Taking a Long Loook at Shorter College


How did I find Shorter? It wasn’t easy! When I was at the NATS Convention in New Orleans this July, I had a chance to hear Sherri Weiler sing a chamber music piece. Most of you know that Sherri writes for CS, but we had never met and I’d only heard a tape of her singing Russian music. She sang beautifully at the convention—and when we talked about technique, she seemed to have answers to any question I put to her. The joy on her face when she talked about teaching convinced me that she is a born teacher. [Question: What is one reason a student’s jaw might shake at the end of every phrase? Sherri’s answer is at the end of this article.]

We ended up spending a lot of time together, and Sherri told me she was going to be teaching at “Shorter College.” I’d never heard of Shorter. I didn’t remember seeing any Shorter advertising for singers, so I went back to my hotel room and looked the college up on the Internet, Shorter, as far as I could tell from its Web site, didn’t even have a vocal program.

“Poor Sherri,” I thought. “She’s really going to a wasteland.”

I didn’t want to be rude and mention my doubts. But the September issue of CS was going to include info about small schools, so I thought: “Shorter? Why not?” I was thinking I’d just tell singers that a good teacher, Sherri Weiler, was going to be there.

It was very difficult to find any information about Shorter’s program because its Web site is so inadequate. I called the main switchboard—and a woman disconnected me. I tried again, and after being shuffled around to three or four different phones, I got quite a pleasant surprise. I spoke with a Shorter voice teacher, Phoebe Palmer, who cited a list of the school’s amazing accomplishments and then put me in touch with the faculty: a group of incredibly dedicated and caring vocal professionals. Shorter not only has a thriving opera program, the college’s singers seem to be winning everything in sight!

Sherri, a very knowledgeable teacher herself and an excellent performer, is not going into a wasteland, as I had thought. She is going to be teaching at an incredible school. They just happen not to care about advertising that fact, either on the Web or in print. On the Shorter site, you won’t find a single photo of the school’s opera productions, or its impressive list of competition winners, or even a sound clip. These Georgia folks apparently don’t like to brag. They seem to think you are just supposed to know!

Dr. Alan B. Wingard, Dean of the School of the Arts and Professor of Music, is very supportive of the vocal program, since he is a choral man himself and well acquainted with the needs of soloists. When CS talked to him about the program for singers he said he had three things he likes to tell prospective students:

1. We succeed so well because we have chosen not to try to be all things to all people. For example, we specialize in undergraduates here. We don’t have a graduate program, so singers study with professors or adjunct professors.

2. At Shorter, singers begin performing from their freshman year, in seminars, studio classes, recitals, operas and musicals. Graduate students aren’t there to take over.

3. Here at a smaller school, you’re not a number, but a person. We know your name and you know ours. Teaching is a profession. We have an open door policy. You will receive ongoing career direction and advice.

Do you remember Indra Thomas, our cover story for January? We had sound clips of her on our Web site for quite a while. She has a gorgeous voice. Indra sang Liu in Turandot at the Met not long ago. Where did she go to school? Shorter. John Ramsaur was her undergraduate teacher.

Dr. Ramsaur has taught many winners of competitions, and singers who are working in major houses. His biography is interesting because again, you won’t find the big name schools, yet he is teaching singers how to get into the big houses. Dr. Ramsaur is a baritone (except when you interview him after working in the garden, in which case he is a confirmed bass.) He is beginning his 49th year of teaching voice at Shorter.

I took a few minutes to interview him by phone.

What are the most important qualities for singers?

Persistence and patience are the most important qualities for singers and their teachers. I try to teach singers that the world is a competitive place. Most come to school with an idea that they are going to be professional singers—but not many leave with the same idea. We try to help them get a feel for what it’s like out there. Most of our singers audition for jobs that don’t pay but give them good experience.

How is it possible for one teacher to have so many winners?

You’ve got to have good material to start with; you need to attract good students. When I first came to Shorter, there was no scholarship program. I encouraged the president to start offering money and explained the value of a scholarship program in helping the school to move forward. Once that happened, we had our first Metropolitan Opera National Finalist, and she brought us other singers of her caliber. Scholarships and a strong voice faculty bring superior students.

You teach at a small school, yet you are a “name” teacher. Is that because you believe in small schools?

At the undergraduate level, good small colleges help students mature as persons as well as artists. The environment of a small school can be helpful. For the first few years, the singer is rather like the duck who wishes to turn into a swan. If it is possible, we help them to do just that.

It sounds like you are really proud of the Shorter students.

We all are. Many of our singers gain audition experience in NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), MTNA (Music Teachers National Association), NFMC (National Federation of Music Clubs), and occasionally the Metropolitan Opera Guild Auditions. This is invaluable experience for future auditions as aspiring young professionals or teachers. We are preparing voice students for any performance.

What advice do you have for young singers?

One problem I see is when a singer is uncomfortable with a teacher and [the student doesn’t] ask to change. (I’m speaking generally now, and in no way wish this to be misconstrued that I’m trying to build my studio!) But particularly in the Bible Belt, singers are too nice, and it can be just tragic. They stay with a teacher when they are not making progress. No teacher is effective with every student.

How do you feel about student debt?

Getting into huge debt during those formative years isn’t helpful. For example, I had one student who was very promising, but she came from a family without extensive financial resources, and every time an opportunity came along, she’d have to turn it down because she needed to work. Finally, she had to give up on a performing career.

I just taught two tenors at an intern program who had finished graduate work at [a top ten school]. One had incurred debt in the neighborhood of $70,000-$80,000 for his graduate work, and was married with a child. This kind of debt is going to take many years to pay down, and some haven’t even started on their graduate degree.

What would you like to say to teachers?

The longer I teach, the greater a privilege I think it is to do just that. [The students] are great kids and great talents. I work with great colleagues and have been blessed with many talented students.

In addition to John Ramsaur, Shorter singers can study with Linda Lister.

Dr. Lister has a stellar biography and has prepared students for award-winning performances at NATS. A choreographer and dance instructor, Dr. Lister is also a composer and a soprano.

What is the opera program like at Shorter?

The Opera Program presents a fully staged production each year, and in the choice of works, I strive for variety in genre and subject matter to give students a broad experience of performing styles, including standard opera, contemporary works, operetta, and musical theatre.

So you choose works to perform that will teach a skill?

Yes. For example, Die Fledermaus helped develop their comedic timing (and waltzing ability), while Rodgers and Hammerstein’s A Grand Night for Singing gave them exposure to a cabaret/revue setting. In 2004, we did three of my original one-act operas, Tryst and Thereafter (a mini pop-opera), How Clear She Shines! (a chamber opera about the Bronte sisters), and the world premiere of Love Theories (something akin to an operatic Closer than Ever). Future works under consideration for 2006 and beyond include Gianni Schicchi, [Robert] Ward’s Roman Fever, The Consul and a Gilbert and Sullivan work. In January 2005, we will present the Poulenc classic, Dialogues of the Carmelites, a work that has many parts for women.

You’ve got both opera and musical theatre in your plans.

I firmly believe in training a true singing actor, who shifts easily between various styles and genres to ensure a well-rounded theatrical education and open more venues for employment in the music world.

How do you deal with the issue of too many women and not enough men?

I plan works that use women, such as “Dialogues”—but you have to be creative. Some works that I have written grew from this very issue. The opera Little Women is a possibility but is difficult musically. We use scholarships to attract men. This fall we have a good number of incoming men. It may sound crass, but you sometimes have to use scholarships to buy the male voices you need.

How is the competitive atmosphere at Shorter?

There are lots of talented people and much competition, but shall I say that Southern hospitality reigns at Shorter. The singers are well-behaved and well-mannered. I’m sure there’s some backbiting, but I don’t see it. They are very supportive, even when operas are double-cast.

I went to [two big name schools] and saw what went on there. At [one of them] it was rare for an undergrad to get a lead in an opera. At Shorter, undergraduates do all the roles. Shorter is a school I hadn’t heard of until I started working there, but it’s this little gem right here in Northwest Georgia.

How many students will you teach privately?

I’ll have 19 students this year. It’s a big load, but we have a lot of talented singers coming in this year.

If I gave you a magic wand, what would you bestow upon incoming freshman?

Piano and sight singing skills! It used to be that everyone would take piano. Their mothers would make them take lessons—but now they have to play catch up. They have to do so much learning by rote. I wish they would really come to school and seize every opportunity, and take chances. Some do that, and some overdo.

Singers need to use the college time to learn their voices, but they also need to take poetry classes and dance. They need to know, as I found out, that they will get parts in their professional life because they have a background in dance or because they had done musicals or plays and can do dialogue convincingly.

There are two other voice teachers at the school: Phoebe Pomeroy and Sherri Weiler.

Lyric soprano Phoebe Pomeroy has had winners in state and regional NATS and GMTA (Georgia Music Teachers Association). Sadly, she will be retiring in the next few years, but you should take note if you are working on your doctorate and would like to teach here someday.

Sherri Weiler will start teaching at Shorter this fall. She will complete her doctorate in voice performance with a pedagogy emphasis in December 2004. She has had winners in NATS auditions as well as former students accepted into upper-level degree programs in universities and conservatories throughout the United States.

The point of all this? Here is a school with money available for scholarships that is turning out winners. Make sure you take a look at this school and at other schools included in this issue. There’s more out there.

* Sherri Weiler’s answer to the question posed at the beginning: When a singer’s jaw shakes at the end of the phrase, one of the possible causes is that the singer is letting go of support. Talk to your teacher if this is happening to you.

CJ Williamson

CJ Williamson founded Classical Singer magazine. She served as Editor-in-Chief until her death in July, 2005. Read more about her incredible life and contributions to the singing community here.