SM and the Audition of a Lifetime
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:09 pm
As many of you know, I am in entertainment. Not only for Disney, but in general as well. I graduated with a theater degree and for 6 years prior to college I studied voice. I wanted nothing more than to be a classical soprano.
However, after doing some thinking, I eventually gave into a more "practical" studies and focused my studies on theatrical management. However, a change soon came when I starting my job here at WDW - an old chord was struck again, I was a performer. Having realized where my roots are, I have since re-started voice study and soon was given connections from a fellow CM to a local opera company supposedly having only a few more slots open for their resident artist program.
Having no exprience with hard opera, I held off on calling the place. After all, this program was serious and training was to be intense - is this a place for someone like me? I mean, yes being an opera singer was one of my girlhood dreams but honestly - ME?
Two weeks ago, though - I soon started thinking about the New Year. One needs to start it out on the correct foot and one of my resolutions was to establish a career plan for myself. I finally decided, it's now or never. Sitting about wondering "I wish" and "Only if" will not help me get to where I want to go.
I went and finally made the call. Saturday was to be the big day - the audition of a lifetime!
All week I was nervous as heck, almost chickening out and calling it off. But I kept on practicing my best song, nightly. The more I kept singing, the less nervous I got as Saturday came nearer and nearer. There was still some struggling on a difficult part of my piece which involved hitting some notes that were a good distance above the staff that flowed into a ridiculously hard cadenza.
On Saturday, I was amazingly calm.
I was calm driving there. I was calm going in, I was calm singing (okay, almost), I was even more calm as I left ....
and it's hard to be calm when you find out that you just became a Resident Artist in Training with the International Opera Center of America.
However, after doing some thinking, I eventually gave into a more "practical" studies and focused my studies on theatrical management. However, a change soon came when I starting my job here at WDW - an old chord was struck again, I was a performer. Having realized where my roots are, I have since re-started voice study and soon was given connections from a fellow CM to a local opera company supposedly having only a few more slots open for their resident artist program.
Having no exprience with hard opera, I held off on calling the place. After all, this program was serious and training was to be intense - is this a place for someone like me? I mean, yes being an opera singer was one of my girlhood dreams but honestly - ME?
Two weeks ago, though - I soon started thinking about the New Year. One needs to start it out on the correct foot and one of my resolutions was to establish a career plan for myself. I finally decided, it's now or never. Sitting about wondering "I wish" and "Only if" will not help me get to where I want to go.
I went and finally made the call. Saturday was to be the big day - the audition of a lifetime!
All week I was nervous as heck, almost chickening out and calling it off. But I kept on practicing my best song, nightly. The more I kept singing, the less nervous I got as Saturday came nearer and nearer. There was still some struggling on a difficult part of my piece which involved hitting some notes that were a good distance above the staff that flowed into a ridiculously hard cadenza.
On Saturday, I was amazingly calm.
I was calm driving there. I was calm going in, I was calm singing (okay, almost), I was even more calm as I left ....
and it's hard to be calm when you find out that you just became a Resident Artist in Training with the International Opera Center of America.
