The Inspiration Behind Vocal Masterclassics
By Dr. Keith Brautigam, founder and president of Vocal Masterclassics
Having taught for over 30 years as a voice professor at the university level, I have always treasured the masterclass format as a inspirationally-educational tool for my students.
I know that voice teachers around the world could convey a host of stories where “the light came on” for one of their students in a masterclass...and as a teacher, I have benefited tremendously from watching fellow masterclass instructors, each with their own fresh approach, their own way of expressing an idea or concept — that often “hit the mark” for a student.
For decades, world-renowned singers and conductors have been graciously giving back to the arts community through masterclass events. Thankfully, numerous classes have been recorded either on video or audio – many of which have been posted on YouTube and numerous other sites across the internet.
Unfortunately, however, a majority of these masterclasses are posted with only minimal program information. Because of this reality, a vast majority of typical searches will overlook numerous masterclasses that could prove immeasurably beneficial not only to students, but to the entire vocal arts community!
Not only that, most people won't even know what to type into a search bar to find those hidden classes, so they remain obscurely covered in the back pages of the internet for the lucky few to find...maybe.
We knew, therefore, this needed to be addressed if this incredible educational resource was to take its rightful place in the mainstream of vocal training!
To do so, it was obvious that all of our visitors would need to be able to search masterclasses in numerous ways. That would be the ONLY way masterclasses could move out of the "random find" to the "full research" category, thus making them a fully-useful educational resource.
As a result of this passion, Vocal Masterclassics was born - which now allows students to specifically target their viewing to include:
- artist names and voice types.
- pieces/titles on which they are working in their lessons.
- specific performer voice types they want to hear being instructed.
- specific operas/musicals/oratorios/song cycles they are presently preparing.
- composers they are studying.
- genres they are encountering.
- dates, venues, and even language of instruction!
The days of random searching are over!
It is our joy to bring vocal masterclasses into the training mainstream for all aspiring vocalists by creating it as a free resource for all in the vocal arts community!
Happy masterclass searching and viewing!