- [Announcer] On this episode of Onstage at Curtis.

- I didn't really get into singing until high school, so I took piano lessons when I was a kid and honestly didn't really practice that much.

And then it wasn't until high school that I really got into classical music.

First with piano a little bit, and then taking voice lessons.

- [Presenter] In partnership with the Curtis Institute of Music, WHYY presents the following program.

(gentle music) (singing in foreign language) - My name is Jackson Allen.

I'm a tenor and I study voice.

(continues singing in foreign language) When I started taking lessons, let's say I was just not the best piano student from the ages of like 7 to 12 or so.

And then around 12 or 13, I started to realize that if I practiced, then I could actually play the pieces that were more interesting than just like Faber and Faber Piano Adventures, method book.

So yeah, around 12 or 13 in high school, I started actually practicing a little bit.

And then once I started being able to actually play, I mean, I'm not a pianist by any means, but once I started being able to actually play real pieces, then it was like, okay, I can get somewhere with this.

And then I kind of dabbled a bit in like, like in high school band, I played like percussion or clarinet or whatever.

But then, yeah, then when I started taking singing lessons in grade 11, that was pretty much my first time really seriously singing.

(singing in foreign language) I think it's because I started with piano.

Honestly, I think it was just watching YouTube videos of opera singers, like whatever comes up when you type in Pavarotti in YouTube, that kind of thing.

And I just was kind of fascinated by it because my parents love music, but totally like rock.

Nothing classical necessarily.

And so it was just sort of a like, wow, this is kind of interesting.

And then the more I listened to it, the more I was like, let's just kind of see what it would be like.

I kind of tried a couple instruments and I was kinda like, let's just see what it would be like to take a voice lesson, just like at the music school.

And yeah, it was really enjoyable.

And yeah, I did a little bit of musical theater.

Not as much like a lot of singers come from doing a lot of choir and a lot of musical theater like really early on.

And I did a little bit of that, but not until after I had already started solo voice lessons.

Well, the best part about being a classical musician is the music, for sure.

Like the fact that you get to sing that kind of music, like from the greatest composers of all time and also new composers that are great is just so amazing.

The worst part, it's probably just, you have to keep at it.

It's hard work to practice every day and it's hard work to go out for things and get rejections and all that kind of stuff.

And especially post-pandemic and all that kind of stuff, there's less and less jobs and more and more great singers and all that kind of stuff.

So I think the industry side of things can be hard, but the best part is definitely just the music, yeah.

The Schubert project we did with Die schone Mullerin translates to like the beautiful Mill girl, and it was a collaboration between the singers, the pianists, and then actually, there were some composers who wrote pieces kind of based on this song cycle by Schubert, Die schone Mullerin kind of interspersed their pieces within that.

So each of us sang like four of Schubert songs and then one newly composed piece.

And so that was really cool because mostly, in the opera department, we work with kind of the professional coaches and stuff in terms of pianists.

And so it's cool to be able to work with your fellow students.

(singing in foreign language) (gentle piano music) (continues singing in foreign language) My parents have always been super, super supportive.

They were very encouraging of me getting music lessons, like growing up and all that sort of stuff.

(singing in foreign language) They were definitely very surprised when I said, yeah, maybe I wanna go to school for music.

That was like I think a total shock for them.

I mean, I was good at school and I was kind of like, I had a lot of other interests, and so I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I was kind of like, and I definitely had no plans to study music like at all, 'cause it wasn't until late in high school that I even started taking voice lessons.

So yeah, I'll study English or history or something.

And then my voice teacher at the time said, you could look into just auditioning for places and kind of see and then you can decide.

And that's kinda like, "Oh, all right.

I might as well just kind of see what happens."

And then.

(singing in foreign language) I had a variety of interests, but I wasn't necessarily like the most artsy kid.

Even musical theater, right?

Like I did that a little bit, but not since, you know, there were a lot of kids who had been doing that kind of stuff since grade nine or even earlier.

And so I was a bit kind of late getting into it.

And then I was kind of, I mean, it's probably one of only a few kids in my high school class who ended up studying music.

So I think a lot of people were just kind of like, all right.

Yeah, surprised, I'm sure.

What qualities do I think make a great cast musician?

I would say persistence.

I think it's definitely one of those professions, I always think of kind of like an Olympic downhill skier where they train their whole lives.

They have to train every day.

And at the end, the big kind of performance is like 45 seconds of going down the hill.

And it's a little bit like that I think for musicians sometimes.

Even if an opera could be three hours long, the performance only lasts a couple hours and you have to be putting in, not only practice on your own time every day, but the rehearsals for a show lasts so much longer than the actual performance.

So if you don't enjoy the process of practicing and rehearsing and all kind of stuff, I think it's hard to have a good time in the end.

And then I'd say honesty.

Like really, really being honest in the way that you approach the music and for singers, the text.

And then maybe like curiosity, especially for something like opera or singing where you have a text and you have like a historical, not only like the history of the composer and stuff, but also like what you're doing on stage.

There's a setting and all that kind of stuff.

So I think being, kind of having a curiosity about other stuff aside from just being in the practice room all the time and studying your music and all that kind of stuff, but the other aspects of the art form, I think, yeah, I find that a lot of my favorite singers turns out really had like this kind of all these other interests that are, I feel like that makes you a more complete artist.

(audience applauding) The Songs from the Chinese by Benjamin Britten, it's a really cool piece.

It's based on ancient Chinese poetry.

Translated to English though.

I have no chance of actually singing in Chinese.

The interplay of the guitar and the voice I think is really cool in those pieces.

And the different sounds that the guitar makes, like he uses the guitar in ways where it almost could sound like some ancient Chinese instrument or something.

Like there's some really, really fast shredding parts, and some really kind of quiet, atmospheric kind of sounds.

♪ Don't help on the big chariot ♪ ♪ You will only make yourself dusty ♪ ♪ Don't think about the sorrows of the world ♪ ♪ You will only make yourself wretched ♪ ♪ Don't help on the big chariot ♪ ♪ You won't be able to see for dust ♪ ♪ Don't think about the sorrows of the world ♪ ♪ Or you will never escape from your despair ♪ ♪ Don't help on the big chariot ♪ ♪ The big chariot ♪ ♪ You'll be stifled with dust, stifled with dust ♪ ♪ Don't think about the sorrows of the world ♪ ♪ Think about the sorrows of the world, ♪ ♪ The sorrows of the world ♪ ♪ You will only load yourself with care ♪ (gentle guitar music) ♪ Of cord and cassia-wood is the lute compounded ♪ ♪ Within it lie ancient melodies ♪ ♪ Ancient melodies weak and savorless ♪ ♪ Not appealing to present men's taste ♪ ♪ Light and color are faded from the jade stops ♪ ♪ Dust has covered the rose-red strings ♪ ♪ Decay and ruin came to it long ago ♪ ♪ But the sound that is left is still cold and clear ♪ ♪ I do not refuse to play it, if you want me to ♪ ♪ But even if I play, people will not listen ♪ ♪ How did it come to be neglected so ♪ ♪ Because of the Ch'iang flute and the zithern of Ch'in ♪ ♪ Autumn wind rises; white clouds fly ♪ ♪ Grass and trees wither; geese go south ♪ ♪ Orchids all in bloom; chrysanthemums smell sweet ♪ ♪ I think of my lovely lady; I never can forget ♪ ♪ Floating pagoda-boat crosses n river ♪ ♪ Across the mid-stream white waves rise ♪ ♪ Flute and drum keep time, keep time ♪ ♪ To sound of rower's song ♪ ♪ Amidst revel and feasting ♪ ♪ Sad thoughts come ♪ ♪ Youth's years how few, age how sure ♪ ♪ Youth's years how few, age how sure ♪ ♪ How sure, age how sure, age how sure ♪ It's been so amazing to get to work with the people I've gotten to work with here and the opportunities that they provide in terms of connecting with people, both like within the school and also outside of it.

Making connections that way has been like really kind of crazy.

Even they bring people from different opera houses just to hear us.

So we get to do little, even though it's not an audition, so last year we had auditions and stuff and I still had a year left, so it wasn't like an audition for necessarily for anything in particular.

♪ My servant, Abraham ♪ ♪ Take Isaac, thy son by name ♪ ♪ That thou lovest the best of all ♪ The thing that I most appreciate about Curtis is the focus on actually performing.

There's a lot of schools where you might get a great education in a million ways, but if you're like an undergrad, you don't necessarily get to perform all the time.

And one thing I really see at Curtis is, the undergrads are, first of all, the undergrads are so fantastic here.

But they get to perform, they get to be on stage, they get to be in the operas, and they get to be in all kinds of recitals and stuff.

So you actually learn what the actual craft is on stage, 'cause it really is different to sing something in the practice room and to sing something on stage.

So that focus on actually learning by doing, I think, I think that is, like there's a motto, something like that, learning by doing.

But that's definitely a huge strength of Curtis.

And yeah, for me, just the people I've been able to work with have just been so extraordinary.

(gentle piano music) ♪ My Lord, to Thee is mine intent ♪ ♪ Ever to be obedient ♪ ♪ That son that Thou to me hast sent ♪ ♪ Offer I will to Thee ♪ ♪ Thy bidding done shall be ♪ I'm auditioning, winter is kind of the audition season, so my hope is to go to Europe.

I've always kind of had that a bit as my goal just 'cause there's so many jobs there.

And I really like the kind of linguistic thing.

Like I've taken German classes, but to actually like live in a German-speaking country and get to practice language and all that, I think that's my goal at least is, yeah, get a position in Europe.

And it really kind of varies, but it basically is just when that organization has set their audition period, depending on what you're going for.

Like if you're going for summer programs, you'll have a certain number of auditions, and if you're going for like year-long programs, that's something else.

If you're going for competitions.

So it depends on exactly what you're looking at.

Well, I'm Canadian, so I mean the Canadian Opera Company, I think that would be really, really cool.

But obviously, if the Metropolitan Opera calls or La Scala or any of those places, like I would love to go there.

But I mean, really anywhere.

I think any opera house that I get to perform at, I'll be happy.

I think it depends on your goals, like what specifically you're going for.

And different auditions also tend to fall at different times of the year.

So especially in the U.S., like they've kind of been getting earlier and earlier.

So auditions that would be in September are now like, or excuse me, application deadlines that would be like in September.

And then maybe the audition is a month or two later are now in like August.

And it really kind of varies.

If I could collaborate with any musician, Martha Argerich would be cool.

She's a pianist who collaborates a lot.

I don't know how much she does with singers, but I've always really admired her.

(piano music) I don't know what exactly I would sing with her, but I have the feeling that she would be really kind of a force of nature to work with.

(laughs) But as far as singers to work with, I mean, there's like a million, yeah.

(singing in foreign language) My younger self, I would say don't worry about it.

I mean, nothing that I expected to be doing even 10 years ago is anything like what my life is now.

So it's kind of like, don't worry about it too much.

It's gonna turn out okay, I think.

Yeah, I don't know if I have any specific advice 'cause it really is like I'm 24.

When I was 14, like I had absolutely no plans of doing music as a profession at all.

So I don't have anything really specific.

But yeah, it's gonna work out, I think.

(piano music) I mean, Curtis I had heard about even when I was in high school and I didn't know anything.

I guess my voice teacher told me about it, and it was kind of like it's this really small prestigious music conservatory, and you don't have to pay anything.

And I was kind of like, had this kind of aura of like, wow, like everybody gets a scholarship and it's like only a few people.

I always kind of pictured it as this really special place.

And yeah, honestly it is.

Like to step into the old building and see all the paintings and it really has a kind of like mystique even now to me still.

♪ Through the hole in his coat the river wind blows ♪ ♪ Through his broken hat, the mountain rain pours ♪ ♪ On the long dyke, he seemed to be far away ♪ ♪ In the narrow lane, suddenly, we were face to face ♪ ♪ The boy is home and the ox is back in its stall ♪ ♪ And a dark smoke oozes through the thatched roof ♪ - My future self, that one's kind of hard.

I would say, whatever I end up doing let's say in 10 years, 20 years, whatever I end up doing, as long as I'm happy and fulfilled, liking this kid.

(singing in foreign language) (gentle piano music)