Latest Articles

Crossover Corner : Making A Self-Tape

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and universities across the country turned to online classes for much of the spring and summer terms. In the musical theatre world, this

Sep 20 Christy Turnbow

Having a Career in Musical Theatre : Q&A with Wicked Music Director Dan Micciche

CS Music recently had the opportunity to host a masterclass featuring Dan Micciche, the current music director/conductor for Wicked on Broadway. He offered some wonderful advice that readers can learn

Sep 16 CS Music Staff

The How (and Why) of a Singer’s Throat Clearing

One of the most frequent questions I get from patients is about the somewhat mundane topic of throat clearing. Singers in particular are concerned about damaging their vocal folds and why do some people need to clear their throat constantly? More importantly, is there a right way to do it?

Sep 16 Anthony Jahn, M.D.

Tech Advice : Practicing & Performing with Pre-Recorded Tracks

I have been practicing to my own synthesized tracks for about 30 years. Singing back to recordings was a way to get a sense of what the orchestra would sound like, but I longed to be able to build my OWN creations right from the composer’s pen to my voice. My solution, no matter how long it took, was to find the most user friendly notation software I could come up with, and to build my songs, arias, or entire roles from scratch with that software.

Sep 16 Mark Doss

Five Things a Conductor Wants from Your Next Audition

How tall you are, whether your voice will fit well with the ensemble, if and how you gesture while you sing—these are some of the aspects of your opera

Sep 13 Nyela Basney

CS Spotlight: Marianne Cornetti with Pittsburgh Festival Opera

Marianne Cornetti, internationally renowned operatic Mezzo-Soprano, is the new Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Festival Opera. As an artist who is still in the middle of her career, Cornetti’s leadership is to increase

Sep 09 CS Music Staff

Wishes and Dreams or Goals and Plans?

The start of a new semester is a logical time to set goals for the upcoming school year. On fire with energy, momentum, and inspiration, students often set lofty goals each fall that are designed to help them achieve their dreams. Unfortunately, as the rigors of the semester settle in, many of these goals are cast aside as quickly as most New Year’s resolutions. Actually, the goals themselves may remain unchanged, but without a systematic plan to work toward achieving those goals, the motivation that was initially so high may gradually fade away.

Sep 09 Brian Manternach

Live Opera is Back: Soprano Aušrinė Stundytė and the Salzburg Festival

The world of opera, broken down by the coronavirus, got back on its feet throughout the last month of the summer – the Salzburg festival celebrated its 100th anniversary in August. Elektra by R. Strauss was embodied on the big stage by Aušrinė Stundytė. In this interview, the soloist shares her thoughts on the professional experiences that built her up, the creation of the character of Elektra, and the anxiety she felt before her debut at the Salzburg Festival.

Sep 09 Ona Jarmalaviciute

Voice Students Win During Covid

We are now more than six months into the global pandemic, and we can see various patterns emerging. Some are frightening, some are positive and some may be setting trends for our future beyond this crisis.

Sep 09 Dr. Maria Briggs

The Singer’s Library : The Brain on Music

The human brain is notoriously complex. After all, the phrase "It's not brain surgery!" came from somewhere for a reason. It would be understandable, then, if singers feel intimidated by the title of the new book The Musician's Mind: Teaching, Learning, and Performance in the Age of Brain Science. Author Lynn Helding points out in the preface, however, that the focus of the book is not neuroscience, which is concerned with the anatomy of physiology of brain structure.

Sep 06 Brian Manternach

We All Watch Opera with our Ears: Tanja Ariane Baumgartner

Named as one of the leading dramatic mezzo-sopranos of today, Tanja Ariane Baumgartner has an international standing, performing in Bayreuth Festival, Edinburgh Festival, London Royal Opera House, Deutsche Oper Berlin,

Sep 02 Ona Jarmalaviciute

Aria Savvy: Expanding Your Audition Repertoire

Most audition judges are eager to hear any singer who shows musical curiosity and a sense of adventure in their repertoire. Why choose only the “standard” five arias in your

Sep 02 Roger Pines