About voice major

<p>Hi i'm junior in high school.
I have a lot of questions about majoring voice in college.
First, what is different between opera and classic voice?
Is singing in choir opera? If not, is there any major like singing in choir? I mean it is classic but singing way is not opera.
Second, do i have to show what i'm singing when i send them my audition cd? or can i just send them audio cd?
Third, can i get a list of all vocal/voice majors specifically? for example, opera, contemporary, and jazz</p>

<p>No, singing in choir is not opera.</p>

<p>Almost all voice majors will be classical. There might be a few vocal jazz programs, but most of them are classical performance. Not all of your repertoire will come from opera, but some will. At my college, voice majors frequently audition for operas and also participate in choirs.</p>

<p>Additionally, there are some schools with vocal degrees that concentrate in theater. For example, Arizona State University has two master’s degrees in music theater, one in opera, and one in Broadway. So if you only want to do operas, you want to find programs like that. Don’t know if they have them for undergrad, though.</p>

<p>There is no voice major in which you will only sing in choirs, but if you want to learn how to teach choirs, then go for music ed, and if you want to conduct choirs, then you are looking at a graduate degree in choral conducting.</p>

<p>To my knowledge there are no undergraduate degrees in opera. Your choices are classical, contemporary or jazz. Classical is by far the most common since it the foundation for a lot of pursuits. But some schools offer focus in contemporary or jazz. Some schools have more choir opportunities than others. If you select classical, you study vocal technique with a professor, sing in choir(s) and perform one or more recitals. You do not have to be in an opera… </p>

<p>You should have a private voice teacher helping you at this point if you are considering a major in VP. They can help select colleges and prepare for auditions. Some schools may require a DVD, others a CD. What is required will be on their web sites.</p>

<p>D is a VP major with a concentration in musical theatre. Her program at NYU Steinhardt also offers a concentration in classical voice. All student’s training is classically based and a percentage of D’s repertoire is classical music. As student’s approach senior year, they can begin to work on more contemporary or jazzy pieces.</p>

<p>The nature of the choir really varies from school to school, so you have to decide what it is you want and listen to a bunch of different groups. I have heard choirs at some schools that sound as though they are composed of 50 or so voice majors all trying to be soloists at once. At others I have heard larger groups that have the much more blended choral sound that is popular these days. Some voice teachers do not want their students singing that way, so those groups often have a higher percentage of non-voice majors.</p>

<p>I do not know much about voice, however, from our time in Bloomington I learned some things anyone possibly interested in opera may want to know.</p>

<p>Jacobs does 6 full operas every year. Their performance venue is almost exactly like the Met except slightly bigger back stage and slightly shallower seating. I think they said the second biggest stage area in the US or world, something amazing like that. So facilities wise and number of performances no one beats IU. If you are considering voice, Jacobs would seem a must visit unless large schools and plenty of competition is not something you like.</p>

<p>Re. IU (Jacobs) for a VP major- yes, Trumpet57, you are right on some counts, but not on others. The stage opens up to a very large performance area, second in size only to the Met stage, and the house was modeled upon the “new” Met venue. They usually put on 7 operas each year. BUT, bigger is not necessarily better, especially when it comes to young voices. VP undergrads do not get the top teachers who occupy those prominent places on the faculty roster and may find themselves being taught by grad students.Virtually ALL of the roles in IU operas go to graduate and post graduate students and professionals are brought in on some occasions. The large majority of sopranos in grad school at IU do not graduate in two years, because they can not get the required number of roles in those couple of years. Undergrads MAY get to sing in the chorus of a production, but not until much later on in their 4 years.
It seems that the OP in this thread is untrained, so a large program would probably not be the best choice, and, in fact, if the OP is going to be a senior next year, it’s doubtful that she/he would even be competitive in next year’s audition pool given the questions that have been asked. Finding a good private voice teacher should be first on the “to do” list for the OP.</p>

<p>Sorry if my information was not appropriate for the OP. I just found that information interesting when it was presented and thought I would pass it along here. They also said no performance majors take any classes with grad students, that may not apply to voice, but that is what they said in their info session at audition weekend.</p>

<p>Very true you may want to avoid any top school like IU or other schools with graduate students. For many people smaller and less competitive is better especially for undergraduates. Size and the large percentage of grad students which I believe is nearly half (40%) was a concern for us. I did mention in my post that “facilities wise and number of performances no one beats IU” and that beyond that I didn’t know much about voice. But those two factors are correct and is all I was speaking about.</p>

<p>I’m taking from the tone that the OP actually likes singing in choirs. If that’s the case, then Westminster deserves a serious look. There seems to be a near even split between performance and music Ed majors. This year’s Freshman choir has an extremely blended sound, yet having heard them in other venues, they definitely have solo chops. They brought in a new Freshman choir director (Dr. Amanda Quist), who is incredibly talented. So, whether you choose performance or Mus Ed, choir is a huge part of your life.
Your focus of music there really depends upon the studio you choose. Some are exclusively opera, some are more art song based, and some are more welcoming to Music Theater. It is a very small school, but has a huge number of studios to pick from.<br>
You aren’t allowed to audition for operas until Junior year, but the choirs perform multiple times per year. Depending on your studio, you may or may not have a studio recital, which is another place for undergrads to perform.
As far as CD’s - Please read the individual school requirements carefully. And audition in person wherever possible. Good luck to you, and feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.</p>

<p>I second Westminster. Aside from anything else, the performances the Westminster Choir takes part in (in the past couple of years, Mahler 3 with NYPO/Gilbert, Mahler 2 with SFSO/MTT, among many others) seem like the musical opportunity of a lifetime.</p>

<p>OP, great info given to you here - so far. Please spend time on this forum looking at a variety of appropriate threads, even older posts WILL be helpful to you. There are a lot of aspects to Voice and research will help inform you.</p>

<p>We totally agree with lateparty that there is a ton of information in this forum on voice and vocal performance if you search.</p>

<p>OP, take a look at St Olaf’s in MN.</p>

<p>Got cut off before I was able to complete my reply above. It is good to search this forum for more information but also it’s important to work with a private voice teacher who can assess your level and help you to select good songs to show off your voice and prepare for your auditions. For example, while Westminster is known for its choirs the degree is BM Voice Performance and the audition requires four classical songs in contrasting styles and languages. OP should be working on things like sight singing, ear training and music theory. At the college level it won’t just be like singing in choir in high school. It will be more intense.</p>