Curriculum

The German for Singers and Vocal Coaches program includes two basic components. Together, they provide a context for the musical interpretation of song, and of operatic and oratorio literature.

• A language component provides three to four hours of daily instruction in German grammar and conversation at a level appropriate to each student's proficiency. The language component carries two credits, with courses offered on several levels. Students willl be tested upon arrival and placed into the appropriate section.

• A performance component carries one unit of credit and includes weekly private coachings; performance classes with a focus on expression through correct diction and vocal/musical style, as well as acting for the operatic stage; one public recital; one public performance of the summer's opera project; and an intensive audition training workshop at the end of the program, offered by a German opera agent with years of experience and expertise in the field. Repertoire will include German Lieder, oratorio, and operatic arias for the recital. Students are expected to arrive with a minimum of three songs or arias memorized; additional assignments and work focused on the opera production will be announced during the summer.

Language Component

For the language component, two units of credit are awarded, and the courses are offered on four levels:

GN 3105-3106 Elementary German for Singers

Daily activities include three hours of classroom instruction, plus additional work in the language laboratory and the computer center. Emphasis will be placed on the grammatical structures of German, conversational survival skills, diction and pronunciation, as well as music vocabulary.

GN 3205-3206 Intermediate German for Singers

Daily activities include two hours of grammar review, conversation, and composition practice to develop the four basic language skills. Pronunciation and diction are an integral part of this course, which also requires some activities in the language laboratory and the computer center.

GN 3305-3306 Advanced German for Singers

Advanced Grammar and Communication meets two hours per day to analyze and practice advanced grammatical structures, to provide intensive written and oral language training, to offer insights into the German ways of perception, and to develop communication and reading skills. Some additional work in the language laboratory and computer lab is required.

GN 3405-3406 Advanced German for Singers II

Stylistics, Expository Writing, and Communication meets two hours per day and aims at strengthening the student's ability to write and speak German at an advanced level.

Performance Component

The music performance component of the German for Singers and Vocal Coaches Program carries one unit of credit. Participants in the program enroll in one of the following four courses to complement their language component:

GN 3104 Elementary Diction, Culture and Acting for the German Stage

GN 3204 Intermediate Diction, Culture and Acting for the German Stage

GN 3304 Advanced Diction, Culture and Acting for the German Stage I

GN 3404 Advanced Diction, Culture and Acting for the German Stage II

Guest Residencies

Weekends will have special activities, including guest residencies by prominent figures in the area of German vocal music. The guest Master Class teachers in recent summers have included the following:

Carolyn Hague, Vocal Coach and Pianist from the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna. Currently the assistant to Robert Holl in Vienna, Ms. Hague has assisted Walter Berry and performed recitals with Mr. Berry and Angelika Kirchschlager.

Carol Blaickner-Mayo (CONFIRMED FOR SUMMER 2011), internationally active voice pedagogue/coach with studio based in Vienna, Austria. She has singers performing in most of the major houses of Europe and many US companies, such as San Francisco, Philadelphia, Metropolitan Opera, Dallas, Seattle, etc. For the past 28 years she has helped over 50 American singers, having arrived in Vienna after their formal training in universities and conservatories, to assimilate their "Vienna" experience in order to develop/perfect their complete palette of styles.

Russell Ryan, Vienna Musikhochschule Pianist; faculty member and graduate of the Vienna Musikhochschule; pianist for the Wiener Singverein; current assistant and pianist for the Lied class of Edith Mathis; appearances in Israel, Europe, Japan and the United States.