Hometown: Secaucus, NJ
Major: Vocal Performance
Degree: B.M.
Class: 2013
Current Teacher: Patricia Misslin
7:30 AM - Usually I have Concert Choir or Acting class in the morning starting at 9:00 AM. 7:30 AM is the latest I can get up and make it to NEC factoring in time for travel; it takes a half hour including walking, waiting, and taking the subway to get to school. Voice majors, pianists, and composers are required to take choir, so it makes for a fun diverse group of musicians to sing with first thing Monday and Thursday mornings. Acting class, which is part of the Undergraduate Opera Studio curriculum, is held on Tuesday mornings with a focus on audition techniques and opera repertoire study.
11:45 AM - Once I get out of my morning classes I try to squeeze in a lunch of some sort. Although I try to make lunch and bring it from home every day, sometimes I run out of time and end up eating at Panera Bread or Espresso Royale Cafe.
12:00 PM - Now I head over to the St. Botolph building for my language and diction classes; my first class is German diction. We learned Italian our freshman year, German our sophomore year and this coming year we’ll be starting French ... this should be interesting as I haven’t had much experience wowing an audience with my French prowess. Hopefully I’ll get the hang of it now with proper lessons at NEC!
1:00 PM - I enjoy a brief half-hour break. Either finish some last minute work in the cafeteria, go to the library to return a slightly overdue book I’ve been hogging, or catch a quick practice session—just me, an empty room, and my music.
1:30 PM - Auf wiedersehen, German class! I arrive at class with some friends who also happen to be vocalists (we have a lot of the same classes, go figure.) German is one of my favorite classes. Frau Stovall is an excellent teacher and knows how to mix fun and seriousness to keep us engaged and excited.
3:00 PM - After an hour and a half of conjugations I’m a little tired as I jog down the steps of the St. Botolph building and hurry to my private lesson on the second floor of Jordan Hall. My teacher, Pat [Patricia Misslin], is unbelievable. My exhaustion dissipates as we begin the lesson. I’ve been working on a lot of Mozart, Mendelssohn and Schubert this year and Pat can barely contain her excitement about each new phrase she helps me unearth. I bring in my prepared pieces, she warms me up and we talk about life, music, and frequently food. Somehow she always figures out how to bring the topic back to music. She once said, “Mendelssohn’s music is like a delicious desert tray.” At 3:30 my amazing pianist Brett knocks on the door and we start working on the pieces I’ve prepared.
4:15 PM - After my lesson I head to the T station and catch the Orange Line train home. On the train, I listen to a recording of Cecilia Bartoli singing “Come scoglio” and jot down important things Pat taught me during our lesson.
4:30 PM - I get off the train, walk up the hill to my apartment, and pass out on my bed for a short nap. I swear only 15 minutes!
2012-06-06
SARAH VAUGHAN