Page 21 - 2020 Classical Singer Magazine January Summer Program Issue

Courses Available for Singers
For All:
Daily Conversational German for Musicians Henry Pleasants Lecture Series Technology for Mindfulness Class
Stage Presence Workshop
German Language Stammtisch
Opera Studio:
Individual Voice Lessons and Voice Laboratory
Aria Preparation Coaching and Coaching Laboratory Acting Classes
German Diction
Italian, French, Russian, and English Diction (and others as needed)
Audition Training Seminar
Period Movement Classes
Mindfulness for Singers
Breathing and Posture Workshop
Living and Singing in Europe Lectures
Tisch Talks
Creating a German Résumé for Agent Auditions
Lieder Studio:
Individual Voice Lessons and Voice Laboratory
Lied Preparation Coaching and Coaching Laboratory Poetry of the German Lied
Speaking Lieder Lyrics
German Diction
Italian, French, Russian, and English Diction (and others as needed)
Audition Training Seminar
Period Movement Classes
Mindfulness for Singers
Breathing and Posture Workshop
Living and Singing in Europe Lectures
Tisch Talks
Performance Opportunities:
Three spirituals concerts
Two Spanish concerts
Two to three operetta concerts
Two Broadway concerts
One Italian music concert
Six Lieder concerts
Four Monday night recitals
Sunday morning church performances
A full listing of faculty members can be found at www.aimsgraz.com/faculty-category/faculty.
You might nd out after AIMS that you don’t want to do this as a career—it’s an expensive career, and money spent to discover that for yourself is never wasted. Board member Henry Sauls says, “There can be no unfavorable outcome of attending AIMS. There is a spectrum of possible outcomes, all of which are good individually.
Some realize with amazement, ‘Wow, I can do this!’
Others conclude, ‘Oh my, I have a lot of work to do!’
Many question, ‘Can I do this?’ This is so common, it is expected; only a few conclude it isn’t what they want to do.
“All these outcomes represent a better understanding of one’s self,” Sauls a rms. “The energy felt in Graz continues for an extended period afterward. One participant said, ‘I didn’t realize what e ects it had on me until weeks after I returned home and was thinking about my next career step.’ Hundreds of alumni successes make our work worth all of the time and e ort mounting the program requires.”
Every year, there are singers who audition for German agents and houses and are engaged for work. The AIMS faculty makes sure that singers are ready for these auditions and have the best chance possible to be hired. Halley says, “We save you from yourselves,” noting that singers are prepared for a competitive environment in auditions and for performance opportunities, especially major concerts with orchestra and the Meistersinger Competition.
To get the most out of the program, singers must
be receptive to change. Sauls adds, “The essence of the AIMS experience is in the participants’ minds. A time to assess their ambitions, personal con dence, abilities, and hopes for the future. Their passion to achieve excellence is wrapped up in their emotions, in their desire to be the best, in the awesome task of choosing and learning the vast classical musical literature, in the emotional trauma and growth required to comprehend the minutiae of every work they perform, and in testing their mettle in the crucible of performance.”
AIMS has multiple tracks: voice (with Lieder and Opera Studios), piano, orchestra, and vocal pedagogy. Younger singers tend to participate in the Lieder Studio. Choosing which track is appropriate for you will depend on your current vocal abilities and goals.
For the Opera Studio, singers must prepare four operatic arias in three languages plus one selection of their choice. For the Lieder Studio, singers must prepare four German Lieder from two or more composers plus one selection of their choice. Prescreening video is required. Vocal pedagogy applicants must submit a résumé and
two letters of recommendation. Live auditions take place in multiple cities and regions, and it is easy to nd an audition close to you.
Should you nd yourself unable to decide which program is right for you, consult your voice teacher and
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