| From my experience as university voice teacher, parent of an opera singer and a string player, I have a strong belief that the size and type of school that is best for different disciplines will be different. String players start so young and there are so many prodigies, it is clear that to make progress one has to be among the best, hearing the level of the competition, understanding the standard. For a singer, it is quite different. A young singer needs to (1) get older, (2) have excellent teacher (not just a fine singer/performer themselves), (3) have good older role models around in their Fach (voice category), (4) have opportunities, but no pressure to do things inappropriate. At a smaller school with few graduate students, undergraduates wind up singing things they should not sing, and it may very well injure their voices. A school with a sizable graduate program is best for an undergraduate. If they are good enough to win some roles, even if small, then they should feel encouraged by their success. It means nothing to sing leads in a small school where there is noone else available, and it probably means it is a bad idea. I would seldom recommend a singer go to a conservatory for undergraduate study. Some of the conservatories have had their own internal discussions about doing away with undergraduate voice programs because of these factors. They wind up keeping them, so that they stay competitive as music schools, but it does not change the situation.
The most important choice a young singer can make is the voice teacher. A bad teacher can ruin a voice (and a soul) irretrievably. A good teacher, summer opportunities, good health, physical maturity: all of these are the crucial elements for singer. Good luck. |