The hills are alive with the sound of music—but those aren’t hills, they are the beautiful mountains of Taos Ski Valley.
This past summer 24 students took part in the inaugural year of a new summer program at this beautiful site. The Taos Opera Institute (affectionately called TOI) is designed as an intensive vocal program to help bridge the gap between academia and apprenticeships. For the entire month of June students and young professionals gathered to focus on integrating and improving technique, physical well-being, and artistry.
So is this just another summer program or does TOI really stand out compared to other options?
The Taos Opera Institute is a pay-to-sing summer program. The cost for 2008 was $3,295; it will be $3,500 next summer. For that price, some singers can’t help but consider attending a program in Europe—and with the American economy in the current, temporary predicament many singers have to think twice. Is it worth the time to have fund-raising concerts and ask your friends and family for small contributions and love offerings? “Why would I go to the Taos Opera Institute?” I’ve never even heard of it!” you might ask.
Let’s take a deep breath and move in for a closer look at what this program has to offer.
“We wanted to start a program that would target the young singer that is stuck between academia and the professional world,” said Mary Jane Johnson, cofounder and artistic director. “So many singers don’t know what to do after college and aren’t quite prepared for the challenges associated with being a full-time performer.”
Johnson has spent most of her musical life as an international operatic soprano. “I know what it takes to be a healthy, working opera singer,” she said. “There is more to being a performer than just singing and studying. At TOI we share other invaluable tools that help keep singers mentally, physically, and musically healthy.”
Rest is one of the most important factors in staying a healthy performer, Johnson continued. “It is important to relax and sleep in a place where you feel comfortable. In the end, you’re not only happier, you’re healthier.”
Upon arrival at Taos Ski Valley singers move into the provided housing—but don’t expect to stay in a dormitory or a hostel-like environment. Each singer lives in either a private or shared room (based on individual preference) in a luxurious condominium. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?
For the first year, housing arrangements provided most singers with private rooms and bathrooms, and a shared kitchen in a two-bedroom suite. In some instances singers shared rooms in a very spacious unit complete with two large bedrooms and a wide-open living room and kitchen. Amenities for these condos included 20-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances, wireless Internet, and even a fireplace for those chilly, high-altitude evenings. For 2009, TOI has decided to provide every resident with a private room and bathroom for ultimate comfort and privacy.
During the first few days on location, all the singers perform for the voice and coaching faculty. This allows the entire staff to hear every singer in a live audition-style scenario, analyze repertoire, and assign scenes. The coaches and teachers assess each performer from both a musical and dramatic standpoint to give each participant a uniquely tailored experience.
“The faculty was very knowledgeable about what I should do next,” said program attendee Lindsay Blackmon. “I didn’t have any perspective, so I took advantage of my time with them. They were honest with me about things concerning my career. I really got a lot out of it.”
Blackmon, who has a master’s in performance from Southern Methodist University, was ready to throw in the singing towel before she went to TOI. “When I got home [from TOI] I had a whole new perspective on myself and my career. I was frustrated with my voice before TOI and I didn’t have the ambition for a career. Now I know that I can’t quit.”
Every week each singer receives four to five private lessons or coachings. TOI arranges these sessions so that the singers alternate between all the different teachers and coaches every week. This is one way TOI differs from many other programs, which usually assign singers to one vocal instructor and one or two lessons a week for the length of the program.
“We aren’t intending to change anyone’s technique. That’s not our job,” says Johnson, “but, we do think it is important for these singers to get input from everyone we have on staff. Then the singer has to take all the advice and sort through what they want and need to keep. Sorting through this kind of information is a skill these singers have to master or else they will go nuts trying to please everybody.”
In addition to rotating through the faculty, TOI students also have the opportunity to work with a coach and teacher together in the same lesson—a unique kind of team-teaching approach. “I liked the dynamic of meeting with a voice instructor one day, a coach the next day, and at the end of the week, both the coach and voice teacher in the same lesson,” said mezzo-soprano Mary Taylor Rogers. “It was very helpful to work on dramatic and musical aspects separately, eventually putting them together with both of them in the same room.”
During these sessions students focus on one major language for the entire week. Faculty members share their weekly assessments with each student to encourage hard work and to pinpoint areas that may need more attention.
In addition to private voice lessons and coachings participants receive weekly diction classes in French, German, and Italian. “Most American singers struggle with languages,” said Johnson. The diction classes are intended to help polish the singers’ capabilities in these languages.
The administration at TOI has strong opinions about being comfortable in all the singing languages. By “comfortable” they mean not just singing in those languages, but actually spending time learning them. One addition to next year is unlimited access to the Rosetta Stone language software. Singers who are accepted into the institute will have unlimited access to Rosetta Stone during the program, and receive a one-year membership to RosettaStone.com to continue their language work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian.
Singers at the opera institute will perfect skills and work their minds, but they will work their bodies, too. “We want to address the whole singer, not just preparing roles,” said Linda Poetschke, cofounder and program director for TOI. “Our desire is to work with a singer from the inside out—not just the voice, but work with them as the person, the total being. This is such an important part of how successful we are, whether it’s being successful in the eyes of the world or in our own skin.”
Every day, Monday through Friday, singers wake up and begin their day with a “healthy” dose of exercise. For one hour everyone (including the teachers and coaches) gathers and works out with a number of different exercises. In the program’s first year, on some days students and faculty followed a course of aerobic exercise. Other days involved sessions of yoga or tai chi. And who could spend a month in the mountains of Taos without nature hikes? A professional trainer led and supervised all training sessions and hikes.
Some of last year’s participants felt the exercising program lacked variety, so Johnson and Poetschke plan to adopt a newer combination of exercises to keep things fresh. “Next year we are going to add some cardio and dance options similar to Zumba and Jazzercise,” said Poetschke. She mentioned that last summer students led some of these alternate exercise sessions just for fun in addition to their regular workouts, so now TOI will make them part of the regular exercise sessions.
Exercise is not the only measure the program takes toward developing a healthier singer. Five days a week TOI provides meals for both students and faculty. The menu usually provides health conscious options: a balanced diet of meats, fruits, vegetables, and carbs. Vegetarian options are also available.
Just a couple of students felt that the dining options last year left something to be desired. “There wasn’t a whole lot of assortment. Sometimes it seemed pretty repetitive,” said one. In response, Poetschke explained that beginning next year a different restaurant will cater to ensure the same healthy dining options but with less repetition of the same foods.
The four-week program also plans to include a number of masterclasses. Clinician Diane Clark—who specializes in teaching the Wesley Balk technique, which focuses on different approaches to becoming a singer-actor—is among the planned masterclass providers. Last summer Jean Kraft, a Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano, and Kathleen Clawson gave separate sessions providing performance advice for audition repertoire. A career development class answered other difficult questions about career planning, self-promotion, budgeting, taxes, fine-tuning negotiating skills, and much more.
Alma Thomas, coauthor of Power Performance for Singers: Transcending the Barriers is also a performance enhancement psychologist. Last year she emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy balance of mind, body, and soul. She also answered questions on competition psychology and performance anxiety. Thomas, who works regularly with the world’s greatest singers and Olympic athletes, also held one-on-one sessions with each singer to give private attention to more personal issues. Her meetings were so helpful last summer that she has agreed to stay for an entire week this June. Her extra time on location will provide singers with multiple private sessions and additional advice on performance psychology.
During the last week of the institute singers perform a scenes program for patrons and local residents. This final gala is a classy event held in a beautiful venue in the city of Taos. The performance is open to the public. Singers perform the scenes in audition attire, so no costumes or stage make-up are involved. Each singer usually participates in two to three scenes, with piano accompaniment.
The final treat of the month is a trip to Santa Fe, which includes a tour of the Santa Fe Opera house. As part of the tour singers get to sit in on a consultation with the director of Santa Fe’s Apprentice Program. The consultation gives information about SFO’s audition process and the life of an apprentice at the opera house. After the tour and meeting, last year’s singers were able to meet with and ask questions of mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. The evening concluded with tickets to the final dress rehearsal of Verdi’s Falstaff. The 2009 visit to Santa Fe will include similar activities, with tickets to SFO’s final rehearsal of La traviata featuring Natalie Dessay.
“We had an excellent first year and are expecting an even better second year,” said Johnson. For the 2009 program TOI plans to invite four to six artists from the previous year as outreach participants performing throughout the Taos and Santa Fe region. “We are looking to bring back the cream of the crop to represent our organization through these great performance opportunities,” said Johnson. The singers chosen for these positions will be on partial scholarship and have the same opportunity as the other program participants to take advantage of all the masterclasses, lessons, and coachings.
In the end, did the singers of TOI’s first year feel their experience was worthwhile? “I had never felt the need to do a program, but I thought it was great,” said Andrew Gray, one of the more experienced participants. “I knew the quality of the teachers and coaches that were going to be there and I wanted to pick their brains. That was a goal of mine. They taught me the difference between being a ‘D’ house [singer] and an ‘A’ house singer. I walked away learning a lot.”
Gray is a second-year resident artist with Arizona Opera and has sung roles with the Arizona Opera company since 1997. He plans on returning to Taos next summer as an outreach participant.
It appears as though, for the first year at least, TOI has made a positive impact with many of its young artists. No summer program is perfect, but Mary Jane Johnson, Linda Poetschke, and their hand-picked staff are dedicated to making the Taos Opera Institute a wholesome and invigorating place to perfect the skills it takes to become a working performer.
Learn more by visiting TOI’s website at www.taosoi.com.
