Here are some things you should know about Jacob Beckman:
He is one of my private voice students.
He is a senior at Tremper High School.
He is a valued member of the tenor section for Polly’s top choir.
He sang the leading tenor role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with Opera A La Carte this past summer.
And here’s one more thing you should know about Jacob Beckman:
He is actually a Countertenor.
Or at least that’s what he and I think.
A countertenor, in case you’re unfamiliar with the term, is a man who chooses to sing in a treble register that is typically the domain of females and males with unchanged voices. As I read that definition, it occurs to me that any number of pop singers like that squeaky-voiced guy in the Bee Gee’s or a Motown crooner like Smokey Robinson might seem to qualify…. but the term countertenor really implies that a man with a normal, changed voice has chosen to train themselves to sing up in the treble register with all of the range and power and facility that classical music requires.
It’s no joke and it’s no stunt – but it is exceedingly uncommon, and because of that it’s something that, at the very least, catches people off-guard – and probably strikes a fair number of people as downright weird. But in fact a well- trained and gifted countertenor is capable of truly beautiful and exciting singing, and they seem to be enjoying more and more prominence in the music world today… thanks in part to the sterling singing of David Daniels, who starred in the Lyric Opera’s Rinaldo that I blogged about last week. He was one of three countertenors in that performance alone, while at the Metropolitan Opera they have had the services of at least four different countertenors for two of their productions: Ariodante and The Enchanted Island. So if countertenors used to be regarded as a sort of musical unicorn or two-headed salamander (or whatever oddity you choose), they’re beginning to seem like a relatively normal and natural part of our musical landscape.
Still, it’s not every day that a voice student walks into your studio and asks about the possibility of being a counter- tenor. But that’s what Jacob Beckman did a few months back. If I remember correctly, Jacob was basically just messing around-playing around up in the stratosphere of his voice the way a lot of guys occasionally do – and he realized that something felt surprisingly “right” and natural about singing up there…. as opposed to what it feels like when most guys sing in falsetto. I’m not sure how long he played around with it before he came to me to ask what I thought (I think he may have first shared these thoughts with his other voice teacher, Kathryn Peperkorn) but when I vocalized him up there, I was floored by how released and relaxed and free it sounded. . . and maybe most important of all, I was struck by how joyous Jacob looked when he sang as a countertenor. And this is someone who has always loved to sing and is among my most enthusiastic and thoughtful students. But this adventure took his enthusiasm up to an entirely different level- so much so that I knew we had to explore this. So that’s what we’ve been doing. Jacob had continued to sing tenor in choir and we have continued some of that work in lessons. . . but most of our time, especially over the last few months, has been devoted to developing his confidence and security as a countertenor.
At some point, Jacob confronted a tough choice – whether or not to enter Solo & Ensemble as a tenor once again, or to enter as a Countertenor. We talked about it at great length, and I warned him that the judges at the local level are a mixed lot in terms of smarts and experience, and there was a chance that he might end up with a judge who would have little or no understanding of what a counter- tenor even is . . . or who might be amused or even genuinely offended by the whole notion of it. And there was also a chance that his performance might generate chuckles or even outright laughter from people in the room hearing his performance and being caught by surprise. The safest thing, I told him, would be to enter as a tenor.
Then again, I also told him, the safest thing to do is not necessarily the best thing to do.
You can probably guess where all this is leading: Jacob will compete in tomorrow’s Solo & Ensemble competition as a countertenor. Polly consulted the rulebook (and perhaps called the powers-that-be) and determined that we should enter him in the Boys Unchanged Voices division. Such a thing is quite rare, of course, but by no means unprecedented. And our fingers are crossed that Jacob will have a judge with a smattering of experience or at the very least some understanding of and appreciation for the singing of countertenors.
One matter remained, as far as I was concerned. I had no qualms about Jacob going in there and singing his song (“Gia’il sole dal Gange”) beautifully . . . but I genuinely worried that any schoolmates of his (or for that matter, random complete strangers who happened to be in the room) would laugh…. not even out of meanness or insensitivity but just the way many people do when confronted by a huge surprise. So I told Jacob that I hoped it would be possible for him to sing his solo for at least some of his schoolmates before the contest itself, so they could get any giggles out of their system – plus if there were some giggles or chuckles in the room, Jacob would experience that in the safety of a dry run and not in the spotlight of the contest itself.
Yesterday was our chance. I was at Tremper during their top choir’s rehearsal period, practicing with the 15 students I’m accompanying. By the time I had rehearsed with everyone, there was maybe five minutes left in the period- and Polly announced to everyone that Jacob would be singing his solo for them. She said a very few words about why we were doing this, and threw in a vague reference to what they were about to hear not being “chuckle worthy” – but certainly did not mount a soapbox and exhort everyone to be supportive of Jacob- or threaten them with tar and feathering if anyone responded inappropriately. She seemed to trust that they would listen to Jacob’s singing with respect, understanding and appreciation ….. and as I started the introduction, I prayed that she was right. And to keep myself from being overly nervous, I randomly fixed my gaze on one guy in the bass section- someone I didn’t know very well at all, a basketball player, actually – watching for the first sign of a smirk.
Well I need not have worried. You could have heard a pin drop – and I didn’t see so much as a grimace or even a look of puzzlement on that young man’s face or on the faces of anyone else. Jacob’s fellow choir members listened with rapt attention – and at the end, gave him a huge and heartfelt ovation. I honestly didn’t know who I was prouder of – Jacob for getting up in front of his peers and singing as a countertenor – or his peers for being so mature and appreciative. In fact, it went further than just the fact that they listened quietly and attentively and then gave him a big ovation. Many of them came up to him to say how much they loved his performance, asked him questions about singing in the countertenor range, etc. As he joked with me later, he was “the talk of the town.”
(I should say that Polly has terrific young people in her top choir- and she does so much to deepen their sense of responsibility and community- so I expected them to receive their colleague’s singing appreciatively. But even the nicest person in the world could not be blamed for being shocked when first hearing this kind of sound emerge from a young man’s throat, and I would not have been surprised or even all that upset if there had been a couple of people who reacted to this as though they were suddenly in the presence of a Martian. But no, nobody seemed the least bit shocked or dismayed. Just really impressed…. and really happy for Jacob.)
The contest itself remains – and both Jacob and I know that there is no way to know with absolute certainty how his performance will be received. But I know that he will walk into that room with an extra sense of confidence and pride that I suspect will serve him well. And that is in large measure a gift from his choir mates and Mrs. Amborn – who I think have helped Jacob believe once and for all that this uncommon road is the right road for him.
pictured above: Jacob at last year’s Solo & Ensemble contest, with some of his schoolmates in the room as he receives spoken comments from his judge.