TCO Resident Artists Training Program
2007-2008 Resident Artists |
Scholarship Winners |
Current MM-Opera Students |
Graduate Resident Artists |
2008-2009 Audition Application
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2008-2009 Audition Application
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Former Members of the TCO Resident Artist
Training Program
Tri-Cities Opera offers aspiring opera singers a unique blend of instruction and practical experience through its Resident Artist Training Program, providing the wide variety of skills required of a professional opera singer. Tri-Cities Opera prefers to cast all roles with members of the Resident Artist Training Program. Areas of instruction may include vocal pedagogy, vocal coaching, acting, stage craft, movement, diction, role interpretation and audition skills.
Instruction occurs at the company-owned rehearsal and second-stage performance space, in the private studios of our artistic staff and in our rented mainstage 1,500 seat performance venue, the Broome County Forum Theatre.
Generally, three workshop or masterclass style sessions of three hours each are conducted weekly (when the company is not in full rehearsal for the mainstage productions), for a total of 35 sessions annually. In addition, Resident Artists receive practical experience as they rehearse and perform leading and minor roles for the three mainstage productions. There are typically two casts for each production that rehearse for at least four weeks prior to performing. Since TCO owns the sets for these operas, the Resident Artists are able to train extensively on the set pieces before moving to the performance venue. Resident Artists also receive instruction and training while preparing roles for our two second stage productions as well as our touring educational outreach program.
The TCO artistic staff consists of Peyton Hibbitt, Co-founder and Artistic Director Emeritus who coaches privately, teaches classes and conducts mainstage performances; Duane Skrabalak, Senior Artistic Director who coaches privately, teaches classes and conducts all productions; Peter Sicilian, Artistic Director who teaches vocal pedagogy privately, teaches classes and is the Stage Director for all productions.
A $425 annual fee is charged for membership in the Resident Artist Training Program. Members of the program pay for individual instruction at the rate of $40/hr. TCO has an agreement with the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) and pays artists for all mainstage solo roles accordingly. In addition, artists are paid for performing in our touring education productions and our December second-stage production. Scholarships totaling as much as $14,500 are awarded in competition each season to members of the program to assist them with fees for private instruction.
Each year approximately 30 students study opera as members of the TCO Resident Artist Training Program.
Selected Graduates of the Resident Artist Training Program
- Richard Leech - Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, San Francisco
Opera, Paris Opera - Judy Berry* - Edmonton Opera, Wuppertal Opera
- Christopher Hux* - Wexford Festival
- Marietta Simpson* - Houston Grand Opera
- Kenneth Shaw - New York City Opera
- Cynthia Clarey - Deutsche Oper Berlin
- Jake Gardner - Cologne Opera, Vienna State Opera
- Richard Taylor - Covent Garden
- Michael Lockley* - New York City Opera
- Christopher Arneson* - Santa Fe Opera
- Julia Anne Wolf* - Washington & New York City Opera
- Guido Le Brón - Wexford Festival, Metropolitan Opera,
Washington Opera, Los Angeles Opera - Todd Geer* - Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera
- Linda Larson - New York City Opera
- Timothy LeFebvre* - San Francisco Opera, Indianapolis
Opera, Sarasota Opera - Marlin Miller - Lyric Opera of Chicago
- Lori-Kaye Miller - New York City Opera, Minnesota Opera,
Boheme Opera - Victor Robertson
- Aaron St. Clair Nicholson - Glimmerglass Opera, Metropolitan Opera
* also a graduate of the MM-Opera Program
Scholarship Opportunities
The Tri-Cities Opera Guild and Endowment Fund make some limited scholarship support available. A Scholarship Competition for these awards is held at the beginning of each season.
Congratulations to our 2007-2008 Scholarship winners:
Richard F. Gold Career Grant
Julia Ebner, soprano
Roselyn Welton Best Scholarship
Jeffrey Seppala, baritone
George L. Hinman Award
Stephen Lavonier, baritone
Alexander Scopino, bass
Carlotta Savoca Memorial
Angela Libertella, soprano
TCO Scholarship
Grant Knox, tenor
Adele Bernstein Scholarship/TCO Guild
Jacqlyn Zito, soprano
TCO Guild Scholarship
James Barbato, tenor
Matthew Edwards, baritone
Carlotta Savoca Memorial/TCO Guild Scholarship
Amber Alarcon, mezzo-soprano
Ian Bentley, tenor
Matthew Dingels, tenor
Sahara Glasener, mezzo-soprano
Leandra Ramm, mezzo-soprano
Second Stage Productions
The members of the Resident Artist Training Program are featured in two annual Second Stage Productions at the Tri-Cities Opera Center. Both a holiday performance and a scenes program in March give artists opportunities onstage and are a part of the overall training program.
Binghamton University
Masters of Music in Opera with TCO
Resident Artist Training Program
TCO and Binghamton University Work together to provide a Master of Music in Opera Program in conjunction with the Resident Artist Program.
About Binghamton University
Binghamton University has earned a place as one of the top-ranking public universities in the nation. Situated on a wooded, rolling hillside, Binghamton University enrolls more than 12,000 students. The Department of Music's distinguished faculty offers an exciting curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Master of Arts and Master of Music degrees.
Master of Music in Opera
Since 1979, Binghamton University has joined with Tri-Cities Opera to create a unique and exceptional program combining practical studies, an academic track, and professional experience leading to the Master of Music degree in Opera. The artist-teachers of the faculty bring the wide experience of long and continuing careers in opera to the program. Students complete a minimum of 36 graduate credit hours in music courses including the master classes of the Tri-Cities Opera Resident Artist Training Program, studio voice, theory, history, lyric diction, coaching, vocal literature, movement and acting.
Oratorio
The 170-member Binghamton University Chorus performs major choral works with orchestra each year. Students enrolled in the MM Opera program are encouraged to audition as soloists.
Binghamton University Voice Faculty
Mary Burgess
Timothy LeFebvre
Diane Richardson
Peter Sicilian
Duane Skrabalak
Courses Offered
- Voice Lessons and Vocal Coaching
- Voice Master Class
- Lyric Diction
- Languages
- Vocal Pedagogy
- Vocal Literature and Interpretation
- Stage Combat
- Dance/Stage Movement
- Music History
- Music Theory
Financial Aid
Resident Artists pursuing the Master of Music degree in Opera are eligible for graduate assistantships which include generous stipends and tuition scholarships. Graduate assistants are assigned duties according to their capabilities and the department's needs. Assignments may include teaching individual voice classes, assisting faculty with ensembles and academic courses and general administrative duties.