Experiential Learning Reflective Essay – Creative Arts
Vianden Summer Music Festival: Intensive Vocal Study
As a Vocal Performance major at CCM, creative expression is a fundamental part of my life. Since the age of 4, I have participated in classical music ensembles, performed in solo recitals, and have been involved in many stage productions. My favorite aspect of my major and potential career is that I never cease being a student of music. Thus, I am constantly searching for more opportunities to grow as a musician and performer.
In the Vianden Festival of Music, which I attended in Luxembourg during the summer of 2010, I worked with internationally renowned teachers in order to further my experience and knowledge of the performing arts. Vianden is a special music program that works to create a secluded environment to promote intensive study of vocal performance. Students participating in the festival met with private teachers and coaches, worked with accomplished opera directors, and coached with diction experts in French, German, and Italian.
There were three major experiences at the Vianden Festival of Music that were particularly impactful to me. First, I gained experience with vocal chamber ensembles, a type of ensemble that allows intimate cooperation and collaboration with other musicians. Second, this festival fulfilled my interest in international study and demonstrated the significance of international relationships in a professional performance career. Lastly, Vianden taught me the importance of meticulous preparation for rehearsals and performances, a lesson that will be crucial to my future as a musician.
My experiences in Vianden taught me the importance of cohesive cooperation between musicians in a vocal chamber ensemble. Two of my major chamber assignments in the festival, “As It Fell Upon A Day” by Aaron Copland and “An Die Frauen” by Josef Haydn, required detailed rehearsing, communication, and artistry to ensure a perfect performance.
The first challenge in refining these pieces was agreeing on musical details. In “As It Fell Upon A Day,” the clarinetist, flutist, and I practiced matching the multitude of dynamic levels and articulation in the piece, despite the varying timbres of our instruments. In “An Die Frauen,” the other 5 vocalists and I debated over specific words to emphasize, as well as how best to accentuate them through dynamics and small tempo changes. These rehearsals and debates stimulated creative ideas that truly benefited our performance.
After establishing these details, the biggest challenge in perfecting these pieces was learning to communicate as a group without the guidance of a conductor. This proved especially difficult in the Copland because of its frequent tempo and meter changes. We focused almost all of our rehearsal time on learning to breath together, watch each other for cues, and change tempo without falling apart. The same was true with “An Die Frauen” when practicing how best to coordinate the frequent fermatas. This detailed work fostered a degree of trust that improved our chemistry and charisma on stage.
Finally, we developed artistry to establish the purpose behind the piece. In “As It Fell Upon A Day,” it was important to ensure that each solo line reflected the overarching intent of the piece. Similarly, our individualized characters were essential in bringing out the intention behind “An Die Frauen.” I realized that artistry is only achievable within a chamber ensemble that focuses on teamwork and trust.
Because of these experiences with chamber ensembles, I understand that concentration, detailed practice, and collaboration are important in creating great performances. The ability to practice effectively and connect specific ideas is fundamental to a successful career in the arts. I now understand that the most crucial aspect of music performance is the ability to use those skills in communication with other instruments. Because of this realization, my teacher at CCM has promised to assign me more chamber pieces so that I can maintain the skills I developed in Vianden.
The international climate of the Vianden Festival of Music demonstrated the importance of international study in a performance career. Opera singers are expected to perform in many different languages, primarily French, German, and Italian. Most professionals begin their careers in European countries, where classical music remains a part of everyday culture. I realized that serious international study would help me prepare for a career in vocal performance while rehearsing for a recital at a high school in Germany and staging “I Know Things Now” from Into The Woods. Learning foreign languages and studying international cultures will enable me to effectively communicate with foreign musicians, as well as portray characters and roles clearly to a multitude of cultures in my future career.
One great challenge in rehearsing “I Know Things Now” was communicating stage directions to a Korean vocalist. Initially, we had trouble rehearsing because of the language barrier. In time, I grew to trust her more than any other member of the cast because of her interesting and different approaches to performing music. I benefited from her point of view and wish to communicate easily with international musicians in the future.
It was a challenge to improve my German diction in “An Die Frauen” for the recital at a German high school. Despite having studied German diction in the past, I feared that simple mistakes in German pronunciation would distract from the musicality in the piece. Vianden helped me appreciate the importance of correct diction by allowing me the opportunity to perform German outside of a classroom. This realization will inspire me to stress correct diction, enabling me to clearly portray characters to multicultural audiences in future performances.
My experiences communicating with foreign musicians and performing for international audiences have given me newfound inspiration to master foreign languages and cultures. In doing so, I hope to prepare myself for a successful international career. These experiences have prompted me to pursue further study in French next year, as well as spend more time improving my diction in foreign languages.
The professional level of performance required at the Vianden Festival of Music demonstrated the importance of special attention to practice and preparation. My experiences rehearsing “As It Fell Upon A Day” and Puccini’s choral finale of Suor Angelica indicated that success in a performance career is based on preparation for rehearsals and performances.
One challenging aspect of “As It Fell Upon A Day” is the disjointed parts that require individual practice and preparation. Due to limited rehearsal time, as is often the case in the professional world, our time was devoted to detailed ensemble work. Had I failed to master my part before these group rehearsals, our chamber ensemble would not have reached an appropriate professional level. My experiences in Vianden taught me that extensive preparation is necessary in order to successfully rehearse in a short period of time.
The Vianden Festival of Music also proved that extra preparation leads to future performance opportunities. Because I was one of the only vocalists that adequately prepared for the choral section of Suor Angelica, I was given a solo as an understudy to one of my peers who became ill. The teachers present at the choral rehearsal recommended me because I had a reputation for learning music thoroughly and quickly. My experiences in Vianden helped me understand that preparation and practice can secure a successful career.
This realization has inspired me to include thorough preparation into every aspect of my musical career. I also recognize that this hard work helps create a great reputation and may lead to future performances. I now consider it a personal requirement to fully prepare each piece in my repertoire.
In summary, the Vianden Music Festival has had an impact on my development as an artist. This immersion experience provided me additional in-depth experience in my field (particularly in chamber music), exposure to an international group of faculty, students, and audiences, and taught me important lessons in seriousness of purpose that will serve me well into the future. I am hopeful that I can have similar experiences in the future.
Vianden Summer Music Festival: Intensive Vocal Study
As a Vocal Performance major at CCM, creative expression is a fundamental part of my life. Since the age of 4, I have participated in classical music ensembles, performed in solo recitals, and have been involved in many stage productions. My favorite aspect of my major and potential career is that I never cease being a student of music. Thus, I am constantly searching for more opportunities to grow as a musician and performer.
In the Vianden Festival of Music, which I attended in Luxembourg during the summer of 2010, I worked with internationally renowned teachers in order to further my experience and knowledge of the performing arts. Vianden is a special music program that works to create a secluded environment to promote intensive study of vocal performance. Students participating in the festival met with private teachers and coaches, worked with accomplished opera directors, and coached with diction experts in French, German, and Italian.
There were three major experiences at the Vianden Festival of Music that were particularly impactful to me. First, I gained experience with vocal chamber ensembles, a type of ensemble that allows intimate cooperation and collaboration with other musicians. Second, this festival fulfilled my interest in international study and demonstrated the significance of international relationships in a professional performance career. Lastly, Vianden taught me the importance of meticulous preparation for rehearsals and performances, a lesson that will be crucial to my future as a musician.
My experiences in Vianden taught me the importance of cohesive cooperation between musicians in a vocal chamber ensemble. Two of my major chamber assignments in the festival, “As It Fell Upon A Day” by Aaron Copland and “An Die Frauen” by Josef Haydn, required detailed rehearsing, communication, and artistry to ensure a perfect performance.
The first challenge in refining these pieces was agreeing on musical details. In “As It Fell Upon A Day,” the clarinetist, flutist, and I practiced matching the multitude of dynamic levels and articulation in the piece, despite the varying timbres of our instruments. In “An Die Frauen,” the other 5 vocalists and I debated over specific words to emphasize, as well as how best to accentuate them through dynamics and small tempo changes. These rehearsals and debates stimulated creative ideas that truly benefited our performance.
After establishing these details, the biggest challenge in perfecting these pieces was learning to communicate as a group without the guidance of a conductor. This proved especially difficult in the Copland because of its frequent tempo and meter changes. We focused almost all of our rehearsal time on learning to breath together, watch each other for cues, and change tempo without falling apart. The same was true with “An Die Frauen” when practicing how best to coordinate the frequent fermatas. This detailed work fostered a degree of trust that improved our chemistry and charisma on stage.
Finally, we developed artistry to establish the purpose behind the piece. In “As It Fell Upon A Day,” it was important to ensure that each solo line reflected the overarching intent of the piece. Similarly, our individualized characters were essential in bringing out the intention behind “An Die Frauen.” I realized that artistry is only achievable within a chamber ensemble that focuses on teamwork and trust.
Because of these experiences with chamber ensembles, I understand that concentration, detailed practice, and collaboration are important in creating great performances. The ability to practice effectively and connect specific ideas is fundamental to a successful career in the arts. I now understand that the most crucial aspect of music performance is the ability to use those skills in communication with other instruments. Because of this realization, my teacher at CCM has promised to assign me more chamber pieces so that I can maintain the skills I developed in Vianden.
The international climate of the Vianden Festival of Music demonstrated the importance of international study in a performance career. Opera singers are expected to perform in many different languages, primarily French, German, and Italian. Most professionals begin their careers in European countries, where classical music remains a part of everyday culture. I realized that serious international study would help me prepare for a career in vocal performance while rehearsing for a recital at a high school in Germany and staging “I Know Things Now” from Into The Woods. Learning foreign languages and studying international cultures will enable me to effectively communicate with foreign musicians, as well as portray characters and roles clearly to a multitude of cultures in my future career.
One great challenge in rehearsing “I Know Things Now” was communicating stage directions to a Korean vocalist. Initially, we had trouble rehearsing because of the language barrier. In time, I grew to trust her more than any other member of the cast because of her interesting and different approaches to performing music. I benefited from her point of view and wish to communicate easily with international musicians in the future.
It was a challenge to improve my German diction in “An Die Frauen” for the recital at a German high school. Despite having studied German diction in the past, I feared that simple mistakes in German pronunciation would distract from the musicality in the piece. Vianden helped me appreciate the importance of correct diction by allowing me the opportunity to perform German outside of a classroom. This realization will inspire me to stress correct diction, enabling me to clearly portray characters to multicultural audiences in future performances.
My experiences communicating with foreign musicians and performing for international audiences have given me newfound inspiration to master foreign languages and cultures. In doing so, I hope to prepare myself for a successful international career. These experiences have prompted me to pursue further study in French next year, as well as spend more time improving my diction in foreign languages.
The professional level of performance required at the Vianden Festival of Music demonstrated the importance of special attention to practice and preparation. My experiences rehearsing “As It Fell Upon A Day” and Puccini’s choral finale of Suor Angelica indicated that success in a performance career is based on preparation for rehearsals and performances.
One challenging aspect of “As It Fell Upon A Day” is the disjointed parts that require individual practice and preparation. Due to limited rehearsal time, as is often the case in the professional world, our time was devoted to detailed ensemble work. Had I failed to master my part before these group rehearsals, our chamber ensemble would not have reached an appropriate professional level. My experiences in Vianden taught me that extensive preparation is necessary in order to successfully rehearse in a short period of time.
The Vianden Festival of Music also proved that extra preparation leads to future performance opportunities. Because I was one of the only vocalists that adequately prepared for the choral section of Suor Angelica, I was given a solo as an understudy to one of my peers who became ill. The teachers present at the choral rehearsal recommended me because I had a reputation for learning music thoroughly and quickly. My experiences in Vianden helped me understand that preparation and practice can secure a successful career.
This realization has inspired me to include thorough preparation into every aspect of my musical career. I also recognize that this hard work helps create a great reputation and may lead to future performances. I now consider it a personal requirement to fully prepare each piece in my repertoire.
In summary, the Vianden Music Festival has had an impact on my development as an artist. This immersion experience provided me additional in-depth experience in my field (particularly in chamber music), exposure to an international group of faculty, students, and audiences, and taught me important lessons in seriousness of purpose that will serve me well into the future. I am hopeful that I can have similar experiences in the future.