Page 36 - 2020 Classical Singer Magazine January Summer Program Issue

A History and Future in Vocal Arts
BY MEGAN GLOSS
The prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts honors its past and looks toward its future with a new leader and steadfast mission in its 85th year.
The success story of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) is nothing short of astonishing—if not a bit surprising.
The year was 1934. As the United States toiled through the depths of the Great Depression,
one woman believed there was a need to develop
a school for talented vocalists and to help continue the operatic art form. At such a school,
singers would receive the highest quality of professional training in
honing their artistic skill set. Not only that, but due to the
high cost for such training— una ordable to most during the
tough times—the school would operate on a tuition-free basis.
Encouraged by well known voice teacher Edgar Milton Cooke, Helen
Corning Warden, and a group of her friends representing Philadelphia society founded the
Academy of Vocal Arts.
More than eight decades later, the
organization nestled along Philadelphia’s historic Spruce Street has risen in the ranks and today is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious training grounds available to budding young opera singers.
“We came from humble beginnings,” says K. James McDowell, president and artistic director of the Academy of Vocal Arts since 1987. After working as an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera and graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music, he attended the Academy of Vocal Arts,
Mezzo-soprano Anne Marie Stanley in the Giargiari Bel Canto Competition.
36 Classical Singer / Jan/Feb 2020