My second professional audition

Having been recommended by Opera North (who had never heard me play) to The Crucible Theatre (see previous blog Chutzpah and my first professional audition), I finally got the call for an audition with Opera North.

I was staying with friends in London and got a message on my pager (remember those?). Again, I swear this is what was paged to me: "Opera North - we want you to audition for us on Thursday morning at 10am, you'll be working for us at 10.30."

Hey, looks like I can't go wrong with this, although you must admit it's a little bizarre.

Now at the time I didn't know this, but an opera audition usually requires the pianist to play some arias or ensembles and to sightread an opera score (the piano reduction, not the orchestral score). Anyway, I didn't have a piano to practise on, and I was much too shy (yes really) to find a studio or hire a piano.

I researched what the company was working on that season, and decided to play Batti, Batti from Mozart's Don Giovanni. I don't know if you know it, but there's a slightly tricky left hand which represents the cello solo. I had played it several times before when I was at college and thought I could manage it quite well.

I was living in Leeds at the time in an unheated garret (no, I'm not kidding, I've done the poor musician in a garret bit. In fact I'm wondering when it's going to end...). So I got the Don Giovanni score out of the local library. Unfortunately for me, with no piano (and not thinking to look through the piece) I had got not the easy to play Schirmer piano reduction but the impossibly difficult Barenreiter piano reduction, that just puts virtually every note the orchestra plays onto a piano stave.

So come the morning of the audition, and Clive Timms is waiting to hear me play. So I launch into Batti Batti and stop playing. 15 times in the first three pages. The 15th time I actually say out loud, "Oh for heaven's sake, Fisher, pull yourself together!" This audition was fast going down the toilet.

Clive very gently said, "yes, it is a little tricky, isn't it. Let's do some sightreading." So he put the score of Gounod's Faust in front of me and started conducting. Now there's one thing I can do, and that's sightread. Particularly 19th century romantic stuff. So I didn't bat an eyelid (or make a mistake, as I remember) and we sightread through the whole of Act 1 of Faust.

I got the job.

Not that it got any less scary, as one of the first things I did was to play in the pit in front of the entire company for the first stage and piano rehearsal. I think Clive saw my face (terrified) when I realised I would be playing The Jewel Song (a favourite piece) for Valerie Masterson (a favourite singer) and rescued me.

Just goes to show that making errors in an audition situation can still get you the job - but only if you recover fast!


Jeremy is the co-author of Successful Singing Auditions

Visit http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/ for the latest downloads:
the Vocal Process eZINE (free electronic magazine)
86 things you never hear a singer say (free ebook)
Looking at a Voice (endoscopy video download)
Constriction and Release (opening the throat on video - the latest endoscopy video download)

The Vocal Process website has a series of free articles on vocal technique and style, memorising and different musical genres.

The Developing Voice

There has been a lot of focus on the young or changing voice in the papers recently.

The Government has even allocated £10,000,000 to get Primary school children and teachers to sing more. The rationale seems to be that singing builds children's confidence and is a valuable teaching tool. The education secretary, Alan Johnson, has appointed composer and presenter Howard Goodall as the singing ambassador for the campaign. Johnson is proposing a "21st Cenury Songbook" with songs of all genres for the whole school to sing together. The Government is also looking to fund private choir schools around the country to interact with the local primary schools to boost singing in general.

Music does seem to cross the brain divide - rhythm, structure and words in one half and melody, pitch and shape in the other. I'm quoting from the bbc website here:

"Rhythm is a good example. When a child is taught about it they also learn about mathematical concepts like ratios, fractions and proportion. Rhythm also translates in other subjects, such as talking about heartbeats in science.
Learning song lyrics can improve mental agility and reading skills.
The medical evidence is also there. Singing is an aerobic activity that boosts oxygenation in the bloodstream, increasing mental alertness. Experts also believe that the variety of skills needed for singing, including coordination and listening, help develop the brain. "

There is one fascinating story from Oxford Gardens Primary School in West London. The teachers are using singing to teach the National Curriculum. Children are singing during English and maths lessons, and one class is even learning German by singing throughout the lesson. Teachers have seen their pupils' behaviour and concentration levels increase dramatically.

Of course, there are potential pitfalls with working with the young or adolescent voice. The vocal mechanism in a pre-pubertal body cannot do the same things as an adult larynx, so repertoire, vocal range and tonal requirements must be catered for. This becomes vitally important during puberty, when a boy's larynx can grow up to seven times faster than any other part of his body.

Both boys and girls endure massive hormonal and physical changes during puberty and beyond. At Vocal Process we think this is a really important topic. So on Saturday March 17th we a hosting a course on The Developing Voice, led by Jenevora Williams. Jenevora is a specialist in training the young voice, and is currently involved in PhD research with the choristors of St Paul's Cathedral in London. She is able to demonstrate safe singing techniques that are applicable to different age groups from birth to adult-hood. Or as the course byline goes - "0 - 21 in Six Hours".

We have been hosting adolescent voice courses for many years, and the participants have told us that they have had more success in keeping their pupils (particularly their boys) singing through puberty with better information and stronger technique.

After all, these changing voices are the professional singers of tomorrow.


Visit http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk for the latest downloads:
the Vocal Process eZINE (free electronic magazine)
86 things you never hear a singer say (free ebook)
Looking at a Voice (endoscopy video download)
Constriction and Release (opening the throat on video - the latest endoscopy video download)

The Vocal Process website has a series of free articles on vocal technique and style, memorising and different musical genres.