Page 24 - 2020 Classical Singer Magazine January Summer Program Issue

AIMS
are actively performing do on a daily basis.
The program also gives you time to explore Austria (or even take a train on a day o to neighboring cities and countries). One of my personal favorite excursions was a tour of the Lipizzaner stud farm plus a wine tour through the countryside of Graz. I practiced my German at the farmer’s market and at the many restaurants and small food festivals along with participants with whom
I am still in contact and who are working as singers (one made her Met debut recently), voice teachers at the university level and, in one case, a Linkedin Senior Software Engineer.
Lastly, the administration points out that the singers are largely responsible for what they get out of the program. There are numerous workshops and events to sign up for and a myriad of activities. Limiting
distraction is especially important according to Sauls. “The amount of singing—and for pianists, time at the keyboard—will exceed your university experience, so learning how to take care of your voice and body during AIMS, and for the rest of your career, is very important,” he says. “Center your thinking on personal goals, not on competing with other participants.
“And, of great importance, eliminate distractions from hindering your work. Before the year 2000,
the ability to communicate with the rest of the world was limited in Graz. There were no television sets in the dormitory, no cell phones, no internet. Buying a newspaper required riding the tram to the center of the city.
“Making a long-distance telephone call to home required using the two pay phones in the dormitory lobby
or traveling to the central post o ce. Joseph Haydn was once asked how he
composed so many pieces of music. His reply is relevant today more than ever: ‘There was nothing to distract me.’ Isolating oneself from distraction gives you an advantage over all those who don’t,” Sauls observes. “No matter your level of skill, you will bene t most if you focus only on personal improvement.”
Whatever your singing level at the moment, AIMS has a well established program that can guide your personal needs and goals to high standards
in preparation for European opera houses, excellence in performance, and quality teaching work. More can be found at www.aimsgraz.com.
Joanie Brittingham is a soprano living in N ew York City. S he sings, teaches, writes, and paints operatic- inspired watercolors. T o learn more, visit www.joaniebrittingham.com or @littlejoaniesoprano.
Opera Assistantships & Scholarships available. To learn more, visit :
OPERA.UGA.EDU
FACULTY
Gregory Broughton Frederick Burchinal Veronique Burchinal Elizabeth Knight Stephanie Tingler Kathryn Wright
24 Classical Singer / Jan/Feb 2020
UGA Opera Theatre, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale
VOICE & OPERA STUDIES
BMus, MM, DMA
For more information and area-specific audition dates, visit:
music.uga.edu / voice