Those who can...

This week, I am preparing for the Cal Lutheran Summer Vocal Institute (this is a program that I co-founded with CLU professor Angela Rasmussen). In the rush up to the start of the program, I find myself anticipating the tremendous week that lay ahead. Meeting new singers, having the opportunity to nurture young artists, being challenged as a master teacher, ultimately helping somone find her voice - all invigorating prospects...In all my successes in the performing world, I never have lost sight of the fact that music is communal and there is no better way to pass on the legacy of artistic life than to nurture it in others.

I've often heard it said, "Those who can do, those who can't teach". I challenge that. In many ways, you never really learn something until you've taught it to someone else. Until you watch the germ of your idea take hold in another and blossom into an entirely new discovery, you can't understand the power of your own knowledge.

Over the years, I have been priviledged to work with many gifted and talented singers. Some working on major studio albums, some building up their audition protfolio and some just wanting to enrich their lives with music. It never ceases to amaze me, the amount I learn from THEM. The first lesson always involves risk. Singing is a deeply personal event. There is no other instrument in the world that is so intimate. When someone opens up and allows you to hear their voice and invites your opinion, and yes, even criticism, it is a risk. I do not take this action lightly. It is an honour to listen, a priviledge to instruct and an absolute joy to guide. In the end, it is the student that finds her own voice. I simply get to be the informed tour guide.

I don't know what I will hear this week or who I will meet, but I do know that one week from today I will have done my part to nurture the voices of tomorrow.

for more info on the CLU Summer Vocal Institute see: www.callutheran.edu/summervocalinstitute