{"id":45101,"date":"2020-02-28T09:52:42","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T14:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=45101"},"modified":"2020-03-02T09:51:13","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T14:51:13","slug":"emu-vocalist-studies-opera-in-berlin-masterclass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/emu-vocalist-studies-opera-in-berlin-masterclass\/","title":{"rendered":"EMU vocalist studies opera in Berlin masterclass"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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Berlin has been one of Europe\u2019s musical centers for hundreds of years. Members of the Bach family composed there, Shoenberg lived and taught there, and the city boasts an orchestra that began in the royal court in the 1500s. More recently, it hosted Eastern Mennonite University vocalist Leah Wenger<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December, Wenger applied to a historical vocal performance master class<\/a> in Berlin \u2013 and three weeks later, she was on a plane across the Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI gained a lot of confidence, not only in my voice and the way that I carry myself onstage, but also navigating international travel by myself, and navigating public transportation in Berlin,\u201d Wenger said. She spent ten days there: five with an exchange student friend from high school, and five as a student of the Opera Programs Berlin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the program, she put in intense, 12-hour days with nine other vocalists. The other students hailed from the U.S., England, China, the Czech Republic, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Lebanon. Wenger loved being able to interact with globetrotting peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting to know the people that were there as human beings, rather than lists of accomplishments \u2026 the stories of how people got to where they are, everyone is just so different,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Leah Wenger (center) singing during an opera masterclass in Berlin. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Wenger primarily studied under Deborah York<\/strong>, an internationally acclaimed musicologist and vocalist; and Byron Knutson<\/strong>, professor of operatic studies at the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThough the program seems young, the faculty are truly world-class,\u201d said voice professor James Richardson<\/strong>. \u201cI told Leah she had to go to Berlin just for the experience of getting to work with these folks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201chistorical performance\u201d repertoire focused on operas from 1580 to 1750, plus some of Mozart\u2019s early works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wenger prefers to get off the beaten path with music: her senior recital, on April 17, will feature a selection of music from before the 1800s and after the 1900s. This assortment gets away from the typical pieces you hear on classical music stations. But being a bit of an iconoclast doesn\u2019t mean she took the master class any less seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe would spend hours talking about different interpretations of ornamentation, how the composer would have wanted this ornamentation to be during this time period,\u201d Wenger said. For example, arguing over whether to trill in the popular style of 1742 or 1749. \u201cIt was so fun to be around people who got so excited about the same things I was excited about!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opera is a newly found interest of Wenger\u2019s, who grew up with a passion for choral music \u2013 starting in the Shenandoah Valley Children\u2019s Choir at the age of six, and going on to perform in touring and chamber choirs at Eastern Mennonite High School and EMU. It wasn\u2019t until last year, as she prepared for her junior recital and played the Wardrobe in EMU\u2019s production of Beauty and the Beast<\/em><\/a> that she seriously considered a career as a solo vocalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had to embody the character of being an opera diva,\u201d Wenger said. \u201cI really kind of fell in love with solo performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeah’s tremendous, \u2018go-for-it\u2019 work ethic \u2013 her intrinsic drive \u2013 is among her greatest strengths as a musician,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cOf course, those who know Leah are well-aware, this quality is among her strengths in general; it’s simply an attribute of Leah as a person and it carries over into her many spheres.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wenger is a double major in music performance and psychology, has a minor in the honors program, is co-president of the Student Government Association, and plays varsity soccer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richardson said this interdisciplinary approach to education \u201cembodies the very spirit of our music department. That is, we don’t have a cookie cutter mold for our music majors. Our students are unique.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all the demands on her time, Wenger will walk in Commencement this spring, and finish her degrees next semester. And what\u2019s next, after that? Wenger\u2019s keeping an open mind \u2013 looking for professional singing opportunities with the hope of any young artist: to \u201cget paid for doing things I\u2019m passionate about!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Berlin has been one of Europe\u2019s musical centers for hundreds of years. Members of the Bach family composed there, Shoenberg lived and taught there, and the city boasts an orchestra ... read more about EMU vocalist studies opera in Berlin masterclass<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":45115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7931,5624,17562,5183,5603,14139],"tags":[11451],"feature":[17426],"class_list":["post-45101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-bach-festival","category-digest","category-music","category-psychology","category-student-profiles","tag-james-richardson","feature-myemu-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nEMU vocalist studies opera in Berlin masterclass - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/emu-vocalist-studies-opera-in-berlin-masterclass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EMU vocalist studies opera in Berlin masterclass - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Berlin has been one of Europe\u2019s musical centers for hundreds of years. 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