My D is super passionate about singing and want to pursue singing as a career. But since she is an Asian and I don’t know any famous Asian singer in US. I wonder that whether she has a good career or not. Anyone has a good advice? Also how to find which music schools that undergraduate students get enough attention from professors and how to find good teachers in these schools?
Hmmm…my D is half Asian. She looks Asian. She is in vp and has not experienced issues. She is not at the pro level yet but I don’t think her ethnicity has been an issue in being cast. She is judged on her singing… Also she is not the only “minority” singer. So…I wouldn’t worry about it if she is talented.
I hope so. At least on Broadway and movie business, there are few roles for Asians. I just read a report that even the Mulan may be cast by a white.
You’re right to say that voice is still much more white than other music fields like piano, where it seems like the majority is either Jewish (like me) or Asian. But I’m at my second conservatory and I can say that a) there are a handful of Asians in the voice world and from my outsider perspective they don’t seem to face many problems; I’ve also noticed there seem to be more black singers than black instrumentalists at conservatories. And b) whatever the demographics are in the field and the institutional racism associated with the classical music industry in America, I don’t think it’s so bad that I would ever advise someone against going into the field based off their identity, whether it’s race, gender, or whatever. We’re not free of prejudice, but most people in classical music are progressives and would like to make the field more accessible to anyone willing to work hard enough to make a difference in it.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Google: Fei Ma. We recently heard her sing. She was the female soloist at the LoKo festival and sang at Carnegie Hall. She has a lovely voice.