consistent coaching or expert lessons, and being far, far away from their teacher; or two, having free lessons, coaching, and carefully chosen performance opportunities . . . I think most would opt for the second choice.”
It could be said that this program fills a gap in the singer’s career path, where stage experience in a professional company is essential, but aborting his or her studies too early can stunt artistic and technical development.
Gilmore expands on this theme. “Most YAPs are not for continued development—they are, rather, to fit the needs of a specific company,” he says. “Nothing innately wrong with that, but what this program offers is continued concentration on the young artist’s growth. All too often, young artists are not ready for the workload of a YAP (whether or not they believe themselves to be), and often these YAPs do not offer consistent lessons and coaching—but, on the contrary, they leave the young artists to their own devices while being farmed out for outreach that often only reinforces their bad habits at this critical age.” He adds, “Most YAPs are short term, which is fine. But what developing artists need most is long term.”
The CCPA and COT are clearly onto something, judging by the success and satisfaction of their alums. “In the simplest terms, I really learned how to become a viable performing artist,” Newlin extols. “Gilmore’s coaching is second to none in my opinion, and Judy Haddon led me on a path that really opened up my voice. After a year in that program, I was booking more work than I ever had previously, including the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program.”
Bowie was similarly enthusiastic about her experience. “In addition to the many singing opportunities, being a part of a full-time resident program allowed me the opportunity to learn other skills of the business,” she says. “These skills include marketing yourself as a business, learning how to fund raise, learning how to schmooze, and learning what its like to work in a professional environment. This program allows its fellows the opportunity to work in a collegiate environment for most of the academic year, in which we performed leading roles in the school productions, gave recitals across the city, attended seminars and classes featuring guest artists, etc. Then once we were in season with COT, I had the opportunity to cover mainstage artists and sing secondary roles with a great company. All of these aspects of the program and the relationships I built while there have really helped me over the last year as an emerging artist.”
So what about those interested in auditioning for this program? Getting in won’t be easy. Drawn by the full scholarship and the opportunity to be a young artist at a reputable opera company, many young singers have the same goal. Last year, the program received close to 100 applications. There are a total of seven positions for singers and one for a coach, but the program runs two years, so not every slot is available every year. On the other hand, the small size is part of what makes the program so special. Newlin describes the atmosphere as “extremely cooperative. Though we are all coming from different places in our education and career, we all end up as good friends and great supporters of one another. There usually isn’t much competition between voice types as the number of diploma artists is very small.”
For those interested, Gilmore breaks down the selection process. “First, their CD is what is listened to: clarity of the singing, its expressiveness, language communication, quality of timbre (as much as can be determined from a CD), level of professionalism of the presentation of materials (i.e., did they follow all instructions, are all titles and composers spelled correctly—you’d be surprised!), and is it apparent that the singers have actually listened to their CDs (sometimes one wonders)? Then their materials are reviewed, if interest is piqued by their CD. What they write about why they are applying to our program is very important, as it indicates if they would be a good fit or not. There is no mystery, as in the end it always comes down to the basic: ‘Is their singing communicative?’”
When asked for his advice to prospective applicants, Gilmore had this to offer: “Be prepared. Know that you have the quality of goods that could make for a professional career and that you are sufficiently far along in vocal technique and language capability to work at a sophisticated level. Be ready to work very hard. Most importantly of all, to me, is that you sing/play for the love of it, not because your primary goal is to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. Obviously, that is an admirable ambition, but if you don’t love singing on a day-to-day basis—if the fire to sing is not in your belly—please be kind to yourself and pursue another career.” He adds, “Along with vocal technique and linguistic ability, musicianship should be at a relatively high level! That is, no work can be done until the music is learned.”
Of course, even if you get into this full-ride program, you’ll still have to support yourself, which can be difficult. The city of Chicago, while cheaper than other musical hot spots such as New York, is still a major metropolis, and rents can be high. “Though the program is covered fully in scholarship, the only time we diploma artists get paid properly is when we are working during COT’s season [and] are paid as young artists,” Newlin shares. “We have to figure out our own finances for the rest of the year. I waited tables and made enough to get by, and the program is relatively flexible and considerate of our outside schedule.”
Nonetheless, Newlin remains enthusiastic. “Supporting myself financially while in the program was difficult, and I worked myself really hard to stay afloat while still improving as a singer and artist. But everyone’s situation is different. I got exactly what I needed out of the program.
“I have no qualms about recommending the program to those who are serious about their own personal improvement in their careers and talent,” he adds. “I think the teaching there is top-notch, and working with COT is a great way to begin one’s professional career. Scott Gilmore is a national treasure!”
The loyalty of COT to the alums is yet another draw. Not only did Newlin go on to cover Tamino (and singing First Priest), but Bowie also returned to sing First Lady in The Magic Flute. It is clear that students don’t only get free lessons and a chance to be a young artist at a great company, but also professional connections that lead to actual work. And that’s something all of us want.
