Browsing all posts in Articles.
The ABCs of Adult Opera Education
by Glenn Winters, D.M.
This article is dedicated to Stan “Manly Stanley” Arnold, wherever he may be. Stan was my freshman-year roommate at Indiana University’s School of Music a long, long, time ago.
He and I had enough in common (including an insatiable appetite for Noble Roman’s pizza) that we managed to co-exist peacefully in our shoe-box [...]
Prove to Dad You’re Not a Fool!
“Oh, back to school! Back to school! To prove to dad that I’m not a fool!” – Billy Madison
‘Tis the season for all those obligatory “welcome back” questions: “How was your summer?” “What did you do?” “Go anywhere fun?” “Did you do a summer program?” And all the typical answers: “Not long enough.” “I can’t [...]
Website Do’s and Don’ts
by Ira McMahon
Some of the scariest websites I’ve ever seen come from great, forward-charging people that start their websites and never look back. They never look back to actually think about this digital monster that they have created and keep feeding with more shiny objects, abominable pages of endless text, and advertisements so deep [...]
The Business of Branding
by Bridgette Cooper
Thinking of ways to brand yourself? We should first know what “branding” is. According to indie marketing consult and guru, Donna Maria Coles Johnson, founder and CEO of Indie Business Media, LLC, and the Indie Beauty Network, “branding is the collective impression that your business,customers and YOU create over time”. After thinking about [...]
TSTQ5: What Difference A Brain Makes!
by Donald Kaasch
Finishing up my first year as a Young Artist in the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists (LOCAA) at Lyric Opera of Chicago should have been a swift exit with, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out”, yelled at me from behind. It was not. I had had a very [...]
Part Two: If I Can Sing, Who Cares What I Look Like?
by Emily Stephenson
In my first segment, I explored potential causes of the heightened focus on image in today’s opera world. My research (and your thoughts and comments, keep them coming!) suggests that most, if not all, current singers are aware that their physical appearance could and likely will play a role in their career. Facets [...]
If I Can Sing, Why Do You Care What I Look Like? (Part 1 of 2)
by Emily Stephenson,
Emily Stephenson, Graduate Student, Lamont School of Music, University of Music
When I started my college vocal training, I assumed that if I worked hard and sang well eventually I’d have a career. As we all know, it’s a little more complicated than that, and in modern opera the way we present ourselves [...]
Care and Feeding of the Singer
Back in April, Bonnie Draina of the University of Colorado contributed this smashing article. Now that we are discussing Building Your Brand for the month of August, let us not forget that without a healthy instrument and body, there is no brand! Taking care of yourself: the best kept secret in brand-building.
by Bonnie Draina
Singers are [...]
Branding 101 For Artists
Check out this article by Gregory Peters that addresses branding specifically for artists (looks tailored to painters, but the advice is applicable to artists of other mediums).
Branding for Artists: How to Create a Strong Brand for You and Your Art.
An artist’s “brand” is not just a label, a logo, or a signature—instead, it is one [...]
The Art of Rejection
by Lindsey Coleman
As of today, I have my master’s degree in music…so now what? At the beginning of the school year, I thought that I would have a “now what” already in line, with a fresh list of places to audition in my hand and a well recorded CD to send, and the attitude that [...]
