Page 66 - 2020 Classical Singer Magazine January Summer Program Issue

SUMMER SCENE:
The Art of Selecting a Summer Program
BY PETER THORESEN
Where should you start when choosing a summer program or YAP? Get advice and direction from the pros here.
There’s a lot that goes in to selecting a Young Artist Program (YAP) or summer program. The process involved is a year-round endeavor once research, résumé building, and networking are factored in. With the new year upon us and the bulk of YAP auditions behind us, this article will focus on the process of making your program selection. If you auditioned for programs and a YAP isn’t in the cards for you this year, please keep reading! The advice from experts below includes key elements of
goal setting and empowering your training that nd easy transferability to other areas of your artistic and professional life.
Whether you’ve opted to participate in a pay-to-sing program or have passed the nal rounds of a professional opera company’s YAP audition process, there are many
66 Classical Singer / Jan/Feb 2020
common elements in the decision- making process. Chief among them is the idea of goal setting. Whether you have the good fortune of having been invited to multiple programs or you’re attending the only program that said yes to you this season,
it would be bene cial to set some goals—professional and artistic on a timeline—pre-program, during the program, and post-program.
Pre-program goal setting and preparation is wide ranging and can include lining up a place to stay, preparing your assigned roles and repertoire, and making advance contact with program faculty and sta you may wish to work with. I reached out to leaders in the eld for their counsel on the topics of getting ready for—and getting the most out of—summer programs.
I rst asked Angela Myles Beeching, music career guru and
Angela Beeching
author of the newly published third edition of Beyond T alent: Creating a
S uccessful Career in M usic, for her thoughts on
getting into a productive frame of mind before and during a program. Her advice has ready application for singers contemplating the academic bene ts of a YAP. “As much as possible,” Beeching says, “I think that people need to set their egos aside and just be there to learn. They’ll have a much better time if they do that.”
Beeching’s advice focuses on mindfulness and on re-entry into life post-YAP, allowing a greater yield
of artistic and academic bene ts for singers heading back to school after a program. “A summer program is