Hi!
I would just like to say that I sung with the Austin Girls' Choir (a
truly fine girls' chorus-we performed at Carnegie Hall with the
American Boychoir in a joint concert) from the ages of 11-14, and I
must say- the level of repertoire that I sung at 11 was comparable to
what I did in high school and even college. I oftentimes find myself
saying "I sung this in the AGC" At 11, I was one of the oldest girls
and there were girls younger than me with voices that were truly top
notch. One girl was 9 years old and had already performed as Amahl in
Amahl and the night visitors with a professional opera company, and
others had been taking voice lessons since about age 7. Now the choir
is a part of the Austin Lyric Opera's children's chorus, and also
sing every year with the Austin Symphony Orchestra and Ballet
Austin's production of The Nutcracker. Choir for me is where I really
learned how to sing, as I never studied voice until my senior year of
High School. I think that if done carefully, singing at an early age
can truly help a young singer. The fundamentals of singing that I
learned when I was younger formed the backbone of technique until I
was about 18, and I will be forever grateful. Now I am 20 and I am
trying to help my 11 (soon to be 12) year old sister try to find a
voice teacher in the Austin area. By the way Tina, your daughter is
the CUTEST!! :)
Clarissa
--- In vocalist-temporary@y..., "Tina Harris" <harrisstudio@a...>
wrote:
> Thanks for all the literature input on opera music for young
voices.
> It's given me a few things to think about. But I have another
thought.
> I am also a choral teacher and have taught choirs of all ages. We
see
> girls/children's chorus's singing a wide variety of music from opera
> choruses, Bach cantatas, and 20th century music all which requires
vocal
> technique, extreme ranges and maturity of voice. How is this
different
> from young singers studying the same music as a soloist instead of
in a
> group? I, for one, would rather have my daughter study one-on-one
with
> someone I trust rather than in a chorus doing who-knows-what with
her
> voice.
> Case in point, I have a talented 15-year old singer who has sung
> with a wonderful children's chorus for several years, as well as
having
> many, many lead rolls in community theater, everything from Mabel in
> Pirates, Annie in Annie to the female lead in Oliver (I can't
remember
> the character's name). She finally came to me for lessons last
year, at
> the recommendation of her chorus teacher. She sings primarily in a
> head/chest tone mix which has given her a seamless range and much
> volume, although it's causing problems now that she is trying to
break
> into "legitimate" soprano roles with a clear and free head tone.
We're
> sticking with easy classics and soprano show tunes right now, so
don't
> rail on me for giving her songs she's not ready for. So...my point
is,
> shouldn't she have been studying technique with someone for years
so she
> could have been moving in the right direction all along? The girl
is
> going to sing and perform no matter what; shouldn't child singers
get
> training before they do damage on their own??
>
> Tina Harris
> tinamharris@a...
> http://tinamharris.home.attbi.com/
> http://homepage.mac.com/elbowww/mp/
>
> Tina Harris
> tinamharris@a...
> http://tinamharris.home.attbi.com/
> http://homepage.mac.com/elbowww/mp/
|
