Here are two of my basses… To the left is Andrew Spinelli, who is a sophomore. To the right is Nic Sluss-Rodionov, who is several years past graduation. And both of these guys make me so glad that I am a voice teacher. Andrew is one of a number of students I have who is so genuinely excited about singing- and about becoming a better singer. And Nic is someone whose audition at Carthage many years ago (nearly ten years ago, I’m guessing) was actually in piano and french horn- but who over time has come to realize that the finest of his gifts, and the gift which seems to give him the highest pleasure and satisfaction, is his voice – and he is working very hard to make up for lost time in nurturing that gift and with fine success.
During one of Andrew’s recent lessons, Nic happened to be out in the hallway, waiting to play for one of Sarah Gorke’s voice students. (Nic is the pianist for her studio, so he’s here with Sarah on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.) As Andrew finished singing Henry Purcell’s “Arise, ye Subterranean Winds” I remembered that this was one of Nic’s favorite pieces and a very impressive showpiece for him. And that’s when the little light bulb went on over my head . . . and as the final notes died away, I excused myself – went out into the hall – and invited Nic into my studio. He was understandably bewildered, as was Andrew, but I explained that the two of them could learn a lot from listening to each other sing this same piece. . . and thus ensued what I’m calling the Great American Bass Off (rhymes with Face Off) with these two guys singing back and forth to each other and occasionally together as well. And what made it work so very well was that these are two great guys with big, imposing voices and nearly-nonexistent egos, who barely knew each other yet share what matters most. . . a similar devotion to the art of fine singing.
As we worked together, I was reminded of something which I think worked so wonderfully at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (where I got my masters degree.) Vocal performance majors would each get a one-on-one voice lesson as well as a second lesson which was taken with two other voice students… in which we would sing for one another and offer comment. As much as I valued my private lessons with Dr. Grace, I feel like I learned even more in those three-student group lessons- and part of it was that it was excellent incentive for me to work hard rather than to coast on my talent alone. And it was also in those lessons that I first found out how exciting it could be to know how to listen to other singers with true discernment; it was almost as exciting as singing itself!
Anyway, I am SO glad I brought Andrew and Nic into the same room to bounce those big, imposing voices off of one another. It was just one more example of how my best ideas are almost always unplanned and accidental. It also reminded me of how much better it is to teach voice to nice people, and how much sweeter it is when singers are mature enough and smart enough to not be threatened by each other’s success- only inspired by it. That’s what I like about Andrew and Nic – and about so many of my students right now . . . they don’t have a Prima Donna bone in their bodies. Just a sincere desire to SING and to sing well.
pictured: Andrew and Nic in the aforementioned Bass Off.