My daughter has been accepted to the Aspen summer program in vocal performance. I see discussions on here about aspen for instrumentalists, but am not finding anything for vocal performance majors. Does anything have any information they can share about the program, if you thought the program was worth it, etc? Any and all information would be much appreciated. She will be in between her junior and senior years of college this summer. Thanks!
Wow, I just saw this post I did from last year, and since I now have information about my daughter’s experience, I am going to answer my own question for the next parent that comes along. LOL!
:o)
Aspen was definitely a worthwhile program for my , she was in between junior and senior year of college. The program was 8 weeks. She actually missed the first day of school coming back.
Aspen is absolutely beautiful and incredibly expensive. The program is itself is expensive, but they do give aid. We were lucky b/c my daughter was covering a role, and ended up singing the role, so her tuition was paid for once she got the role. Many of the same kids she has attended other summer programs with were there as well, so she knew many people and met many people. The classes and performing opportunities were great. The other invaluable thing coming out of the summer was networking. She met many people, really expanded her professional network which has already been beneficial. They had master classes, private lessons, coachings, scene performances and other performances around town in different hotels and private homes. You work with an instructor over the course of the program, in their studio, much like they do at school. You request a teacher at the beginning, you may or may not get that teacher.
The living arrangements through the Aspen program are dorm like. If you are under 21, they have one place for you to live, 21 and above is another location. The food is awful, like most programs, this results in more eating out than you might expect. You can walk and take the free shuttle buses everywhere.
You have to bring everything with you, sheets, towels, blankets, pillows, fans, humidifiers. This can be challenging when flying in, we ordered the fan from amazon once she got there and realized she needed one. If you are a singer you really need a humidifier, it is incredibly dry there. It will be really warm in the afternoon, cold in the morning, so you really need warm and cold clothes.
I’d say the thing that was the hardest was getting acclimated to the altitude and dry climate. It took about 2 weeks for her to start feeling like herself. That was disconcerting for her, but everyone goes through it there, so its just a fact for all the singers. Unless you already live at high altitude, you are going not going to feel great for a while.
Overall, it was an awesome program and experience for my Daughter. If you have other specific questions, please feel free to ask.
Thanks for posting the update! This will be helpful for a lot of people.