| From: Isabelle Bracamonte Subject: re: vocal advice needed - Dolora Zajick's technique To: vocalist, lloyd.hanson-at-NAU.EDU Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>
[an email bug has claimed my system, so I am sending this out again in case it was garbled]
Lloyd Hanson wrote:
May we know more about you? Tell us about the audition procedure you went through and the material you sang for your auditions into the Manhatten School of Music and also Beverly Johnson's studio. This might help listers to be better able to offer advice toward your selection of a teacher. ----
Yes, of course. Thank you, Professor Hanson, for reminding me that I had given very little information about myself.
I am a 24-year-old soprano. I took two years abroad before beginning my undergraduate studies, and as a result, I was able to participate in more of my university's opera productions than many undergraduates. I cannot say enough about waiting until a young voice is more mature before entering university (as my voice certainly would not have been competitive as a 20-year-old, but was as a 22-year-old).
My repertoire is: Gilda, Musetta, Lucia, Juliette, Gretel (roles), plus various arias - Donna Elvira, Ernani's Elvira, Violetta, Doretta, Aennchen, Constanze. In the beginning of my studies (age 18-20)I amassed the soubrette repertoire (the roles of Susanna, Despina, Zerlina, Werther's Sophie, and various other -inalike arias) which I now find confining and low-lying.
I am wary of trying to make a decision about a teacher based on one or two lessons. But spending six months here and six months there, shopping around, could just eat away at these years when I should be solidifying my technique and preparing for the professional launch (presumably in my early 30s) or the young-professional apprenticeship circuit (perhaps in my late 20s).
But is there a better way to find a teacher? I do feel that I have learned all I can from my university teacher (plus, I am graduating), and am anxious to go to New York well-informed about who is out there and what to expect.
I have heard that you must listen to a teacher's students to gain an understanding of the general vocal bend of that teacher. This was my main reason behind inquiring about Ms. Zajick's technique, as I have heard her only rarely and as she has said repeatedly that her vocal production is pure, undistilled Puffer technique. It's too bad you can't do some sort of twin study (quadruplets? clones?), putting identical students exclusively in the hands of various teachers and examining the resultant voices.
The fact that I have been accepted into two studios -- Mr. Puffer's and Ms. Johnson's -- is certainly something solid to base my move upon, as well as an encouragement of my progress thus far. But I am also open to exploring other teachers once I am there.
Graduate school vs. private study is an issue I am thinking hard about, also. The money for grad school (and accumulated debt resulting) is a concern, although I am willing to make it work if teacher x or y (in this case, one of the teachers at Manhattan School) were to be in my best interest. I am quite self-motivated, and would be willing to put in the private study (languages, diction, dance, acting, regional performances) to make up the balance, so to speak, if I decided to study privately and not enter a school.
I hope this additional information has helped. These questions are probably generally applicable, beyond my personal case, and may stimulate other discussion: How does one decide between teachers with equally excellent reputations? What hidden benefits might graduate school offer that one cannot create with diligent self-study and outside classwork? What sorts of classwork would best recreate the graduate school education? Who *is* out there in the New York (or San Francisco, or Chicago, or wherever informed Vocalist subscribers are located) technical scene, and what types of voices/technical styles are they known for producing (or faults correcting, or skills imparting)?
Thank you, everyone, for your help thus far.
Mary (Miss X), with the help of a vocalist-subscribing friend's email access
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