Since I was little I’ve had an immense love for the arts (acting, dancing, and musical theater), and I knew that, if in the future I wanted to work in these industries, I had to know a little bit about every aspect of performing. Last semester I decided to take singing lessons for the first time in my life. This is something I had always wanted to do, but had never had the guts to carry out. After that semester, I decided that I wanted to continue developing my craft in music, so I enrolled in vocal technique for a second time.

Foro Performance class meeting Lin-Manuel Miranda

This semester I decided to work the piece ‘Till I hear you sing from the musical Love Never Dies written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This piece represented, and still represents for me, a great challenge. As it is known, the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber is of high difficulty, and usually has an operatic tone. I had never sung a song in that style, so I was afraid to sing it. Still, I accepted the challenge and prepared the song to present it in the Foro Performance class.

‘Till I hear you sing, sung by Ramin Karimloo

On March 15, 2019, I presented my piece in the Foro Performance class and I can say that I am satisfied, but it could have been much better. Despite all the nervousness and all the negativity that surrounded my head, I enjoyed the presentation. One of my biggest fears was that I would forget the lyrics or that I was out of tune, and neither of those things happened. I validated what my professor had told me, if you get ready and do all the work, you will feel much more prepared on stage. The nerves tend to betray you, but you enter much more calmly if you know what you have to do and how to do it. Standing in front of the class and singing was a very rewarding experience; I could see that all the effort I had gone through had paid off. I also liked my presentation because I was able to move on stage much more confidently, unlike last semester when I sang Proud of your boy from the musical Aladdin.

Now, there are several things at which I failed during my presentation. For example, with my diction and in the interpretation of the character. While I did analyze the score to know the timing of X or Y note, etc., I did not analyze it as much to see what it said about my character. I was so focused on singing so technically correct that I neglected my study of the character. I understand that that was a big mistake. I stayed in tune during my presentation, but I feel that the acting aspect could have been much better and I still lacked security. That’s what I have to work on for the next presentation, to be more confident and analyze my character deeply.

Retaking vocal technique and Foro Performance this semester was a very good decision. It is true that I have been very stressed during the semester, but these classes have helped me a lot, and they have inspired me to want to continue learning. That’s why right after my presentation in Foro Performance I decided to do a double major in music, in addition to my main major in film. I’m looking forward to my next presentation.