Bright cadenzas and emotional arias filled the warmly lit space of Ramsey Concert Hall on Friday, April 25. Some of the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s most promising vocalists took center stage as world-renowned soprano and actress Renée Fleming led a master class ahead of her Saturday performance.
The five-time Grammy Award winner and National Medal of Arts recipient shared wisdom and tools from her accomplished career. While many did not participate in the master class themselves, music majors of all kinds gathered to hear Fleming’s observations and watch how she taught those who did perform.
“Watching the most talented people in our school who were selected for this master class being criticized for the smallest things like diction or pronunciation…you can always apply it to yourself and think about how you can be better,” Chloe Floyd, a sophomore music major, said.
Emily Taylor, an attendee who is a vocal performance major, said she has always looked up to Fleming and her work and jumped at the opportunity to attend.
“When I heard she was coming here, I freaked out…I was so excited for her to be here again,” Taylor said.
The performers shared this enthusiasm. The students participating were Antonio Azpiri, Ava Bogarde, Amanda Ferreira, Minseol Hong, Yiqi Wang and Isabella Castaño.
“[Fleming] is kind of what we’re all aspiring to be. She’s gone through all these motions,” Bogarde, a junior music education major, said.
With her recital coming up, Bogarde wanted to take this opportunity to get some final notes on an already well-practiced piece. Admittedly, jitters came over her before her time to go on stage, but it all washed away once she heard the piano keys ring.
“Since a lot of the things that I’ve been working on have become sort of muscle memory, every single time [Fleming] gave me something new to add, I could mainly focus on that and just pray that all of the work I put in took care of the rest so that I didn’t overthink anything,” Bogarde said.
Instances like this are what Azpiri likes about master classes — when the ice is broken once singing has begun. He described receiving Fleming’s input to be “like gold.”
“She’s a legend. Everything she tells us is just pure, it’s just invaluable. It’s just a blessing to receive it,” Azpiri said.
While many of the techniques demonstrated by Fleming — blowing through a straw to focus on air support, or biting on a pencil to relax the mouth — are not necessarily new, having them demonstrated in a different format helped performers like Castaño fully understand them.
“Hearing the same thing in a different way will sometimes make something click,” Castaño said.
Castaño, a mother and a part-time student with a background in advertising, is following her dream through pursuing her undergraduate degree in vocal performance. Originally placed as an alternate performer, she was excited to learn by observation and support her friends. But she was taken aback when Fleming asked her to come on stage and perform.
“It was very inspiring and very exciting. If there was one word to sum it up, it was just gratitude,” Castaño said. ”[Fleming] has a well of knowledge.”
Hong, studying for his master’s degree in vocal performance, performed a piece recommended by his professor, Elizabeth Knight – one that he sang in a previous opera and allowed him to show his vocal range. After performing in front of Fleming and receiving her feedback, he described the overall experience to be “not that bad.”
“It’s always a progress,” Hong said. “I got some ideas from Ms. Fleming.”
After the performances, there was a brief Q&A with Fleming and the audience, during which Fleming went more in depth about techniques introduced in the master class as well as career stories.
By the end, attendees like Paige Hall, a freshman music education major, left the master class grateful both for Fleming’s time and the university for making it possible.
“It kind of shows how great UGA’s music program is, just because we have such great people to look up towards,” Hall said.