In the end I was unsuccessful but the Head of the program, Tobias Truniger, wanted to help me begin my career in Europe. I had made it to the final seven out of 945 international applicants for a place in the Young Artist Programme at the Staatsoper. This opportunity came from an audition at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Germany, at the beginning of 2020. I was chosen to be one of the nine vocalists in the Festival Academy – or more specially, a member of Atelier Lyrique. Verbier and its surrounds are breathtakingly beautiful. Every view, whether seen during a forest walk or from my apartment’s balcony, could have featured on a postcard. The festival is held in the picturesque resort village of Verbier, roughly an hour and a half southeast of Lausanne in the Alpine region alongside the border of Switzerland and France. With the company’s support, and despite limited travel of any kind, I was blessed to be able to travel to Switzerland for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make my international singing debut at one of the world’s leading summer festivals, The Verbier Festival. Such support for young singers is part of Victorian Opera’s DNA and, for me, began with my first performance in the company’s Youth Opera in 2012. While this is a ‘domestic’ role by design, the company wholeheartedly endorsed the opportunity for me to take up the invitation to participate in an international festival. The Prize funds a 12-month apprenticeship, which has seen me immersed in rehearsals and performances for all the company’s productions. In a time of cancelled and rescheduled performances, lockdowns and other surprises, I’ve cherished some very important debuts and been an ever-grateful recipient of Victorian Opera’s inaugural Michael Stubbs and Malcolm Roberts Opera Prize – a $50,000 scholarship to be closely nurtured and supported by the company. I’m also looking forward to being involved in the National Flute Association’s 50th anniversary convention in Chicago…It should be a great finale to a rewarding summer of travels.In what has been such a globally challenging period, I have known my luck in 2021. This summer I will be teaching at four wonderful summer programs: The Panoramic Flutist at CU Boulder, The Consummate Flutist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Texas Music Festival at the University of Houston, and the Atlantic Music Festival at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. For information about student and faculty recitals, ensemble concerts, and guest artist master classes at Rice throughout the academic year, peruse the Shepherd School website, which maintains a continually updated listing of the almost 400 events that take place throughout the school year. If you are interested in investigating the flute studio at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music you will want to click on Flute Studio below. Also check out the link Advice/Inspiration, which discusses topics of special interest.
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