Carmel Master Class General Info

THE ELEGANT ART OF SINGING BAROQUE MUSIC

Early-18th Century music (both sacred and operatic) can be bread-and-butter repertoire for singers: Bach's cantatas and Passions, Handel's great operas and dramatic oratorios, on and on the rich selection goes...

It's great music to sing, it keeps your voice healthy, demands good technique and honest expression, and you get to make really beautiful music! But this repertoire often is not emphasized in the singers' conservatory / university education and schooling. In Carmel each summer we focus on this wonderful music and help singers to understand it better and learn how to communicate it to audiences.

The Vocal Master Class at the Carmel Bach Festival is entering its 25th season. The festival opening night is July 17 and the final performance is on August 1. During this 22-day period there are six master classes in Baroque style and interpretation with the distinguished American tenor David Gordon, hailed by the Chicago Tribune as "one of the world's great Bach tenors." David will be joined by Bach Festival soloists Kendra Colton (Oberlin voice faculty) and Sanford Sylvan (voice faculty, McGill University). Music Director and Keyboardist for the Master Class program is Scott Dettra, Organist and Associate Director of Music at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

The six public Master Class sessions and the final Showcase Concert are an important thread that weaves through the fabric of the entire Carmel Bach Festival. The Master Class sessions take place in the beautiful modern sanctuary of the Carmel Presbyterian Church, an airy, intimate, acoustically splendid room. All six sessions are open free to the public and attract a responsive audience of loyal listeners.

This is a "Young Artist" program known for heart and caring as well as for artistry and excellence. If you are a singer interested in participating in this program, why not visit the webpage that lists all the previous participants, and their email addresses. Feel free to email some of them and ask about their experiences in Carmel.

Or take a minute to view a brief video about the Master Class.

ABOUT THE AUDITION PROCESS AND THE PROGRAM

Each winter the Carmel Bach Festival invites applications from highly qualified young professional singers from around the world. (There is no age limit. See the application page for more info.) An "application" consists of an audio recording (CD or cassette tape only) plus resume and photo. The application deadline is Feb 1, 2008. Here are more details about applying.

By mid February, four singers are chosen - soprano, alto / countertenor, tenor, and baritone/bass - who have special interest in the music of the Baroque (opera and oratorio). At that point we begin to plan the summer repertoire, based on the voices of the quartet.

The actual contract period is July 6 through August 1, 2009.

Each participant receives a $3,500 stipend plus roundtrip airfare (within North America) to California, and housing (arrive July 6, depart August 2).

This is the only program in North America that pays young singers to study, coach, and perform Baroque music in a fully professional environment.

Yes, there are some choral duties: 2009 Master Class participants will sing in the choral ensemble in six concerts: Haydn's Creation on three Friday evenings, and three cantatas from Bach's Christmas Oratorio on two Sunday afternoons. That's it. There are other choral performances at the Festival but we cut the Master Class singers a lot of slack and lighten their choral load.

The master class working sessions include repertoire chosen in advance from the full spectrum of the Baroque era, including opera and oratorio. Entire sessions will be devoted to the art of secco recitative, Handelian ornamentation, how to analyze Bach arias for performance and interpretive motivation, and other skills specific to Baroque music. Special emphasis is placed on vividness of artistic communication.

On the final day of the Bach Festival, the four participants are featured in a Showcase Concert of Baroque vocal music with members of the Festival Orchestra (1:30pm Saturday, August 1, 2009) in the Sunset Center Theater in Carmel.

Private coachings, and career counseling/mentoring with Festival artists is also an integral part of this program during and after the actual summer residency. We maintain an ongoing interest in the participants long after the actual summer Festival. Here's a list of all participants since 1993.

Although there is no official policy on this, Master Class participants are often reengaged by the Festival. At least two Adams Master Class alumni have sung in the all-professinal Festival Chorale or as featured soloists in every Festival season since 1994.

The Master Classes are intended to be an enjoyable and enlightening event for everyone involved: a learning experience for the singers and the teaching artists, and an insightful experience for the general public. Within the overall Baroque framework, we work on developing style, interpretation, self-expression, self-awareness, and the art of singing onstage.