To give an honest view about the Salzburg Voice Festival, I needed to order my thoughts in away to paint a clear perspective of what I endured for the whole of July. I remember at Church, the pastor preached about criticism and how healthy criticism can benefit everyone especially the one being criticized. If I can recall there were four points of criticism that you should address. What did I like, what didn’t I like, what did I learn, and what could be improved upon? I would like to add a fifth question how did this experience help me? This is how I am going to address my experience.
What did I like? The one thing in this whole six month journey that I like was how I rose to the challenge! In six months, I learned how to raise money for a big project, market and sell merchandise for the goal, galvanize all of my resources and build something from absolutely nothing! I gathered support from all of you and people who heard about me from other people! This is a major skill! I learned 23 pieces of music! I rose to the challenge of learning new pieces from nothing, and refined pieces of music I had previously put away, plus I able to build on my German skills! With the help of Marya and my sheer determination, I developed a study plan and practice schedule. I committed myself to this project like it was indeed my job! I traveled to a foreign country, alone and managed to get there in one piece without missing a plane or getting lost! When I got to the festival, I was incredibly prepared and overwhelmed my teachers with the amount of musical preparation. I was ready. This gave me an amazing feeling of confidence. I also liked that I was able to get along with my fellow festival colleagues! I found almost everyone genuine, kind, affable and extremely talented.
What didn’t I like? I will be the first to say I DO NOT LIKE THE HEAT! It was very hot and humid there! I also brought home some nasty bug bites! As for the festival it was clear that the youthful vigor of its two organizers was matched by the plentiful experience of its 18 participants. One pianist, three practice rooms, and all day in the outskirts of Salzburg, made the whole experience feel isolating. In addition, the only opportunity that we would be heard was going to be in one publicized concert of Ave Marias at the end of the festival. We began to feel a little bit let down by what was promised and what was actually delivered. This didn’t stop me from giving my all in the recital I performed. Yet, it was disappointing being in the city of the biggest classical summer music festival and not having the opportunity to be heard by more people. I did not like that!
What Did I learn? I learned that in a lot of areas I am still very green. The acting lessons I received gave me a bigger picture of what it is like to be on stage with a scene partner. I had a great teacher in Javier Andrade. He was able to get me to see the importance of listening to my scene partner. Listening and understanding is key to bring more depth to the phrase am singing as well. I had a great scene partner in the Venezuelan tenor Francisco Morales. He played Cavaradosi to my Tosca. I learned so much from him in terms of bringing more emphasis to key parts of the phrase that I sang in the duet. He also is extremely professional! One can always look to professional singers for lessons on how to carry yourself gracefully! One should always present your best self to the public. I learned to listen to the culture of the people. Salzburg is a very conservative country that has a quiet calm about it! Never did I put on an iPod to block the sounds of loud talking or street noise. This helped me to hear the music inside of my head even better than I do in the states! This also helped me to engage people in conversations in German!
What could be improved upon? On my part, I feel as if I could have done a little more research about festival and learning opportunities in Austria. Hindsight is definitely 20/20. Once I was here and saw what this city had to offer in terms of Musical training, I should have set my sights on the Mozarteum. This phenomenal institution also has a summer training program. The faculty consisted of Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Grace Bumbry, Barbara Bonney, and Edda Moser just to name a few. Being exposed to the great singers and studying with them would have been better match to the skills I brought and am trying to acquire. In its’ second year, the Salzburg Voice Festival was extremely ambitious with its’ intentions of producing an opera film, handling eighteen 80 minute long recitals each night and producing opera scenes in two weeks. Consequently, we all suffered through disorganized rehearsals, logistical disasters of filming in unpredictable weather, plus we were never able to sing through all of the scenes we prepared. It was a mess! This “festival” severely lacked the structure and organization that would offer its’ singers a more well rounded and balance experience. Consequently, we lost three singers necause of the frustration, false promises and utter confusion. One student defected to the Mozarteum out of the sheer desperation. One cannot foster the career ambitions of 18 singers in two weeks. Though, I do not regret going; after all, I met and worked with some of the most extremely talented singers from all around the world, world class a piano trio and opera director.
How did this experience help me? Ultimately, this experience helped me to recognize that I have the ability to make my goals a reality. Once I received the acceptance letter, there was nothing stopping me from accomplishing the goal. It helped me to focus my studies and dig deeper into my vocal technique. When I got to my first coaching, I was proud of the way I was singing. It helped me to see what kind of artist I am becoming. Getting the feedback from my peers helped me to see where I needed to improve vocally and interpretively. This experience inspired me to become the best version of myself and represent my product in a more professional way. Though there were some aspects about the festival that I would have changed. I am still glad I had the guts to go and have the experience. I know I can do it. I have made a promise to go to the summer program next year at the Mozarteum.
