1998 – All Articles

In the 9:00-5:00 career-track world, retirement is usually figured into the employee’s benefit package. As free-lance singers working for a flat fee, it is up to us to provide for our “golden years.” One method is the individual retirement account: easy, convenient and effective.

Many singers may feel very alone when they are struggling with health issues, for fear that rumors of problems may affect their hireability. Dr. Jahn has received a number of e-mails from singers with questions about their health and its impact on their careers. We hope this sample of the questions asked helps to reassure you that you are not alone.

Auditioning for a solo position in an oratorio? Here are some tips from Lyndon Woodside, conductor of the Oratorio Society of New York, on what to sing, what to wear, and what to do.

Like Sherrill Milnes, many singers, conductors, coaches and teachers had mentors as they made their way up the career ladder. Now they are completing the circle: giving back to the field by working with singers in a mentoring capacity.

For performers living and working away from home, the extra holiday workload combined with being away from family can be tough. Yet the CS Regional Reporters are adapting remarkably well. Below, a few share their secrets for making holidays special.

Are today’s performers struggling more and more with singing on pitch? Here, some top voice teachers discuss tuning problems in career-level singers, with suggestions for how to improve pitch.

“There was sometimes a foggy indistinctness, almost as if he were singing between two notes.”

“…Potent on top, but weak and off-pitch down below.”

“He flirted as much with the pitch as with the heroine.”
–Opera News

Who’s a guerrilla temp? Someone who knows more than the party line we all get when we sign on with a temporary agency. Here are a few statements many of us have heard, and what they really mean.

The holidays present some special money-making opportunities for singers, and one of those is caroling! Cynthia Vaughn spoke to some singers who are earning extra cash for the holiday season while simultaneously having a great time.

Several singers sent us copies of this article asking us to let singers know about it. We agreed. It’s good for all of us to be reminded of the power of music.

Have you been hitting your head against a brick wall trying to get your voice, your life and your career together? Maybe it’s time to stop and find “the inner connection.”

Sherrill Milnes on performing, mentoring,
and passing along a lifetime’s worth of memories

The second offering in our continuing review of study aids met with general approval by our panel of professional singers. They found the three-step system well thought-out and implemented, and particularly useful to students who require a diction coach or reperteur.