New York Auditions

I love New York.  It seams like everything works the way that I work. Painfully fast, crowded with busyness, professional but panicked, and yes - without much sleep.  In many ways I am perfectly comfortable with the Big Apple, however it certainly has no limit to stress.

Audition season is upon me, and I prepare to peak at just the right time.  This year, I went out on a limb and flew in on the day of my first audition.  I have never done that before (and have been warned against doing that) but I just couldn't devote too much time away from Kansas City.  On the morning that I flew out, I was greeted by one of my good tenor friends from KC, Ben Gulley, in the waiting area at the airport.  Amazingly, we were taking the same flight to New York.  Ben is one of the best tenors I have ever met, and certainly a great person altogether.  He talked about his upcoming events and plans with Hollywood agents and opera companies from all over the world, etc. etc.  I sounds amazing and it couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

After I arrived in New York, I took a shuttle from LaGuardia to Grand Central Station and ate lunch there.  Then it was off to Nola studios - opera audition Mecca.  Nola is on the 11th floor of a building off of Broadway by David Letterman's studio, kind of close to Julliard and the Met.  It was packed, muggy, and stinky.  It is only a small hallway with seven or so studios connected to it.  Each of the studios have a different company holding auditions with 5-10 minute slots.  So all the upcoming singers sit patiently, cold-sweating outside the doors.   For me, all of my auditions were here or in Shelter studios, which is the next floor up.  Luckily, I had my auditions all back-to-back: New Jersey, Pine Mountain, and Saratoga.  Opera North auditions were the following day.

Once the auditions began, it was kind of a blur.  I didn't have to think about much, other than selected arias, and in the meantime, I was able to talk to all of my opera friends from around the country who were in town. Everything went fine...normal, except for New Jersey.  In the New Jersey auditions, they wanted me to sing Il mio tesoro as my second selection, and it was a little dull.  One of my better qualities is my resonance, or the sparkly clean tenor ring, but that was lost for some reason in that aria in particular.  Besides that, I always begin with Questa o quella from Rigoletto, not because I like it, but because it is short and powerful - I only have a few minutes to show off you know.  Then the company selects any other excerpts that they want me to hear.  Normally, this means an English aria, and for me that means Here I Stand from The Rake's Progress.

I will be anxious to hear from those companies in the coming weeks and I'll let you know what the results are. In general, this year there are many more companies out there than in the past, which is a great sign that the economy is improving.  However, companies are inviting many more singers...this means more competition.

Outside of auditions, I was able to attend the Met's production of Handel's opera Rodelinda.  The sets were great, and it starred one of my most favorite singers, Renee Fleming.  Unfortunately, I had to miss the end in order to catch my train out of Manhattan to get to my hotel.  But, the show was amazing.  Handel operas are packed with arias, one right after the other.  I thought it would make for a very boring time, but it turned out to be an amazing musical experience.  There were two starring countertenors (men who sing in their falsetto, their girly voice).  They lacked the beauty of Renee, who was brilliant and gorgeous, but the countertenors stole the show for me.  As the least technically advanced singers in the production, I was shocked and uncontrollably excited by their musicality.  It was stupendous!!  The audience was on the edge of their seats for many of their arias packed with tension and controlled tones, relaxing only for a moment.  Handel was amazing, and so was this cast.

Also, another favorite part of New York for me is the food.  Here were my two favorite meals:

Lamb Burger with Greek Salad and Humus Dressing along with TWO Chocolate Shakes at The Brooklyn Diner

Steak Sandwich (real unsliced steak) and Maple Bacon Bourbon Donut at Zaro's

Then, before I had to leave for my evening flight back to Kansas City, I had several hours to spare.  So, I went downtown.  Here is a video that I put together about my afternoon.  It's in HD if you click "full screen" and turn up the speakers!

The flight back was a crazy event in itself.  I was left on the runway on Frontier Airlines flight 1803 from 6:55 PM to 10:08 PM without food, bathroom, and electronic device use (which I violated).  It was horrific for the claustrophobic, and completely annoying for those who don't like to smell other people's feet.  In short, I am still trying to receive a refund for my flight.  The reason for the delay was that the pilot they selected wouldn't make his next scheduled flight, so we returned and waited for another pilot.  It was entirely the fault of Frontier Airlines and their mismanagement of their work schedules.  Nonetheless, we arrived in Kansas City early the next morning.

Next week, I will have a lot of information about the next KCVI Celebrity Auction, now featuring another autographed John Williams Star Wars score!  Also for my concert schedule please visit www.bryanpinkall.com  I miss so many of my friends and family; maybe (as a Christmas present) I will see you at one of my concerts in the near future!

Hajj

It's my annual hajj to New York for auditions.  This year, I was invited to audition for New Jersey Opera, Pine Mountain Opera, Saratoga Opera, and Opera North.  In the past, I blanketed many applications to all corners of the Nation, but this year I was very specific about the programs that I would be auditioning for.  I already have a gig in June, and my schedule would have to work around that.

But before I get to my trip, earlier today I went over to Joyce DiDonato's place here in Kansas City to pick up several items that she is donating to be auctioned for a scholarship through my charity KCVI (Kansas City Vocal Institute). The items are posters from her recent production of La donna del lago by Rossini at La Scala signed by her and other cast members including Juan Diego Florez!  How exciting!!  For those who think I am just saying gibberish, in plainspeak:  One of the world's greatest and most famous sopranos donated an autographed poster of a show that she starred in at arguably the greatest opera house on earth along with one of the world's greatest and most famous tenors.  She has been very excited to be part of this, and I am so thankful that she has been able to help.  She's amazing!

Now on to this week. I am very excited for this little trip...here is my top 10 list of things to do:

1. Drink Water from my Coffee Maker - Nothing is better than using the coffee maker to make really hot water.  For some reason, hot water is like an instant warm-up for me.  New York is a hard place to audition because it is incredibly difficult to find places to warm-up.  I am pretty much limited to humming for several hours while I'm on public transportation or just walking down 7th avenue.  But nothing gets my chords going like hot water!

2. Get a Metrocard - In the past, I stayed in New Jersey, took the train into Manhattan, and walked everywhere on my own.  Well, the last time I was there, if you remember, I sprained both of my ankles - likely exacerbated by all this walking .  This time I will use public transportation!

3. Show Up Early - I am very anxious about schedules, so I tend to show up early for important things.  "Important" generally means football games, meals, and any music related event.

4.  Find Captain, the 25-year old Opera-singing Parrot that went missing in New York two days ago.

5.  Eat Somewhere New - One of my favorite things about New York is the food.  Last time, at a Cuban restaurant, I got Oxtail Soup, Moro Rice w/ Beans, and Fried Sweet Plantains...my mouth is watering just remembering it...

6.  Buy Something Nice for My Wife - I don't get permission to go to New York without a price.  I'm thinking of something boutique but unique.  Like this beautiful cigarette necklace...

Or this amazing pair of designer shoes...

They kind of match this bathroom hat...

7.  Visit Ground Zero - They have recently finished the National 9/11 Memorial and I want to visit and see what all they have done with the site.  Believe it or not, I have to apply for passes to get into the memorial, but I have been accepted and I am looking forward to it.

8.  Visit the Met - Handel's opera Rodelinda plays tomorrow night, and students can get great ticket discounts.  The greatest part is that one of my favorite singers of all time, Renee Fleming, is the title role!  The following video is of her singing "I'll be Home for Christmas".

9. Star in Another Movie - Last year, my wife and I were extras in the now released motion picture "Tower Heist".  Hopefully, I can accidentally be a starring extra or crowd member in a movie more oscar worthy this year.

10.  Visit My Favorite Store - The Poptart Store!

Opera University: Auditions 101 (week 4)

Week 1 - Ego
Week 2 - Self-Promotion
Week 3 - The Audition

The Life of an Artist
"Passion = Lots of Rejection, Little Pay, Long Hours, and Happiness"

Perhaps you have a similar profession, but the life of an artist is not easy.  Essentially, artists are trained to express themselves in abstract ways - and in my case, singing.  And it is not only the expression, but the way it is expressed that is most meaningful.  For some arts, perfection is idolized, for others it is ingenuity.  All of the arts have their own rules, but in the end, it comes down to an idea and how it is conveyed.

For most people, they go to local stores to find wall decor - "art" - because it "looks pretty".  It may look gorgeous, I'm not arguing that, but if you are not observing it in a way that is expressing something, then it really isn't art - it's a craft.  All this means is that it is created for a specific purpose - e.g. plugging up a blank spot or hole that you punched in the wall.

Now, not all artists think this way, some just sing because they're great at it.  But, the business of it all is centered around these crazy ideas of expression and perfection.  Perfection is a tough thing to accomplish!  But all of this is highly enjoyable for most artists, because it is a work that even on the worst days we still enjoy doing.  Many have a misconception that an artist's days are filled with having fun and goofing off, but that couldn't be further from the truth.  They are long hours of micromanagers perfecting something for the sake of "art".  We know not everyone will view what we do artistically (they may go to the opera because their wife made them) but I have worked in construction, in education, in churches, in Boy Scouts, in all kinds of fields, and the hardest working and most devoted workers that I know are all musicians.  And, they love it!  The hardest part is dealing with the rest of life.

In general, we pay money to have companies reject us many times over, have to deal with family/friends asking us about the eventual rejections, get crappy pay for highly competitive gigs, are constantly critiqued in every possible way by reviews and by other musicians, work the strangest schedules (my rehearsal schedule today is 2pm-11pm), work weekends, have gigs on all the major holidays, hours of practice in solitude, AND THEN pay the bills, car loans, eat, sleep, write your blog entry, etc.  It can be very unforgiving.

For those interested in living "the life", just know what it takes.  It takes sacrifice - you probably won't see your friends for long periods of time, and they will probably stop calling you and asking you to do things assuming that you are too busy.  It takes guts - you are of course letting the world judge you constantly.  It takes pride - because you may be the only one who understands how hard it was to get that bad-paying gig in the Middle-of-Nowhere, America.  It takes devotion, and it certainly helps when you have a great support structure (e.g. family, friends).

I have heard several times about the difficulties of being a singer and being married.  Of course, mostly divorced people gave the lectures, but in general, it is difficult.  The obvious difficulties are work, eat, sleep, talk, and travel schedules, but besides that, it's a piece of cake!  I know everyone has unique difficulties with their own lives and marriages, but I have to give a ton of credit to my wife, for letting me do what I do.  She has to put up with a LOT of troubles, and she certainly doesn't get enough credit or attention from anyone for her devotion.  It can be annoying when people are only interested in your husband's weird profession and don't ask her what she has to go through, or just how her life is going, and yet she still is very supportive and devoted!  What a gal!

So, it's a tough life, but certainly not impossible, and it is very very rewarding.  You get to do what you love to do, and you make people happy along the way.  It truly is very rewarding.

---------

Yesterday, I was the tenor soloist for a production of Messiah by the East Hill Singers.  This was one of the most amazing groups that I have ever performed with.  The singers were a mix of local singers and prisoners from the federal penitentiary in Lansing.  They genuinely love to sing (Handel no less), make amazing music for hundreds of people, and then get to meet with their families and friends for a moment after the concert.  They are genuine people with big souls, giving their service and lives to something bigger than themselves.  What an amazing experience!

Finally, I have many schedule additions.  Please check my website for more information - www.bryanpinkall.com.  I will have a lot more about future stuff next week!

Opera University: Auditions 101 (week 3)

Week 1 - Ego
Week 2 - Self-Promotion

Week 3
The Audition
"Nerves and Uncontrollable Shaking, Fainting, Peeing, and Vomiting"

Imagine that you are preparing for your daughter's wedding.  Amazingly, everything is going just as planned.  The extended family is already running around drunk with table runners draped on their heads, while the groom's aunts are rearranging all the flower arrangements that you have so carefully put together, and following them is your four-year-old niece who is pulling out the petals from all the roses leaving scores of bright green stumps on the sides of the church pew aisles.  I know it's not all good, but be honest, you just KNEW this was going to happen.  So, it's no surprise that it did.

The ceremony goes as planned - in this case, we're assuming you thought they would both say "I do" - and now it is on to the dance.  Upon your arrival to the luxurious Knights of Columbus agriculture showroom at the County Fairgrounds, fixed with the appropriate number of kegs and the best polka band in state, you notice that the cake hasn't arrived.  The problem is that your cake decorator is taking too long to deliver as she is having complicated issues at another wedding party in the parish center downtown.  You must go there, pick the cake up, and take it back to your daughter's wedding party.

You arrive downtown and the decorator gives you the pristine cake, one that will soon be smashed into the face of your daughter and new son-in-law.  You mindlessly hold it, and then...you freak out.  This was a dangerous and scary job, to carry the wedding cake.

What are you thinking?...
You don't have the skill to do this?...
What if you drop it?...
Your palms sweat...what if you trip?....

You will certainly ruin the wedding if you ruin the cake, a wedding that couldn't be ruined by the ring bearing puppy "Boozer" taking a tinkle on two pew ends and Aunt Edna's walker on the way to being dragged to the altar by your flower decapitating niece.

But, you calm yourself down, what's the worst that could happen?...



That's right.  The worst can happen!

Here's the problem with auditioning.  I know you are nervous.  I've auditioned a hundred times and still get nervous, but it all comes down to your mental preparation.  If you think all of those negative thoughts, you are only feeding The Beast.  You are only going to make it harder for yourself to do well.  Instead you should be thinking only that you are going to do your very best.

Before you go into the audition, make sure you have your music.  Go ahead, check and make sure 10 times, until your OCD calms down.  Make sure that you look professional - not frumpy, not too sexy - just look your best.  And by the time you go to the Door Moderator to check-in, you should have already sung and warmed-up.  Now, here's where it gets easier and harder.  The hard part is that you have to wait, and the easy part is that you don't have to do anything else, other than wait.  This is the worst part of performing - hands down!  Some keep their mind occupied; I try to fall asleep.  My mind is usually going a million miles an hour, so I try to relax as much as possible.  Now obviously, I don't go to sleep, I just try to get my breathing and heartbeat slower.

My name is called, the door is opening, my hands are sweating, my heart is pounding, but I make a slow and professional walk to the crook of the piano.  I wait until they are ready, slowly and with projection announce my songs, and off we go!

The simpler you can make the process the easier it will be, but you must know yourself.  You must know what your nervous habits are and sometimes it takes other people to point them out to you.  For some, it may be that their hand juts out to the side on high notes, or that they cease making facial reactions and look like Ben Stein.  Going down the list, another common one is that women will fiddle with the bottom of their skirt and inadvertently start pulling the skirt up! There's no need to give them a show!  I know others who get so nervous that they have to vomit in the bathroom before they go on.



What is being nervous?  To clarify (this goes without even saying) that nerves are horribly hard to control when they are already out of control.

Honestly, the best way to overcome this is to (1) be prepared, (2) keep your mind in the moment, and (3) get experience.  If you struggle with nerves, you should be practicing how you handle nervous situations by putting yourself in nervous situations.  Ask people if they will watch you perform to see what nervous twitches you have.  You may be doing things that you never knew about!  And when it comes to your performance, be confident in how you look, walk, breathe, and sing.  And at the very least, fake yourself out, and pretend to be confident.  The more you perform, the more comfortable you will become at performing.

Next time:
(the last post in this series)

Week 4
The Life of an Artist
"Passion = Lots of Rejection, Little Pay, Long Hours, and Happiness"

Opera University: Auditions 101 (week 2)

To see last week's lesson - click here

Week 2
Self-Promotion
"Reflections on Awful Superheroes"

Imagine that you are in the fictional world of Gotham and Kryptonite, and you are the person in charge of finding another superhero for the Justice League of America.  The Justice League of America has been featured in many comics since the 1960s and it is the superteam of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and (believe it or not) the Martian Manhunter. So, let's assume that Martian Manhunter was kicked out and they had to find a new superhero. These contestants walk into the audition screening, show their super powers, and walk out.  Which one would you choose?

Matter Eater Lad

Matter Eater Lad - That's right, he can eat through anything. Don't mind digging, he'll eat a hole through the mountain.  You won't drown, because he'll eat the whole ocean! The obvious question is how he gets rid of the bad guys.  Is he a cannibal?

Cypher

Cypher - Obviously, this guy's superhero talent is that he can decipher anything like codes or languages.  As one blogger stated "he's pretty much a translator".  He doesn't have any fighting capabilities though, just a mind like Data from Star Trek.

Dogwelder

Dogwelder - As odd as it sounds, this guy welds dead stray dogs to villains' faces.  Believe it or not, that's about it.  He must be a little crazy, and certainly this would not qualify as a superpower.  But it would certainly be effective crime fighting.  As one person describes it, "You try to rob a bank and you end up with a Lhasa Apso welded to your face, yapping for eternity. *shudder* "

Skateman

And finally, Skateman - This is pretty lame!  In short, he's an ex-Vietnam War vet and roller derby star that goes mad after a Mexican gang kills his friend in a roller derby crash by loosening his roller skate wheel.  He goes around in a ridiculous costume only to get beaten up by the gang...didn't see that coming!  His only apparent superpowers are bad luck and a quick-curing drink, an herbal shake, that his girlfriend made called (pause five seconds to keep from laughing) Skater-aid.

 Now, which one of these would you choose to be in the same group of Superman, Batman, and the like?  Probably none.  And why?  Well, they aren't superhero-like.  They don't advertise themselves well - who wants a dogwelder? a skateman?

Opera is a lot like the "BAM!, KAPOW!" world of superhero comic strips. To be an opera singer, you must obviously audition for roles. The very first thing that any opera singer must do to have a successful audition, is to be granted an audition in the first place.

This usually requires you to submit several things:

1. A Headshot (this is a picture of yourself from the neck up - of course the sexier...I mean, more professional you look, the better this will play to your advantage.)

It is understood, that because this is a visual art, there is some strength in being a good-looking person.  Also, it should look like yourself; they will remember you by this photo.  If you look like James Bond in the picture, but Mr. Magoo in real life, they will certainly have doubts about you.

2. A Resume (keep in mind that this is opera - Companies want to know what performance experience that you have.)

This could be divided up in several ways.  I devote the first section to opera roles, and include the role, opera, company/school, and year - the most recent at the top.  The next section is other performance experience, including concerts featuring me as a soloist.  The third section, I include my teacher and past teachers, coaches (there's a difference between coaches and teachers; we'll talk about it another time), and any masterclasses that I have been the soloist for, obviously including the masterclass teacher. Then, I list my education: degree, school, and year graduated. Finally, I list my recent and major awards.  Another good thing to add is a small picture of yourself in the upper corner of the resume.  This helps the reader immediately put your information to a face.

Now, if this whole resume thing is overwhelming because you don't have much experience, it is ok.  There are many programs out there that want to hear new singers.  Many new singers first go to a pay-to-sing program and are able to fill up a resume with the names of many teachers and coaches, and perhaps several roles to add to their resume.  Companies want to know that you are a singer; nothing else is as important as that.  So, the more performing that you do, the more attractive you are to people out there.

3. Several Recordings (you MUST be able to sing your butt off, and sing these arias as perfectly as you can)  This is primarily what companies will be interested in when you apply.  Make sure you are as perfect as you can be, and find a good accompanist to record with you.  This can be expensive for some, paying hundreds of dollars in accompanist fees, but if the recording is great and lands you some good gigs, then it is worth it.  With that said, I personally try to find friends or professors to accompany me for free first, before I go out to find someone that I have to pay an arm and a leg to.  If you don't have the means already, you can buy simple recording equipment at Best Buy.  Don't think you have to spend thousands of dollars on this...it can be done for cheap, and still result in a great recording.

4.  References (you'll acquire these over time - but many times you will have to submit one or several names and contact email) It is often debated how useful these are, but sure enough, it is always a good thing to make connections in this small industry.

5. Pay an Application Fee (unfortunately, many companies require this typically between $35-$50 each)  These companies have to be able to pay people to listen to all the live auditions, and fly them to New York, and put them up in a New York hotel.  It's a small price to pay, especially if it is for a great opportunity.  It is important to budget this, especially if you are planning on applying to many places.

This submission process is very important, in that it is your way to self-promote your talent.  You have to give them your best:  an awesome recording, a professional (sexy but not too sexy) picture, and a resume with great things and accomplishments on it.  If you don't have these yet, take the time to get a good promotional package together first.

Superman is awesome.  Batman is cool.  Aquaman is lame (talks to fish? seriously!?). The Powerpuff Girls are...well...you get it.  It's all about how you advertise yourself.  This even applies to the audition itself.  You have to look the part, and look professional, and attractive (but not too attractive), and of course display your awesome super talent of operatic singing.

Next time

The Audition
"Nerves and Uncontrollable Shaking, Fainting, Peeing, and Vomiting"

Opera University: Auditions 101

I know that I am only 26, and am just beginning to see success in Auditioning.  Hopefully, this will be of some help to those of you out there who are just starting.  Of course this will be a series of posts - and like every great professor, I will assign some reading, and teach by assigning even more reading!

Welcome to Auditions 101!

(bell rings)

The class of fearful opera singers, leisurely talking, is interrupted by my grand entrance into the classroom.  Taking long broad strides, chest and nose properly raised to its correct smugness level, making sure as to never face away (upstage) of my pupils, I inhale with great intensity, as though I could change the future of the earth upon the uttering of my next words. "Good morning class," speaking with rude contempt towards consonants - angrily forcing them out, raining a shower of spit across the desks in the front row.  "Please open your text books to page (with great pause and theatrical anticipation) one", I proclaim.  The class, awkwardly looking slightly above me, pauses, and then obeys, once the supertitles on the power-point screen catch up.  These were opera singers after all.  And finally having the gravitas of Mephistopheles, I summon the lights to dim towards a deep blood-red, saturating the room.  "Attention class, your assignment today is to (smoke billowing, drums and bugles blasting in the distance, lightning and thunder clash, only to suddenly diminish to silence....the lights flickering back to blue-white...and in a mundane, Ben Stein-like voice I continue) read through chapter one."  The students, in total shock and confusion, slowly open their books.

(This is great, as a tenor, I never get to play the bad guy)

A Concise Survival Guide to Opera Auditions - First Edition
Chapter 1: The Most Dangerous Game

One of the most loved short stories in American History is Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game - a story about a man invited to go on a safari hunting expedition, but having lost his way, ends up finding refuge at a small inhabited island, where a wealthy aristocrat set up a private hunting colony. Unfortunately, he would find out, that he wasn't going to be hunting, but was to be hunted!  That's right, The Most Dangerous Game, are people! (in the end, the hunted killed the hunter!)

Fortunate or unfortunate as it may be, you are a person.  Once you get over that concept, you will be on your way to a great career in opera!

That's right, to be successful, you must embrace everything that it is to be a person - failure, stupidity, nerves, allergies...the whole package.  Also, you must acknowledge that you always are competing against other people in normal life - competing for attention, looks, praise, love, etc.  Whether you like it or not, that is how humans work.  You might as well embrace it.

But, how does opera fit in to this?  Well, to be successful in opera, you must be your best self to be able to successfully compete against other people for gigs at an audition.

Assuming you have had some great schooling, and can correctly sing, without any major technical issues, and that you naturally have a large enough voice to be competitive in the professional opera world, you should begin to consider auditioning for some opera companies.

One great resource is, yaptracker.com.  You should apply, pay the annual fee, and start reading through the several thousand auditions that are posted on their site.  If you are just beginning, you should seriously consider some pay-to-sings.  Obviously, you must pay to be a part of those programs, but eventually you will work your way up to apprentice programs and eventually to the professional world of mainstage productions. Read my previous blog post on Young Artist Programs if you would like more information on how the process works.

But, that is for another time.  For now, you must consider what it takes to live this opera lifestyle.  Opera is rough and tough.  No one is perfect, but you are always, always, always measured against perfection.  This is why it is good to remember who you are...a person.  It's ok to lose.  It's ok to fail.  It's ok not to be perfect.  On the other hand, you are "the most dangerous game."  And you, despite your deficiencies, can still win people's attention, love, and praise, and win an audition for the biggest roles out there.

So first thing is first:  you must have a good ego!  Some egos are more dominating than others...like Miss Piggy.  But, for all who love the Muppets, who is the real hero?...that's right, Kermit!

See, you don't have to have a nasty, humanity-crushing ego that tramples over everyone's mother and dog.  No, you just have to keep one that will help you shrug off all those negative things, and keep you in a fighting spirit.  You can only do your best...nothing more.  Sorry, but you will not be the greatest singer of all time.  However, you can still dream of the big time at the Met or La Scala, because thousands of singers who aren't the greatest of all time have sang there.

So if you are just beginning (still assuming that you have a pristine voice), get out there and apply to places.  Apply to everything!  Don't think it takes luck to make it big; you have to put yourself in the position to be lucky.  You will learn the most simply from experience.  And, like anyone who has cheated in a drawing before knows, if you apply a bunch of times, the chances are better that you will win one of those times.

With that said, and I can't say it enough, this is all assuming that you are an educated and hard working singer.  You first must know technique, music fundamentals, and several languages (in other words, go to school!).  Then you must learn opera rep.  Then you must practice it until you can sing it as perfectly as you possibly can.  And then you should you go out and show the world what you've got.

Keep in mind, there are thousands of other singers out there with big egos that are trying to be the most perfect and dangerous singer that they can be.  What are you going to do to compete with them?

(next time)

Chapter 2:
Self-Promotion - Reflections on Awful Superheroes

Skateman

Conservatory Auditions

What a week it has been!  Thank you to everyone for your interest and support and well wishes!  For those who didn't see, you can read the big news by clicking here.  But, now it is on to more preparation and rehearsing.  I have been adding more to my schedule, which is very exciting.  I will be singing on some lunch time Bach cantatas, punned as "Bach's Lunch".  Oh, musicians...you make my sides hurt!

Also, on Saturday, I had the Conservatory Auditions for the upcoming opera season.  They are planning on La nozze di Figaro (the Marriage of Figaro) by Mozart, La Tragedie de Carmen by Brooks/Bizet, and a night celebrating the music of Carlisle Floyd directed by Metropolitan Opera conductor George Darden. I won't hear any results until later in the week, but weeks ago - since I'm primarily a Mozart-type tenor - I expected to compete well for the Figaro roles.  Well, it was later suggested to me that I should offer something higher and more lyric, obviously hinting that I shouldn't count out the role of Don Jose in Carmen.

So, I went out on a limb and prepared Questa o quella from Rigoletto, an aria that I have done many times - and for the record, do not enjoy it, but recognize that everyone else does (ugh!).  If they want to hear my high notes, they get most of what I have to offer in that aria.  My lesson and coaching times are at 10 am (which is preposterously early, I know) but it is nothing that Mr. Coffee and I can't tackle.  I say that because I have generally been preparing to sing that high aria early in the day, and I scheduled to have one of the last audition spots in the afternoon on Saturday.

On the audition day, I went to the Conservatory early, to practice some Bach stuff for another gig later in September.  By the time I was done practicing, my voice was in super high mode.  I waited for my audition, walked down the rows of the house and on to the stage after handing my music to my coach.  And boom, my voice was rocketing pretty high.  I am not sure if anyone noticed, but I sang the wrong verse.  I knew most people wouldn't realize it if I finished the verse with the correct high note.  Incidentally, I botched it exactly as Franco Corelli did in this recital.



I have always thought that Pavarotti sang this aria better than anyone that I have ever heard (and I have heard MANY).  The way that he approaches the very end is incredibly impressive - with easy and power (on an "ee" vowel no less).  It's stupid good!



Like I said, if you don't know the piece or paid enough attention, you wouldn't know that Pavarotti sang the correct verses and Corelli didn't.  But, when I sang, besides the switching of verses, it was probably one of the best times that I have performed it.  After I finished, the opera director said, "wow...well...I guess we'll hear your other piece as well".  And then I sang En fermant les yeux from Manon...messing up a few times on the diction. (thank you France for your simple language) And that was it, we then talked for a little bit about if I would be comfortable with the Flower Aria from Carmen, and I said that I would be fully confident in it.(secretly pretty excited because it is not too likely that a voice like mine would do Don Jose too often)  So, now we'll wait...  I have a callback audition tomorrow evening.  Here is a recording of the flower duet - in case you don't already know it.



As for my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the Kauffman Center Grand Opening, I have found out more information about the event, like costuming and set design.  I am hesitant to put anything online about that yet, in case they want to keep that secret as well, but it will be very exciting (and sexy) indeed.  That's all I will say for that right now...(ha ha, now you're probably very curious).  The first rehearsal is tomorrow afternoon, so I am very excited for that!

Lastly, I am planning a recital - a date has yet to be determined - but it will be a memorial to my ancestry, the Volga Germans, who 70 years ago were expelled from Russia by Stalin beginning the Forgotten Genocide.  All were either displaced, deported, or purposefully starved - over 300,000 died initially in the genocide and untold numbers (millions perhaps) died in Siberian labor camps.  To learn more, visit http://expelledgermans.org/volgagermans.htm

To remember them, my ancestors, I will be performing music of the region, which was greatly diverse and unique in Western Civilization as it was a crossroads between the east and the west.  Most of it will be Western music influenced by Eastern sources.  I'll have music by Bach, Rimsky-Korsakov, Cui, Ravel, and a special collection, a world premiere, of Volga German folk songs in a more modern musical language, written especially for this recital by another musician with German ancestry.  As soon as I finalize the dates and whatnot, I will be publicizing this.  I hope some of you in the area will be able to come.

Check back daily for more updates...I have something special planned for later in the week!

SCHEDULE
(still working on this - there's a lot to keep track of!)

The Opera Whistler

UPCOMING PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

• National Anthem - UMKC School of Nursing Commencement - 5pm 5/5
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Computer & Engineering - 10am 5/6
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Arts & Sciences - 1pm & 4pm 5/6
• National Anthem - Bloch School of Business and Public Administration - 7pm 5/6
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Education - 10am 5/7
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Pharmacy - 1pm 5/7
• National Anthem - Kansas City School of Dentistry - 7pm 5/7
• National Anthem - DOE Small Business Conference & Expo - Kansas City Convention Center - 5/10
• Administrative Director of the 33rd Annual Summer Choral Institute - 6/5-11
• National Anthem - Sporting KC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps - 6/25
• Sugar Creek Opera Festival (Chicago) - role: chorus/cover, opera: Daughter of the Regiment - 7/20-8/7
• Kansas City Symphony Chorus Auditions - tba

I'll Sing Louder

I saw a production of The Last Five Years in Wamego, KS last week.  First of all, the cast did very well, and I love seeing a small company in Kansas do modern musical theater productions.  In my humble opinion (and experience mind you - for those who want to fight with me in an email), many of the acclaimed new musical theater productions have much more interesting plots than the "golden oldies" of yesteryear.  They are more real and involve real life emotional conflict, much less corny and melodramatic.  Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of awful musicals (Cats) that aren't ancient, but I am just generally speaking.  This musical is no exception, it is incredibly depressing (in a good way).  It tells of a newly married couple who separates after five years.  The perspective of the husband (a writer) is sung starting from year 1 to year 5 and the wife's perspective (a singer) starts at year 5 and ends at year 1.  The entire thing is a bunch of solos, with one duet at the convergence of their time lines.  Above was my favorite part, a lighter moment, when the woman sings a song about what she is thinking when she auditions.  It is completely true in many ways!

In a related comment, I golfed with the male lead of this show on Friday.  He shot the worst 9 holes I have ever seen anyone shoot.  He chipped-in for a 16 on the first hole, shot 108 for only 9 holes!

In opera news this week, congrats to Juan Diego Florez - one of the world's most famous tenors.  He and his wife, had a baby only thirty minutes before he sang the leading role at the Metropolitan Opera's production of Le Comte Ory this past weekend.  The production was broadcast live across the world in movie theaters.  For opera singers, this is the biggest stage in the world - at the Met for the live broadcast - and to do it without three days sleep and just minutes after becoming a father is quite incredible.

Next week will be pretty busy for me, and I will be recording what I will be doing to turn into a video blog in a couple of weeks - and for internet newbies out there, that's called a vlog.  I will be premiering a new piece of music from a composition student for their recital.  New music is one of my "specialties".  Education is REALLY important when it comes to most new music because of how difficult it is (nothing sounds familiar - instead it's kind of random).  Then, I will be singing the National Anthem at a Royal's game and on Easter Eve I will be singing a one measure solo in the Conservatory Finale concert as we perform Poulenc's Gloria.



I finally heard from the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.  They are going to let people know about their casting at the end of April.  Hopefully I will hear something good, but really I try not to think about it.  Just like the first video, it's pretty easy to go crazy if you think too much about things.

This week's new opera review will cover an opera by Michael Ching and will be premiering at Center City Opera in Philadelphia.  It is called Slaying the Dragon.  Based on the book Not by the Sword by Katheryn Watterson, it's a story about repenting, forgiving, and change.  It's based on a true story of how Larry Trapp, the Grand Dragon of the Nebraska Ku Klux Klan in the early 1990s, transformed into a compassionate person, denouncing hate groups, and became a Jewish Rabbi.

The opera chronicles how he was abused as a child, lived in an orphanage, went from the KKK to Judaism, and how he reconciled his past by promoting tolerance before his death from diabetes.  It is set in Lincoln, Nebraska, a place that I have been to many times.  I feel like I understand this part of the country very well.  The midwest is filled with incredibly loving and generous people, but there are small undercurrents of intolerance as well just like anywhere in the world.  Some people who live in this part of the country turn a blind eye to it, but for many it effects how they live, interact, politicize, and worship.

Generally individuals tend to keep their thoughts to themselves out here, which makes the world a simple and polite place.  This can be a problem for people who "break the mold" and are different.  I was protected from these problems growing up until I came to college.  In college, unaware of extreme thinkers, I was recruited by a Christian group that preached extreme prejudices and thought that tolerance was "of the devil".  Their extremism was not like the KKK in any way, but it still scars me today - I feel like I have damaged the world somehow.  I still feel completely ashamed.

When I left the group six years ago, I left many of my "friends" at the time and it was pretty traumatizing (but a relief as well).  Since then, I have learned the importance of living genuinely and thoughtfully. I have learned how fragile my mind is, how easily it can be biased.  It has challenged my thoughts on religion and what actually is virtuous in this world. And equally as important is that I have learned just how essential education is.  (It is incredible that an opera that I have never seen would invoke so much pain and thought in my own life!)

As for the rating - on a scale of Two Pav Hankies to a Susan Boyle, this opera gets:

One Pav Hankie

(The content is awesome, but it will remind me of Nebraska - yuck!)

Last week's performance of Handel's Passion of the Christ went very well.  I had several solos in it and sang with two of the best tenors that I know of in this part of the country.  I will likely never forget it, maybe because of a certain optional high C sharp.  If you give a mouse (tenor) a cookie (high c sharp)...

And on a final and completely unrelated note, I have an odd problem in that I am still getting taller.  I am almost 26 and have an embarrassing problem in that most of my pants are becoming a little too short.  I was 5'10" for quite a while, but now I have passed the 5'11" mark.  

UPCOMING PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

• World Premiere - "Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day" by Betty Liang - 5pm, Grant Recital Hall, Kansas City, MO - 4/17
• National Anthem - Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians - 4/18
• Conservatory Finale  - Poulenc Gloria (probably on my top 10 favorite pieces ever) featuring the Conservatory Choirs and Orchestra - 4/23
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Nursing Commencement - 5pm 5/5
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Computer & Engineering - 10am 5/6
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Arts & Sciences - 1pm & 4pm 5/6
• National Anthem - Bloch School of Business and Public Administration - 7pm 5/6
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Education - 10am 5/7
• National Anthem - UMKC School of Pharmacy - 1pm 5/7
• National Anthem - Kansas City School of Dentistry - 7pm 5/7
• National Anthem - DOE Small Business Conference & Expo - Kansas City Convention Center - 5/10
• Administrative Director of the 33rd Annual Summer Choral Institute - 6/5-11
• National Anthem - Sporting KC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps - 6/25
• Sugar Creek Opera Festival (Chicago) - role: chorus/cover, opera: Daughter of the Regiment - 7/20-8/7
• Kansas City Symphony Chorus Auditions - tba

Lyric Opera of Kansas City Auditions

I had my audition for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City on Saturday.  I auditioned for the chorus, comprimario roles (non-starring roles), and for the tenor apprenticeship.  I have been looking forward to this audition for a long time for several reasons:  the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will open later this year and will be the new home for the Lyric, next year's opera season will feature some great operas, this could be my first opportunity to sing with a professional company outside of a summer program, and I am excited to be auditioning for the tenor apprenticeship.

Anyway, the week leading up to the audition was very odd.  In the past, I have lost my voice twice during this time in February.  I don't know if it is because of allergies or perhaps it is just a fluke, but I was worried earlier in the week that my voice would not hold up until Saturday.  I took all the opportunities that I could to rest and drink water.  By Friday, I still was pretty tired and had a rough voice, but I prepared throughout the day on Friday as best as I could.  I got plenty of rest, sang just a little, and drank tons of water.  By Saturday, I felt very well.  After my morning pot of coffee (yes, that's right - a whole pot) and allergy medicine, I had several hours of opera rehearsal before my audition.

I was in opera rehearsal for several hours, singing sotto voce (meaning "under voice") - we call it marking as well, but it is just light singing compared to full voice operatic singing.  Then I headed downtown for my audition.  The audition was at the opera center which doesn't look very impressive on the outside, but is actually a large building designed for all the rehearsing and set building (I'm assuming) etc.  The room I sang in was very large, kind of like a basketball arena, or an indoor football practice facility.  It was VERY live (to put it another way, my voice echoed profoundly).  As the singers left the "arena", many were complaining about their tendency to oversing, and saying that it sounded like they were all in a giant shower.  I don't think that this changed the way I approached singing one bit, since I rely a lot on how my voice feels instead of how it sounds.

I was one of the last singers of the day, and one of only a few tenors.  After the singer before me finished (and she was SPECTACULAR) I took the long walk to the piano at "mid field".  They were still debating about the previous singer, so I just stood until they welcomed me.  I said, "Hello", and then waited awkwardly long for a response that never came, so I then said, "I would like to begin with Lenski's Aria", and we immediately began.

This is one of my favorite and most successful arias. I thought it went really well. Perhaps it was hard to tell in such a live space (many small details can be lost or muddled in an echo-y room...this is also why karaoke machines have lots of reverb - it can cover a myriad of singing sins, which you can blame for why your Aunts feel like their tipsy rendition of INSERT COUNTRY SONG TITLE HERE is the best thing since sliced bread), but many of the technical issues I have been working on went so well during this aria.  The notes past the passaggio rang true with ease (these are the highest notes that I sing).  I was very proud about the lower resonance as well, which is one of the great attributes of my voice (it is a more mature sound than many other light tenor voices).  This aria brought out many of the things that I do best and I thought it was one of the best times that I have performed it.

After that aria was over, they asked what other arias I brought with me.  All the arias that I bring to auditions are generally in different styles and languages.  The one I began with is in Russian.  So the other four I brought were Dies Bildnis (German), Il mio tesoro (Italian), En fermant les yeux (French), and Here I Stand (English). They chose to listen to Here I Stand from The Rake's Progress.  I am always surprised when they pick it, because it is kind of weird.  It premiered in 1951, so it isn't that old, but it just requires a good mind to stay on track and it lies in an interesting part of a tenor's range.  It also is full of speech-like patterns and sounds, a far cry from any classic romantic aria. Some people love it, and some hate it.  Actually, the company that gave me the gig in Chicago this summer also chose to hear this aria.  Take a listen and make your own conclusions (the aria begins at 5:25 - if you are already annoyed and want to fast forward)



How interesting, isn't it?  Actually, this staging really is distracting...the music is really ingenious and this opera is considered one of the most important pieces of Neoclassical music ever.  Neoclassicism developed in the early 20th century and was a new approach towards the old classical era structures of music.  In other words, they wanted new sounds, but they kept it simple and uniform.

I don't speak/yell as much as this performer did, but I will tell you that my performance was certainly not my best.  Fortunately, the large and reverberant room was probably somewhat kind to me - but I laid some big fat eggs.  In my personal critique, I was too choppy, I wasn't precise enough on my entrances, I rushed the aria - and for that I offer my most sincere apologies to my accompanist, I am SO sorry I put you through that - and the last note was poorly placed.  I manage the tone and vibrancy of my voice by feeling the resonance (or the vibrating air) crashing through all the sinuses and cavities in my face, mouth, and the rest of the skull.  I am very technical about this, but this resonance can be moved around to vibrate in any of these spaces.  So when I say that the last note was poorly placed, it means that I didn't use the right resonating space in my face and mouth so it sounded closer to Bette Midler than an opera singer.  On the bright side (pun intended), I had a good high A right before it.  But, I could have looked like I was passing a kidney stone - I'm not sure.

After the aria, the artistic directors called me to their table on the "side line" to talk.  They asked me a very interesting question.  Why do I have a Master's with two emphases?  I explained to them the situation and my studies at K-State and what I am doing now with my Doctorate, which is just in Voice Performance.  They thanked me for singing, and now I am just sitting back and waiting to hear from them.  Hopefully, it will be an opportunity to perform.  Afterward, I went right back to opera rehearsal without dinner and we practiced until 9:30 or 10.  It was a very long day for sure!

I also had a concert last week with the Conservatory Singers, which went well.  This Saturday, I have another one where I will be the tenor soloist for Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass.  It should be amazing!  There will be a 200 person choir, with orchestra, and it will be held at the Community of Christ Temple - one of the most amazing churches you'll ever see.

Also, last week I had a private coaching with the great American opera singer Diana Soviero.  It went great and she was so kind and encouraging as we worked with many of my release issues with my highest notes.  There are other technical things that we tried to do, that do not seem to fit right with my voice and technique, but it is always great to learn from the best and to hear their stories.  She talked about singing with many of the greatest tenors of the past generation like Alfredo Kraus and Franco Corelli.  I am so thankful for UMKC for providing us with these opportunities at the Conservatory.

State Senators in Kansas are getting close to voting on rescinding the Governor's executive order to end public arts funding, however it may be a close vote.  I have tried very diligently to not make political statements here.  I am just standing up for my profession and passion in life.  I do hope that this era of political antagonizing ends soon.  The "American Dream" for many artists and educators are on the line in many states now.  I hope there is an understandable way to resolve a fight we shouldn't even be fighting.

One more addition to my schedule - I will be singing the National Anthem (the correct way) at the US Department of Energy's 12th Annual Small Business Conference & Expo, which will be here in Kansas City this year.  And in case you are wondering (and "I honestly don't know" is my answer) but the agenda for the opening address includes "Startup America" - the White House's Small Business Initiative to Promote Entrepreneurship.  I am hoping for a very special guest speaker.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Tenor Soloist - Lord Nelson Mass by Haydn - Operation Breakthrough Benefit Concert at the Community of Christ Temple in Independence (where Jan Kraybill is the Principal Musician - she's one of my favorite people in the whole world) - 3/5 7:30pm
• Don Giovanni - Conservatory Opera - 3/17-20
• Wichita Symphony Orchestra Naftzger Young Artist Auditions - 4/2-3
• Conservatory Finale  - Poulenc Gloria (probably on my top 10 favorite pieces ever) featuring the Conservatory Choirs and Orchestra - 4/23
• National Anthem - DOE Small Business Conference & Expo - Kansas City Convention Center - 5/10
• Administrative Director of the 33rd Annual Summer Choral Institute - 6/5-11
• Sugar Creek Opera Festival (Chicago) - role: tba, opera: Daughter of the Regiment, maybe Little Women as well - 7/20-8/7
• Kansas City Symphony Chorus Auditions - tba

Chautauqua Opera & Sugar Creek Auditions

What a wonderful day to hear all the encouraging responses to my last post.  My two auditions today went swimmingly and I am very happy with how they went.

First, I had Sugar Creek auditions.  This time, when I chose to sing "Lenski's Aria" the pianist actually played "Lenski's Aria"!  It was in a very live room and it went very well.  Since the audition was around noon, my voice was fresh and even a little more full than normal because I woke up not too long before the audition.  I usually would be worried about that, but for Lenski, the effect was pretty impressive.  After I finished the first aria, the judges chose to hear "Here I Stand" from The Rake's Progress.  I was also very happy to sing this because it is very difficult mentally.  It takes a good musician and a good mind to sing it well.  It is a complicated score and I was so happy to sing this so it would take the "pick on the smart kid" taste out of my mouth from yesterday's audition.  I just sang the recitative for the aria, as I suppose they were wanting to hear me sing in English.  They smiled and one wrote a short note to the other - passed it along the length of the table - the other judge looked at it and gave a head nod and I was given the signal that they had heard what they needed from me.  I was very proud of how it went and as I walked past out the door, they stopped me to ask my height.  A short comment, but again the small questions make me feel encouraged because it shows that they are interested in me.  Hopefully I will hear from them after they are finished with their auditions.

Shortly after Sugar Creek, I sang for Chautauqua Opera.  If you remember, I had to reschedule these because my flight was canceled twice. They were gracious enough to reschedule my time.  I also sang "Lenski" and they also chose "Here I Stand".  My voice was even more free for "Lenski" which allowed me to make even more of an emphasis on some musicality elements.  The aria went very well again, and they were very interested in my performance.  Last year, I felt my best experience was with Chautauqua, and again they were very welcoming.  I sang the last half of "Here I Stand".  It was a little rusty and I did not sing the end very well compartively, however I did experience another audition oddity.  Sitting in on the auditions were two donors for Chautauqua sitting in on auditions for the first time.  I assume they were just curious and excited to see how it all went.  But, they made little remark after Lenski.  When I finished "Here I Stand" which has a spoken line at the end saying "I wish I had money!"  They both clapped out loud saying lovely remarks.  It was an older couple, and I have never had applause in an audition, but I was very grateful and acknowledged their applause and thanked them later.

In the end, I learned a lot on this trip and I felt that Sugar Creek went the best, closely followed by Chautauqua.  I think you can guess how I feel about Crested Butte.  Afterwards, Dusti and I went to Central Park and participated in a movie shooting for the movie named "Tower Heist" coming out next year.  It has Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, and Matthew Broderick in it.  The scene we participated in was in a fake Macy's parade scene where a car chase goes into the parade and causes havoc.  They recreated the parade with a band, giant balloons, banners, floats, crowds, and Tom Turkey.  It was really neat.  We also visited the Plaza Hotel, and the Met (naturally).  Later, we ate with one of Dusti's friends at Alice's Tea Room - kind of a modern version of an Alice in Wonderland tea party set in a little girl's bedroom (as Dusti described it).  They had great food and I know it sounds weird, but incredible scones.

We are flying back tomorrow, and I have rehearsals all day for the Monteverdi concert.  Don't forget to come  to the concert which is at the Church of the Visitation at 51st & Main in Kansas City on Tuesday at 7:30.  It will be an incredible concert with baroque orchestra comprised of two professional groups from Kansas City and St. Louis, the Conservatory Singers, and I have quite a few solos. I am very excited!  Also, many of the KCVI charity auction items are ending soon.  So please place your bids if you haven't already!  All of the proceeds will provide free music education for children and families in Kansas City.  For more information please visit www.kcvocalinstitute.com/auction.

Thank you to everyone for your encouragement!

Crested Butte Opera Auditions

Many people have given me hundreds of points of advice over the last several years about opera auditions.  I am not sure the validity of many of them.  Honestly, most of the horrific audition stories I hear tend to be a little fabricated.  Some are simply absurd - much like the conspiracy theories many people love to entertain like "the government caused 9/11", "the CIA killed JFK", or "NASA faked the moon landing".  They may be great for certain publications and tv specials, but these extreme plots of historical fiction are simply irrational and unreasonable.  I've heard "don't wear your wedding ring because so-and-so will only like you if you're gay", "don't write down that you're getting your doctorate because people will think you're a bad artist so you have to teach", and "give weak handshakes to appear more sexual".  I am usually pretty shocked when I hear certain things, and I don't give much attention to the person after they tell me such things.  I have many friends who are gay and it is simply unreasonable to think that they would show prejudice against me because I'm straight and married.  I don't think that a panel of judges would hire someone based on their sexual appeal in a profession filled with very intelligent people and musicians.  And I think that even though I may have several degrees, it is just a description of my work ethic and intellect - something that they should want in an employee.

Well, today I had Crested Butte Opera auditions in New York.  The program features people from the Met and Covent Garden.  However the auditions were quite unique.  It began with person after person leaving the audition in near shock.  One girl began crying because the piano player purposefully played her slow aria very fast at the end just to make her finish the piece.  He did not slow down when she was trying to direct him. The next guy walked out and said that they had asked him all kinds of history about his character and why he would sing that Verdi aria at only age 31 and gave him all kinds of derogatory questioning all before he sang one note.  He sounded amazing by the way.

Well, I felt like I was in good voice.  I was one of the youngest men there.  I had planned on singing part of Lenski's aria from Eugene Onegin.  I went in, gave them my information, and announced that I would like to sing Lenski's aria.  I have won a lot with Lenski, and it may not be the best audition piece, but it was my most impressive and my most comfortable aria.  So, I chose to begin with "Lenski".

When I announced my first peice, one of the two people at the desk in the front of the room yelled to the accompanist next to me, "Is that alright with you maestro?" He said "yeah" and then asked me "do you fee like a promiscuous king?"  I said, "what".  He asked me the same thing over again.  I didn't know what to say other than "sure".  So many things were going through my head - the loudest of which was, "is this what he wants me to sing Lenski's death-and-sorrow aria as? a promiscuous king?"

Well, then he began to play Questa o quella.  A completely different aria that was in my binder of music.  It is a famous aria, and famously provocative, promiscuous, and high.  I don't particularly enjoy singing it, but many enjoy listening to it.  I couldn't believe that he just chose, out of the blue, to just play what he wanted without asking me, or at least bluntly saying "I want you to sing ____".  Why didn't he do that?  It was like he was trying to trick me.

When he started, he played it at Presto speed.  At a normal tempo, the piece hits dozens of high notes in only one and a half minutes.  I'm sure at his speed it was only about one minute.  It was so fast, I couldn't breathe correctly.  As Mel Brooks would say - we were going at ludicrous speed.  I barely hung on to complete the unbelievably brief aria.  Keep in mind, that there are many many high notes in this song, and I am a tenor with a full lower resonant sound.  So high notes have lots of body and take quite a bit of energy for me compared to other tenors.  As soon as I finished, the pianist - the maestro - asked me to sing a C (meaning the high C).  I said he would have to wait because I just finished a very difficult and high ending to a Verdi aria. I told him I was more comfortable singing B obviously because it is a little lower and I had an aria with a B in it, but he asked "if we did wait, could you sing a C?".  I said I could not offer them one today. They said they just needed the high notes - that this wasn't a college jury and didn't need to hear my language skills (making reference to the Russian in Lenski's aria).  Then they said, "thank you for coming" and led me out the door.

The high C is a difficult problem for tenors.  Most tenors do not sound very good with a C, and the vast majority of tenor roles do not even go up to a high C.  Yet, we are all judged by "the C" and most unfortunately we are judged against the kings of the high C's - Pavarotti and Florez.  Very honestly, the C is far from my comfort zone and I would only sing it in very specific situations.  I am not Pavarotti, and cannot sing like he did.  Sorry world, I just can't do it.  But, there are many other things that I can offer, and I do things well that Pavarotti did not do well (like sing in English!).

I understand their need to hear what they need to, to make their roster and invite singers, but for the first time, I really felt uncomfortable and given an unfair chance in an audition.  I have worked insatiably hard to complete all that I have.  I feel proud to list my accomplishments like anyone would.  Most of my experience has been with universities and colleges, and for some reason, it would seem that I was penalized for that especially with the crass comment at the end of the audition.  Of course this is not a college jury, but I have given all my attention to perform as best as I can.

I won't give any reason for the small remarks, as I am sure there are many reasons we all become a little grouchy at times and some take advantage of people just for the heck of it and I'm sure they had a stressful and long day of many auditions.  I won't make an excuse for them though, as I truly had an unpleasant experience. I do hope that the rest of my auditions go well.  I am excited for my two auditions scheduled for tomorrow, and I will pretend like this never happened.  I tried my best, under difficult circumstances, and I have hope that this business isn't filled with stereotypical conspiracy theories.  Perhaps this is a great lesson of forgive and forget.  Thankfully, Dusti and I had a great rest of the day and my hope for tomorrow's auditions will motivate me to give it my all. 

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who have bid in the KCVI charity auction.  The auction is supporting scholarships for free music education for Kansas City children and families.  For more information and to view the items, please visit www.kcvocalinstitute.com/auction.

New York Compications

Well, there is not much news to report so far.  Our flight to New York was canceled last night because of weather.  Continental rescheduled the flight for the next morning and that was canceled.  We finally were able to leave to Chicago early Thursday morning and then make it to New York and arrive after my scheduled audition for Chautauqua Opera.

So, I asked Chautauqua if they would allow me to change my audition time.  They are very strict about these situations, but they were gracious enough to give me an audition on Saturday shortly after another audition I have with another company.  This makes me feel much better about the whole fiasco.  Nevertheless, we did some sightseeing once we arrived everything will go as planned.

Expedia gave me a $100 travel voucher for all the trouble, so that was nice as well.

Since we had the evening free, we decided to go see the Broadway musical "Avenue Q".  It was great! Really funny and very entertaining.  The musical is unique because it involves puppets like the Muppets, but it covers more adult plot lines than something like Sesame Street would.

But that is all from the Big Apple so far.  Tomorrow I have an audition in the evening and will update late tomorrow night.  I'm so so tired, so I am going to get some sleep!

Don Giovanni!

Well, the callbacks went well. I sang much better than the initial audition. They let me sing through Lenski's aria entirely, and Dies Bildniss right after. I have been changing a few things with the forwardness of my vowels a la Fritz Wunderlich. I am continuing to try to brighten past the passagio to give it a more brilliant color - and most importantly, to make it easier.

The results were posted and I will be playing Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni by Mozart in March and will also be covering for the Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites by Poulenc in November. The lead in that production is Ben Gulley - who if you haven't heard, is amazing!

Don Ottavio is fun for tenors because of two arias Dalla sua pace and Il mio tesoro. I am so excited and honored to get the role and sing with these amazing singers.

And as for the weekly update for KCVI, enrollment has been down since the beginning of school, but we're still going strong on advertising and raising scholarships. For the music buffs out there, you may have heard that I have been talking with composer Eric Whitacre as he is interested in donating to benefit our scholarships. Also, several award winning artists have donated artwork to be auctioned. Marilyn Horne has donated items to be auctioned and most exciting to me is that Indian Conductor Zubin Mehta who was the director of several of the most prestigious orchestras in the world (New York Phil, LA Phil, Bavarian State Orchestra)is donating to help and in addition, he is signing a baton he has used in performance to be auctioned. Our auction will likely be an online auction and we are shooting to begin sometime in November. I am excited for some of our classes beginning in just a few days. Also, several scholarship deadlines are coming up next week as well!

If you haven't checked out all these links, there's some pretty awesome music. Also, this Monday I will post my concert schedule coming up. I would love to see you there.

Call Backs

Hello everyone,

If you haven't had a chance, to the right of this post you can sign up to receive updates when I post. Or, you can just check back every Monday! Anyway, shortly after I wrote my last blog, I received an email offering me a scholarship to sing in the top choir here at UMKC. In a lot of ways it was difficult to accept, because I was part of the KSU program for such a long time. I did accept, and I will be posting concert dates hopefully with plenty of prior notice. It is nice to be in choir again; I felt like something was missing otherwise.

I had a busy first week. I am in a history class discussing pre-classicism at the moment and an advanced counterpoint class. Both are very enlightening, I am really appreciating this music more now that I'm learning more about it.

My voice lessons have been going well. I was quite embarrassed by my first lesson, but my second lesson went better. I don't usually have total collapses in my lessons, but that first lesson was bad.

I found out that the donor of my scholarship is deceased, so I will not be able to meet them. That is unfortunate, but I am very grateful for what they are providing me. I wish I could have told them how much I appreciate their help.

I am in an opera workshop class and am hearing many of the graduate singers. They have been great so far! I am excited to sing with all of them. It is a little more competitive among the students, so I hope to make friends after these auditions are over. The teachers have been fantastic though, I appreciate their help and encouragement especially Dale Morehouse, my private teacher.

The auditions began last Saturday. I am not sure what type of tenor they are expecting my voice to be, but hopefully they will find it useful and artful. I sang Dies Bildniss and the first part of Lenski's Aria. I feel conflicted by how I performed.

I have only sang in the room once before, so it was a tough sound to get used to. Dies Bildniss went ok; I probably began too timid, but I revved it up for the rest of the aria. I have been trying to close the [e] vowel more up high, but because I have not practiced that enough, it was putting strain on my voice over the long haul. To do this, I have to cough up my tongue and still keep the soft palate high. In other words, try making a big yawn, while sticking your tongue out, and saying "eee". Now try that singing a high note...not so pretty, huh? So, I made a decision to sing like I have been with a much more opened approach. It went ok. Dies Bildniss is a difficult aria for many singers. It isn't incredibly high, but the tessitura is. (tessitura = the average range where most of the aria is sung)

Then the opera director, who just got back from directing in Boston (I think), wanted to hear the beginning of Lenki's Aria. It also went ok. The parts that I am best at, weren't all that great. It was hard to hear myself, so I had to trust the feel. It was a little too heavy and probably a little dark. I was called back for Tuesday evening auditions, so if I am going to sing that again, I will be sure to brighten it up a little bit to allow extra resonance to shine through.

In KCVI news, I have exciting news that Oleta Adams (R&B singer) and Lewis Spratlan (2000 Pulitzer Prize winner in music) are donating to help create a scholarship in their name! There is a lot of news and press coming out in the coming weeks. Hopefully, more will become interested and more kids here in Kansas City will be able to have lessons.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Tuesday - UMKC Opera Call Backs
Saturday - K-State vs. UCLA (that's right, we have season tickets!)

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS AUDITIONS

So, early in February I set out to another audition at the University of North Texas.  They have a very fine music school and several of the professors here at K-State received degrees from UNT, so there was a lot of history I was bringing along with me.  Dusti was able to go with me, which we are not able to do that often, but we drove from Manhattan, KS to Denton, TX (about 7 hours) and found a hotel to spend the night.  The next morning, I was trying to recover from the remnants of a head cold I had early in the week, so I was drinking hot water from the coffee pot, to tame the phlegm.  We drove to the campus which wasn't too much to look at, but it was one of those cases that "you can't judge a book by its cover" kind of thing.

When I got to the College of Music, they were having an entire day of undergraduate and graduate auditions.  I didn't really have trouble finding a practice room because they have an entire building of just practice rooms.  I was able to walk through the building and look around before my audition, and I lucked out this time, the audition was in a very live room, which was fun to sing in for once.  It appeared as if most of the voice faculty was there, and luckily when I began my audition, I didn't have too much problem from my cold that I had been suffering from earlier in the week.  I began with a Strauss lied and they chose one of my favorite pieces "To Joy" by Finzi and they chose "En fermant les yeux" by Massenet.  I sang pretty well, very emotive, which I feel went over well, but I was very pleased of how it went.

Afterward, my accompanist, Stephen Dubberly, who is the Opera Music Director at UNT, made some very nice comments to me.  He enjoyed my performance as did several of the other professors who made note of some of the faculty at K-State that they know.  Among them was Richard Croft, who is one of the most famous tenors in all the world.  He made quick note of several technical things that I was doing wrong, but he invited me to come back to have a few lessons, with which he could show me what he was talking about.  That was extremely generous, because I know he is very busy, moving around all over the world, so even though he was very up-front (not unlike Bobby Knight) I was very happy to have gotten that response.

Then Stephen Dubberly asked what I had next on my schedule (which was nothing) and he wanted to give me a tour.  Well, we went to their new performing arts center, and it was incredible.  They had a theater specifically for Opera performances, where we went in and looked and talked to people while they were setting up for their Opera Production.  Then we went to their Concert Hall, which was amazing as well, where the orchestra was practicing Mahler's 1st Symphony - Dudamel made his debut at LA Phil with Mahler 1, and I loved it!  We were able to talk about many things, and I was asking so many questions; I very much appreciate the time he spent - it was nice that a school was trying to sell itself to me.  That is what I am used to here at K-State, and I very much appreciated it rather than the more professional rigor I felt at other auditions.  He even had a lot to say about K-State's spring Opera, the rarely performed new Opera by Pasatieri called "Hotel Casablanca" - NOW SHOWING AT K-STATE...GET TICKETS AT THE MCCAIN BOX OFFICE (shameless plug).  I am playing the role of Charles.

Anyway, afterward, Mr. Dubberly dropped me off at the Union where I met Dusti and we then drove to Wichita to eat with their family and then to Salina that evening.  It is tough having very long business trips, but it is worth it especially to feel accomplished.  In order to get through all the rejections, you have to hold on to what you love, and keep the expectation high for yourself.  I am always proud of what I do, even if it doesn't go well, it takes a lot of guts and nerves, but as long as you literally try your best, it is extremely gratifying. Next up: The University of Kansas.