Domain Forget Voice Program

And from our belle Provence...

Le Domaine Forget International Music and Dance Academy offers serious students the opportunity to perfect their skills under the auspices of world-renowned artists. The beauty and tranquility of the setting at Domaine Forget inspire creativity whilst the facilities are perfectly suited to the needs of both students and teachers.

Whether you are a young professional or an advanced student, you will benefit from the opportunity to further your musical training through the tutelage of established teachers and the participation in masterclasses given by distinguished international artists.

Voice Faculty include Lyne Fortin and coaches from the Montreal Opera.

May 30-June 10, 2010

*note: while I assume that classes and lessons will be offered in both English and French, this is a great way for English speaking singers to practice their French!

VISI - Vancouver International Song Institute

This just in....

The Vancouver International Song Institute
June 4-23, 2010
UBC School of Music, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
www.songinstitute.ca

"I have never experienced a summer program this focused, interesting, uplifting, and well run. The range of classes, concerts, and lectures was stellar"

- 2009 VISI participant

Welcome to VISI 2010, the interdisciplinary institute for training, performance innovation, and research in Art Song and other genres. VISI offers a summer nexus for collaborative study and projects among performers, teachers of Art Song, poets, composers, musicologists, translators, actors, directors, scholars and researchers in arts, humanities, social science, music neuroscience, and music therapy. VISI is also a gathering place for song-lovers and listeners who can attend classes, workshops, and concerts. If you are new to our Institute, we invite you to discover its mandate and programs at www.songinstitute.ca

For our members and past attendees looking for new program announcements, our re-constructed website is now launched with information about our June programs and events, with many more event details to be posted in the coming months.

Our professionally-oriented Study programs for the June 2010 session include:
The Theatre of Art Song/Collaborative Studies
Song Musicology Mentorship
Pedagogy of Art Song Retreat for Teachers of Voice and Collaborative Piano - "Teaching Art Song from the Inside Out"
Research projects in Music Cognition
Music Therapy Symposium
Special topics for the 2010 session include "The Romantic Self" - Schumann and his Legacy; Surrealism and French Mélodie; Songs of Samuel Barber; Dynamics of Collaborative Partnership.

The Theatre of Art Song/Collaborative Piano Studies faculty includes François LeRoux, Rosemarie Landry, Cameron Stowe, Kenneth Griffiths, and Julie Simson joining a large roster of internationally acclaimed musicians, directors, and scholars. The dynamic New Triad for Collaborative Arts will also be in Residence, through a generous grant from the Sorel Organization.

The Musicology Mentorship is guided by Dr. Benjamin Binder, musicologist and collaborative pianist from Duquesne University, and a forum of scholars including Dr. Richard Kurth and Barbara Heyman.

The Pedagogy Retreat will feature Professor Scott McCoy, President of NATS, with an array of distinguished artists and scholars across many fields of interest related to Art Song interpretation, performance practice, and pedagogy.

If you are a member of the Listening Community VISI welcomes you to attend our many masterclasses and lectures. As well, our customized programs for the general public include some "how-to" workshops in diverse vocal traditions, a Music Therapy Symposium, and a Choral Adventure weekend. Please see the Masterclass and Symposia pages on our website for more information.

Applications are online for the university training programs (theatre, collaborative piano, musicology). Registration forms for other programs will be online in March.

VISI is delighted to announce SONGFIRE, a month-long festival of Song in Vancouver from late May through June in collaboration with City Opera, Turning Point Ensemble, Elektra Women's Choir, Erato Art Song Ensemble, Silk Purse Music Society, Dunbar Heights United Church Music Society, and others. Our Festival brochure will be posted in May.

Plan a VISI Vacation to suit your interests and schedule, and join us for classes and conversations about Song, the Audible Soul of emotion and experience across all boundaries of time and culture.

"I had an inspiring, revelatory, fun, challenging, and altogether fabulous time".

www.songinstitute.ca

All Mac all the time

Happy New Year! Its time to get back into work mode...this Christmas was an "all Mac" holiday...new iPhone and the newest MacBook (yes, I'm spoiled) which have proven to be incredible! I am currently discovering new apps, new features on iTunes and of course, playing with Garageband.

My new favourite apps for singing and teaching include Virtuoso Lite which is a keyboard with 6 octaves and great sound; iTranslate which allows instant translations in 50-odd languages; Intermundia librettos of 24 different operas and Bump which allows iPhone users to exchange their business cards by "bumping" phones (get it downloaded before the NATS convention and you won't need business cards!).

While playing on the iPhone (a great way to kill time while waiting in line) I discovered iTunes U where universities have uploaded videos and audio files of lectures, concerts and tours of their schools! Check out Ithaca, NY and their tutorial on learning Les Berceaux and Indiana University for all the free student and faculty concerts.

Finally, Garageband is the coolest, easiest way to record your lessons, create audio samples for web pages and upload anything into iTunes.

Let me know what your favourite apps are and how you use them in your work and play...you can also see from my picture some of the silliness I have also discovered!

Cheers for a happy and productive 2010!

Canadian tenor David Pomeroy makes last minute MET debut as Hoffman

Former COC Ensemble Member and Newfoundlander David Pomeroy posted on Facebook that he was making his last minute MET debut last night in the role of Hoffman...not only his MET debut (he was the understudy for Calleja) but his role debut to boot!

Here is a bit of a review from a google opera discussion thread:

To get it out of the way, he is about 34 or so, and though he was the understudy and performed the last two acts at the dress, this was actually his MET debut, and his role debut (!!!), and he was given notice that he was going on at 3:30 this afternoon. In other words, he had only slightly more time to get ready that he had to be on stage once the opera started. He seemed remarkably self assured - if you didn't know the circumstances, you wouldn't have guessed - except in his duets with Antonia (Netrebko), where he lost a bit of focus and was obviously more thinking about staying on the same page with her than anything else.

Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to all of you out there in Canadian Opera land! I will be on vacation until January 4...I hope you will keep reading in 2010 as I plan to discuss graduate voice programs in Canada as well as a continue the Spotlight on Repertoire!

Best wishes for 2010!

Elizabeth

Toronto Operetta Theatre - 25 years going strong

For those of you who missed this Toronto Star article...Toronto Operetta Theatre (TOT) celebrates 25 years!

Read more on Bill Silva and his history with the company.

Audition workshop in Toronto 2010

I just received this interesting workshop notice this week...have a look:

We would like to forward the below mentioned workshop taking place in Toronto on January 9, 2010. This workshop will be conducted by Opera America Member and Dramatic Soprano, Margarete von Vaight. Ms. von Vaight studied vocal performance in Toronto, Vienna and Seattle by world-renowned Dramatic Soprano, Jane Eaglen. This workshop will focus on the needs of Career Planning for the Intermediate and Advanced Singer. Specifically, audition preparation, resume preparation, and the importance of competitions and their impact on a young singer's resume. Ms. von Vaight returns with a wealth of knowledge during her cross Canada tour featuring meetings with Music Directors and Artistic Administrators of Canadian and American opera companies. Each student will be provided with an "Audition Package" which will feature Mock Audition material.
Interactive exercises, discussion and networking amongst other singers will be included. Please feel free to contact us for more information.


Career Planning for Singers Workshop January 9, 2010
Toronto, Ontario

Career Planning for Singers 2010, will explore the preparation of a young singers performance career. Join us for an afternoon filled with educational information every singer should know.

Singers will be provided with Audition Materials

This workshop will cover:

Resume Writing
Head shots
Repertoire
Young Artist Program Discussion
After Graduation: What Next?
Managers and Agents
Training and Education that Matters
Performance Experience
Mock Audition Packages

Pre-Registration is essential. Please contact us at operaworkshop@gmx.com for more information. Or call 647-242-7342 to reserve.

Date: January 9, 2010
Time: 12:30 @ 4:30pm
Cost: $60.00 (includes all workshop materials)