LAYLA VINSON
Staff Writer
Following Chautauqua Opera Conservatory’s opening Sing-In Monday, the Conservatory will host its first presentation of highly curated programming for its Art Song Recital at 6:30 p.m. tonight in McKnight Hall.
The performance highlights four students in the 25-person cohort developing their skills at Chautauqua Institution. Victoria McGrath, Gabrielle Guida, Zoe Brooks and Dominic Townsend — soprano, mezzo-sopranos and baritone, respectively — explore Chautauqua’s inaugural theme for the first week of the season: “Icons & Instigators: Women Who Change the World.”
In collaboration with pianists Donna Gill, Stephen Hargreaves and Lynn Kompass, the program is designed to celebrate women whose artistry, ideas and determination have shaped culture and challenged convention. Jonathan Beyer, director of Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, emphasized his intent to structure the recital to align with the Week One theme.
“It’s all female composers, and we’re highlighting female poets as well,” Beyer said.
The performance will feature music by Amy Beach, Lili Boulanger, Clara Schumann, Pauline Viardot, Rosephanye Powell, Cecilia Livingston, Josephine Lang, Marion Bauer, Mary Turner Salter, Idabelle Firestone and more. The lineup consists of pieces in French, English and German, providing a wide variety for audiences.
In addition to the recital, Beyer will host his first of many master classes for the season at 10 a.m. today in McKnight Hall. Master classes further expand on learned techniques in a real-world setting, turning practice into performance. This translation further emphasizes the Conservatory’s dedication to pedagogical value for its students, one of its highest priorities as a tuition-based program.
“The students will be taking lessons with me all throughout the summer, every week, and so it’s a chance to now see those concepts we have talked about in individual lessons as they apply to other people,” Beyer explained, relating the workshops to studio classes.
Maxine Davis, singer, pianist and 1991 graduate of the NY Feldenkrais Professional Training Program, will be the first of many artists to follow Beyer in facilitating her own master class Friday. The Conservatory will welcome an extensive range of instructors throughout the upcoming weeks, each bringing a unique perspective and expertise in regard to their craft and offering a wide variety of educational opportunities for the students.
“I believe that vocal technique is there so that you can serve the interpretation that you’re doing,” Beyer said, addressing his particular approach in leading a master class. “So the point of the master classes for the technique is not so we get it correct or right, but that we’re equipping each student with the tools so that if they would like to do something interpretively, they’re able to do anything they would like to do in that piece.”
While technical skills harbor an irreplaceable importance, the real-world application of these skills fostered through performance in front of a live audience is an integral element of the learning experience that the Conservatory specifically aims to offer its attending students.
“Just getting up and being able to sing their selections in front of an audience, and then be vulnerable enough to work and tweak some things musically, technically, presentationally — it’s a vulnerable thing to do but you can get a lot out of it,” Beyers said. “It can bring a new kind of understanding to everyone.”
