A Small and Timely Update
Just wanted to share a few of my experiences this weekend. Ah, for those of you who don't know, I was in Wichita at Regional NATS, which is a singing competition.
The first round we were allowed to present one piece, then the judges chose between two other pieces we had prepared. I opened with the A section of of ternary aria by Handel, which is very full of vengeance and exciting. It went over well, and the energy it carried allowed me to present my English art song with a very smooth legato. I made finals.
Saturday morning I scrambled around trying to find Richard Fountain to see if he could play for me for a master class. He could, thank God, but it was coming down to the last minute. It also helps that he is a tremendous accompanist, because he caught when I botched an entrance. The master class went well, and I recieved quite a few compliments, both from people I know and some I didn't.
I decided to stick with "The Ash Grove" for finals, because I was most familiar with it. Probably a poor choice because its a hard mood to jump into and because it requires so much phrasing. Also, its simple so it probably doesn't impress judges that well.
The results: I got fourth. Which means I'm (sort of) the fourth best male vocalist in the Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming area, or at least, of those that attended.
So in the end I felt really good about the whole experience. I had time to meet and chat with a lot of the other vocalists I never really meet, and its good to make more friends. I also was able to observe my professors outside of the classroom, which provides a lot of insight into their personalities. Finally, I got to spend a lot of time with Jessie. Oh, and she recieved third both in her classical division and third in the lower division musical theatre. She's really quite an amazing singer.
So I'm happy and tired. Tired, mostly because in order to sing this morning on a volunteer job for my theory professor and finishing theory and musical theatre work last night I went to bed at three and got up at 6:30. But my mood and my mind are still intact and all the better for it. I hope all of you that read this are feeling just as well. Gute nacht!
The first round we were allowed to present one piece, then the judges chose between two other pieces we had prepared. I opened with the A section of of ternary aria by Handel, which is very full of vengeance and exciting. It went over well, and the energy it carried allowed me to present my English art song with a very smooth legato. I made finals.
Saturday morning I scrambled around trying to find Richard Fountain to see if he could play for me for a master class. He could, thank God, but it was coming down to the last minute. It also helps that he is a tremendous accompanist, because he caught when I botched an entrance. The master class went well, and I recieved quite a few compliments, both from people I know and some I didn't.
I decided to stick with "The Ash Grove" for finals, because I was most familiar with it. Probably a poor choice because its a hard mood to jump into and because it requires so much phrasing. Also, its simple so it probably doesn't impress judges that well.
The results: I got fourth. Which means I'm (sort of) the fourth best male vocalist in the Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming area, or at least, of those that attended.
So in the end I felt really good about the whole experience. I had time to meet and chat with a lot of the other vocalists I never really meet, and its good to make more friends. I also was able to observe my professors outside of the classroom, which provides a lot of insight into their personalities. Finally, I got to spend a lot of time with Jessie. Oh, and she recieved third both in her classical division and third in the lower division musical theatre. She's really quite an amazing singer.
So I'm happy and tired. Tired, mostly because in order to sing this morning on a volunteer job for my theory professor and finishing theory and musical theatre work last night I went to bed at three and got up at 6:30. But my mood and my mind are still intact and all the better for it. I hope all of you that read this are feeling just as well. Gute nacht!