COC freebies!

I received an exciting press release last week from the Canadian Opera Company announcing their free concert series:

The Free Concert Series lineup for the 2011/2012 season has been announced!

Some of the highlights:

·         The Vocal Series features mainstage COC artists Erin Wall (Love from Afar, The Tales of Hoffmann), Julie Makerov (Tosca), Ekaterina Sadovnikova (Rigoletto), Krisztina Szabó (Love from Afar), Russell Braun (Iphigenia in Tauris), and Robert Pomakov (Rigoletto).

·         For the first time ever, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra is presented in a mini-festival of four concerts featuring its members in various combinations, curated by COC music director Johannes Debus.

·         Kaija Saariaho, composer of Love from Afar, will host a concert featuring the artists of the Ensemble Studio in a program of her vocal works.

Check out the full details on their website and see you there!

Getting ready for summer....already? YAPs in Canada

It seems that every year deadlines come earlier than the previous year...and this year is no exception.  With competition fierce now in Canada for the graduate and emerging professional singers' money to pay-to-sing, young artist programs are putting out their calls for applications already for the summer of 2012.

Here are just a few that have sent me information this week:

Opera NUOVA
Based in Edmonton, AB, NUOVA has a number of different programs to offer with both short and long term training terms for singers and collaborative pianists.  Auditions start at the end of October and their deadline is Oct 15, 2011.  Giddy-up!

Opera on the Avalon

Based in St. John's, NFLD, OOTA will be putting up Puccini's Sour Angelica and Gianni Schicchi this summer.  The deadline for live auditions is November 9 with auditions taking place later in the month.  

COAA/AEDO
Based at the University of Western Ontario, COAA is in its 4th year and just completed its first year of an international collaborative program (AEDO). From their press release:

We are also delighted to continue our relationship with the Istituto Musicale Luigi Boccherini, and to announce a new collaboration with the Opera Studio Nederland, in the realization of AEDO, taking place this year in both Milan, IT and in Amsterdam, NL. This unique program focuses intensely on the art of learning and performing a full role, and culminates with staged performances, with orchestra, throughout northern Italy and in Amsterdam respectively. Application deadlines for AEDO Italy and AEDO Amsterdam are the same as those for COAA for North American students (one audition fee and application for all programs), information concerning live and recorded auditions for European students will be forthcoming on the website www.aedopera.com .

Stats and YAPs

782 Application
424 Auditions Granted
16 Singers CHOSEN

Those are the stats that made up Wolf Trap Opera this summer....and many other YAPs.  Just another reason to get yourself in gear for the upcoming academic year.

Aside from singing full roles at WTOC, singers are learning lots of skills according to Director, Kim Pensinger Witman:

"...Here they're also learning time-management skills... and they're also networking. It's not just that you're meeting people who will give you jobs later on, but you're making connections with your peers who will journey through the business with you, and they support one another which is a big deal. We are increasingly trying to help them develop their business skills. We do head shot and portfolio sessions; we give them website building advice and social networking seminars. You need to handle all this until you get a manager, and even after you have a manager, you have to understand all this to know if your manager is doing a good job. We're now realizing how much it will help them if they have some traction with the business side."

Read the whole article by Susan Dormady Eisenberg at the Huffington Post here.

...and BTW, the deadline for applying for the 2012 season is SEPTEMBER 16 for NYC auditions but alas, you must be a US citizen or have a work permit..*sigh*

Competition Season...are YOU ready?

There are always so many voice competitions to keep track of (which is why YapTracker is SO great) that I can never blog about all of them.  That being said, here are a few that are open to Canadian singers that have come "across my desk" this week:


Czech and Slovak International Singing Competition
Theatre Lyrichoregra 20 - Montreal
November 21-26, 2011
Repertoire: Italian-French-Czech-Slovak as well as pieces from Mozart 


For those of Chinese decent:
Chinese International Vocal Competition

• Preliminaries:
  • Asia-Pacific Region: August 28th, 2011.
  • North America Region: October 28th, 2011.
• Semi-Finals: October 29th, 2011.
• Finals, Award Ceremony, and "Chinese Future Stars Recital Concert": October 30th, 2011.

Check out the NEW competition from Opera Theatre Pittsburgh

Opera Theater of Pittsburgh Presents a New Vocal Competition and Young Artist Training Programs! The Mildred Miller International Voice Competition The competition offers young professional and pre-professional singers from around the world the chance to win three substantial monetary prizes, plus optional appropriate solo roles as agreed in an Opera Theater Summer Festival 2012 main stage production.

And of course...the MET Competition!

Check out their comprehensive website for information ..and be sure to read the "Are You Ready?" section!  Applicants for the 2011–12 season of auditions must be within the following ages:

20–30 years old for all voice types from August 1, 2011, through July 31, 2012

Westben is looking for singers!

Westben Festival, started by soprano Donna Bennett and her husband collaborative pianist Brian Finley, is a wonderful addition to summer music in southern Ontario!  Their concert season is eclectic and after TEN years, just keeps getting stronger.  This is a call for choristers from their Facebook page:

Westben Arts Festival Theatre

Do you feel like singing? Is it time to get those vocal chords warmed up, flexible and soaring? Join one of Westben's three choruses and let the fun begin. The Westben Festival, Teen and Youth Choruses are starting up again soon and will be working on a new concert version of the Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol. The Westben Festival Chorus begins Monday, September 12, 7 pm at The Barn. The Teen and Youth Choruses start Tuesday, September 13 at 6pm. All are welcome!

The Ontario Youth Choir turns 40!

This week the Ontario Youth Choir, in residence at the University of Toronto, turns 40!  Under the direction of Dr. Hilary Appfelstadt (Director of Choral Activities at UofT), 40 young singers between the ages of 16 and 24 spend eight intense days rehearsing music for a 3 day tour of concerts.

I have had the privilege of providing private vocal lessons to each of the 20 young women of the choir this week while my colleague Peter Barnes will spend the next 3 days working with the young men...and what a talented bunch!  I look forward to hearing these voices as they grow and mature.

If you are a singer that is interested in experiencing choral music at a very high level, check out the OYC website for information on how to join this exciting choir!

To catch this choir in action, you can hear them in Orillia this Saturday, August 27 at St. James' Cathedral at 8pm. In Toronto, they will be performing at the CNE on Friday, August 26 and again in McMillan Theatre at the Edward Johnson Building (UofT) on Sunday, August 28 at 2:00pm.

Women need to sit at the table

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg talks about why women need to keep their foot of the gas pedal of their careers....totally relevant to all young female singers looking to have a career!