The January issue of Classical Singer highlights summer programs, and here is a sneak peek at some of the great articles you’ll be able to read. We asked summer program directors to share highlights of their 2012 program and tell us what to watch for in 2013. Over the next few days we’ll post summaries from programs so you can read their words and the participants’ words.
If you attended a summer program in 2012, please take our Summer Programs Survey.
Dartington International Summer School takes place at the heart of the idyllic Dartington Hall estate just outside Totnes in South Devon. For five weeks every summer the estate welcomes a vibrant community of musicians and music-lovers drawn from all corners of the globe. We offer a wide range of courses, embracing a huge range of instruments, genres and periods. We also present a rich and varied programme of performances and lectures. The Summer School welcomes everyone who wants to enjoy music, from conservatoire students and professionals to enthusiastic amateurs and late starters. All convene in one place to experience the Summer School’s particular blend of music alchemy.
The Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA (July 15-Aug. 4 Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Mass.) is a residency program and festival for composers and performers of contemporary music at one of the foremost U.S. contemporary art museums. The festival is dedicated entirely to adventurous contemporary music. Faculty includes Bang on a Can founders Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars.
VOICExperience returned to Walt Disney World this summer for its two-week program. Singers stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort. Many past participants already in their careers returned to work and relive some great memories. Singers worked with all aspects of singing, including stage fright, arts administration, audition techniques, and material preparation. They sang on the Waterside Stage at Downtown Disney to thousands of audience members as they strolled the area, stopped to listen, and got hooked into opera at Walt Disney World!
During the 11th season of the 2013 Schlern International Music Festival and Competition, participants can interact with international opera stars and conductors on stage, learn from them in private lessons and masterclasses, and meet with them daily in an informal atmosphere; develop their careers; and get inspired and energized by the unique Alpine landscape, intense music experience, and recreation in the heart of the Schlern-Rosengarten Nature Park. In addition, they can participate in an international competition, 28 concerts, six private lessons, opera scenes, language coaching, vocal technique, masterclasses, excursions to surrounding areas, and more.
The Franco-American Vocal Academy has two programs: one in Perigueux, France and one in Salzburg, Austria. The program in France includes a full curriculum focusing on the French repertoire—opera, operetta, and art song and features Offenbach’s La Périchole in 2013. The program in Salzburg offers German language instruction, masterclasses, coaching, role preparation, voice lessons, and performance. The 2013 featured Mozart operas are Don Giovanni, Der Schauspieldirektor, and Bastien und Bastienne. All singers accepted into both programs are guaranteed preparation and performance of an entire role.
The fourth Lotte Lehmann Summer Academy was a memorable one—world stars Karan Armstrong, Thomas Moser, Graciela Araya, Mary Mills, and Janet Williams extensively taught one-on-one lessons and inspiring masterclasses. Armstrong staged a rousing final opera gala. Participants also had extensive bodywork and Pilates lessons as well as Chuck Hudson’s outstanding movement and stagecraft workshop. Singers came from Armenia, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Finland, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Switzerland, the Ukraine, and the U.S., including some seasoned professionals such as Tati Helene and Andriy Maslakov.
Si parla, si canta is a cost-effective Italian-immersion program for young singers and pianist/coach-accompanists in Urbania, Italy. The program includes intensive study of the Italian language; musical and dramatic coaching in Italian repertoire with an illustrious, internationally-known faculty led by Artistic Director Benton Hess; exciting performance opportunities; and the chance to experience the glories of the Marche region of Italy, where virtually nobody speaks English! Participants, from recent high school grads to acclaimed young professionals, including some sent by the Metropolitan Opera, all find it equally beneficial.
BASOTI’s 20th Anniversary season presented Don Giovanni and Giulio Cesare with orchestra as well as Suor Angelica, Il tabarro, and Gianni Schicchi in the beautiful performance halls of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. “BASOTI changed my life! I gained my self-confidence through the support of BASOTI’s superb faculty,” wrote 2012 participant Eric Schlossberg of New York. In 2013 BASOTI will present Falstaff for Verdi’s 200th birthday, Handel’s Admeto and Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The “L’Humor Bizzarro” Early Music and Dance workshop has taken place every summer since 2002. Currently it is hosted by the Scuola Popolare di Musica di Testaccio at the old Testaccio ex-Slaughterhouse in Rome, Italy. The 2012 edition featured courses in 16th-17th Century Court Dances (Claudia Celi), 18th Century European Country Dances (Ilaria Sainato), 19th Century Social Dances (Paolo Di Segni), Baroque Oboe (Angela Paletta), Recorder (Marco Rosa Salva), Renaissance and Baroque Harp (Marina Bonetti), Renaissance and Baroque Singing (Angela Bucci), Renaissance Lute and Baroque Guitar (Federico Marincola), and Ensemble Music workshop. Program dates are July 28-Aug. 4.
The San Francisco Early Music Society (SFEMS) Summer Baroque Workshop will once again be taking place at the beautiful Sonoma State Campus in sunny California. The week welcomes players of all levels and experience from June 30–July 6. The workshop will explore the music and influence of the Habsburg Court with works by composers like Georg Muffat, J.H. Schmelzer, Antonio Bertali, G.B.Buonamente, J.J. Fux, and Antonio Caldara. Workshop director Linda Pearse is maintaining the faculty and structure of past years as the workshop continues to create a positive and motivating environment where participants are engaged and challenged to create beautiful music.
The Up North Vocal Institute’s 2013 season, June 22-July 21, is a four-week vocal training program based in Boyne City, Mich. The program is limited to 20 singers ages 18-45 (undergrad junior status thru post-graduate singers). The program is an intensive training program with daily voice lessons, Alexander and Body Mapping technique, acting, physical fitness and nutrition, and guest masterclasses. The program boasts a unique 2:1 student to faculty ratio and every participant works closely with each faculty member. Scholarships available.
Opera in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point celebrates its 63rd season in 2013. Apprentice Artists sing multiple roles in three mainstage productions: fully staged with orchestra, eight double-cast performances of each opera—Madama Butterfly, L’elisir d’amore, and The Pirates of Penzance. The Studio Artists perform in their own traveling production and in supporting and chorus roles on the main stage. A dedicated, nurturing staff strives to bring the best from the only 45 artists selected. Workshops in career development, stage combat, guest artist masterclasses, yoga, and movement classes supplement the intense preparation and performance schedule.
The Neil Semer Vocal Institute (NSVI) had an exciting 16th season with its usual broad spectrum of singers from 11 countries. Students currently in American conservatories to professionals currently singing leading roles in Bayreuth, Cologne, Munich, Hof, Theater an der Wien, as well as in musical theatre, attended. Ages were 18-57. Conductors and directors of opera companies visited the program’s audition evenings, and one singer was engaged for the 2012-13 season in Mönchengladbach, Germany, and a conductor requested a soprano to take part in a competition he presides over in 2013.
You can view the full Summer Programs Directory right here on Auditions Plus.
Summer Program Highlights – Part 1
