Page 122 - Classical Singer magazine 2019 Fall University Issue

The Music Major Minute
The Quest for Your Signature Roles
BY CHRISTI AMONSON
Don’t wait until the last year of your degree program to formulate a lucrative plan for post-university life. Prepare now to get that degree to pay you back.
Christi Amonson
As a singer in training, you have a voice teacher to help guide your short-term goals and assign you repertoire that will aid your mastery of vocal technique and prepare you for auditions. But what about that long-term goal of getting paid to sing? Achieving your goals as a singer includes daily practice and
college to improve your musical skills and learn standard repertoire, you will increase your chances for success as a paid singer. The hard work you
put in as a student and a young artist will pay off. When you get a chance to sing your signature opera role a second, third, or fourth time—and when you get paid to sing an annual Messiah or a signature concert work such as Carmina burana
or Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9—the burden of youth transforms into employable and profitable experience.
A savvy young singer can increase their future marketability for recurring gigs by learning music that is commonly programmed. Ask your teacher’s advice for roles to study in the “top 10” most per- formed operas. This reference is not literally a “top
the golden nugget of this column: learn roles now that you can sing later for $$$.
Workin’ Hard for the Money
Improving your marketability as a singing artist is the name of the game. If you work diligently in
122 Classical Singer | September/October 2019