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Description: 

This 6-day summer intensive course is designed for singers ages 14-18. Singers receive daily instruction in vocal production/musical interpretation, acting, movement, diction, and musicianship skills, as well as performance opportunities in masterclasses and a culminating performance.

Prerequisite: If you are a new student not already enrolled at the RCS, you must submit a placement audition recording by DVD, YouTube link or equivalent online submission. Each recording should include two (2) pieces of contrasting style and tempo. Please list selections in order on the label and/or email. Email content to conservatoryschool@rcmusic.ca with subject heading "High School Voice/Opera Intensive". If mailing, please send to Royal Conservatory School, Attn: High School Voice/Opera Intensive, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5M 1S8

Ages: 14-18

Dates/Times: July 11-16 / 9am-5pm

Tuition: $750 (CAD)

Daily Courses

• Individual Lesson: Daily sessions alternating between private voice lessons and vocal coachings
• The Singing Actor: Learn stage craft and the fundamental tools needed to be confident on stage
• Diction: English and foreign language instruction with a focus on the projection of clear, resonant tone and accurate vowel formation
• Movement: Build physical awareness of the body using established techniques for stage performers
• Masterclasses: Concentrated public coachings that allow for the exchange of musical ideas
• Ensembles: Opportunities to perform scenes from opera and musical theatre, and ensembles from the classical literature
• Musicianship: Overview of the foundational musicianship skills and ways to be successful in their development.

Instructors

• Victoria Holland - Voice Instruction and Diction
• Robert Loewen - Voice Instruction and Diction
• Rachel Andrist - Coach
• Michael Albano - Acting
• Janet Fothergill - Musicianship/Theory
• Karine White - Movement

Faculty Bios

Victoria Holland - Soprano Victoria Holland holds a Doctorate of Music and Master of Music in Voice and Opera Performance (Northwestern University) and a Bachelor of Arts (Rhodes College). At the Britten-Pears School in England, Dr. Holland studied with Phyllis Curtain, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, and Diane Forlano.

Dr. Holland's soprano operatic credits include the role of the Contessa in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at England's Aldeburgh Festival. Her performance as the soprano soloist in Mozart's Requiem was hailed as "rich and sublime" by The Commercial Appeal (Memphis). Professional oratorio solo credits include the Beethoven Choral Fantasy, Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, Janácek's Glagolitic Mass, Mozart's Requiem and Coronation Mass, Penderecki's Seven Gates of Jerusalem, Händel's Messiah and Judas Maccabaeus, J.S. Bach's B-minor Mass and Magnificat, the Fauré Requiem, Vivaldi's Gloria and Stabat Mater, and Pergolesi?s Stabat Mater.

Dr. Holland's extensive and diverse recital performances have been well received at Chicago's Symphony Center, the Ravinia Festival's Martin Theater (Chicago), and the Music Institute of Chicago; in Italy at Loyola University?s John Felice Rome Center and Il Conservatorio di Parma; and at well-known recital series such as the Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church, and Alliance Française de Chicago. Dr. Holland performs frequently with the Chicago-based Ondas Ensemble, including annual performances for the Chicago Latin Music Festival and multiple live WFMT radio broadcasts. The ensemble collaborates with and is dedicated to the performance of the music of Latin American composers such as Eduardo Gamboa, Elbio Barilari, Gustavo Leone, and Miguel Kertsman. In 2011, Dr. Holland produced the US premiere of Kertsman?s theatrical chamber music work, O SACI.

While serving on the voice faculty of Loyola University Chicago, Dr. Holland also taught Medieval/Renaissance music history and held the position of Applied Music coordinator. Since 1995, Dr. Holland has maintained a thriving private voice studio in Evanston, Illinois, preparing students of all ages and levels for public performances, professional engagements, RCM exams, college and graduate school auditions, as well as working with avocational singers in highly regarded regional choruses. From 2012-2014, Dr. Holland joined the music faculty of the Science & Arts Academy in Des Plaines, Illinois, to implement and teach a high-level academic and applied music program to gifted students, based on the curriculum of the Royal Conservatory?s Music Development Program.

Dr. Holland regularly presents vocal masterclasses and eagerly collaborates as a guest lecturer, presenting on a range of topics including Italian art song, bel canto style and technique, technology in the classroom, Gregorian chant, and differentiation in general music classrooms. Dr. Holland adjudicates local and regional vocal competitions for students of all ages and development levels.

Dr. Holland is a member of The Royal Conservatory's College of Examiners. She has served as board president of the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and on the 2016 NATS National Convention committee, and also serves on the boards of The Musical Offering (Evanston, Illinois) and the Musicians Club of Women (Chicago), America's oldest musical club.

Dr. Robert Loewen - Dr. Loewen holds a Doctorate in Music in Performance and Pedagogy, a Master of Music (McGill), and a Bachelor of Music (University of Toronto). He is a scholarship student of the Royal Conservatory of Music teachers William Neill, Daniel Ferro, and Bernard Diamant. As well he has been coached by Dixie Ross Neill, Michael McMahon, Stuart Hamilton, Jacqueline Richard, and Douglas Bodle. Dr. Loewen has attended master classes by Maureen Forrester, Joan Dornemann, Stuart Hamilton, and Joseph Rescigno.

As a soloist, Dr. Loewen has performed with the Edmonton Opera Association, Canadian Opera Company Ensemble, and with choirs across Canada and the United States. He was an enthusiastically received soloist in a tour of Ukraine and also sang as soloist at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center with the McGill Chamber Choir in the Mozart Masses in Concert Series.

Since completing graduate degrees in performance, Dr. Loewen's career has centred on teaching, having taught at The Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, McGill University, and the choral scholars of Trinity College (University of Toronto) while maintaining a private studio at both The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists and the Conservatory School both of The Royal Conservatory of Music.

Dr. Loewen's students have been admitted into North America's leading undergraduate and graduate programs including the Julliard School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Indiana University, Manhattan School of Music, McGill University, Lamont School of Music, University of Denver, University of Toronto, The Glenn Gould School, and Wilfred Laurier University, winning awards such as George London Foundation Career Grants and admission to the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Program. Cantorial students hold significant positions of spiritual leadership in Synagogues.

Dr. Loewen is a member of The Royal Conservatory's College of Examiners and has served on the RCM faculty since 2000 and Senior Voice Adjudicator for The Music Development Program.. He is also a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Karine White - Praised for her stage presence, Montreal born Soprano Karine White is passionate about the performing arts. An active and versatile artist, she enjoys both performing and teaching voice, dance and drama. Karine is proud to have been awarded the Peter and Helen Hunt Award in Opera, The National Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship, the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music Silver medal and has received First Class Honours with Distinction for her Associate Performer exam with Conservatory Canada. Some favorite opera credits include: Adele in Die Fledermaus, Emmie in Albert Herring, Lady with a Hand Mirror in Postcard from Morocco and Josephine in HMS Pinafore. Karine had the privilege to travel to Italy to perform Sister Constance in Dialogue des Carmélites, Musetta in La Bohème, Despina in Così fan tutte and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. When not on stage or in rehearsal, she can be found teaching zumba, ballet and dance conditioning with the University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Karine is a distinguished graduate of Western University with a Masters of Music in Performance and Literature and holds a Diploma in Operatic Performance from the University of Toronto where she is presently on faculty as a movement instructor. Karine is thrilled to be joining Opera Atelier in 2016 as Mercury and Witch in their production of Dido and Aeneas.