As we enter spring, we look toward Easter! Easter is one of the most important Christian holidays, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is held on the Sunday immediately following the first full moon of the vernal equinox. That’s why Easter is earlier some years and later in other years.
With over 60% of Germans being Christian, Easter is a huge holiday in Germany [1]. It’s such an important event that Friday to Monday of Easter weekend is a national holiday. (Four day weekend? Sign me up!)
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Can you believe that it’s already March? This means spring is just around the corner. Yes, that’s right. The official first day of spring is March 20th. As spring draws near, many of you are probably planning recitals, either for a school requirement or to add to your summer performance schedule. When planning a recital, it’s usually a good idea to plan your program around a theme, such as German art songs about spring!
Fundraise like a ProAs we head closer to spring, it’s about time young professionals begin to receive their acceptances to young artist programs, opera workshops, and schools. After the initial excitement begins to settle, it’s not uncommon to go into sticker shock. Whether it be fees for a $3,000 month-long pay-to-sing or for a $50,000 a year conservatory, the fees are a tough pill to swallow. If you find yourself in a place where scholarships and grants are not enough to cover the costs and you can’t afford the remainder of the cost yourself, you don’t necessarily have to let go of that dream opportunity. Fundraising can be your answer!
How to Get a Great Education (Without Going to Grad School!)Recently on the GVAI blog, we talked about how to go about choosing the best grad school for you. (If you haven’t read it, see it here!) But, what if you don’t want to go to grad school? Nowadays, grad school is a major expense. Student loans are a heavy burden and make it hard to start a financially healthy career. Because of that, many young professionals are deciding to forgo the grad school route for other means of education. So, what are alternatives to a traditional graduate school education in music?
Education StationFor future college students, right now is a very important time of year. Either you are starting to receive you admissions decisions, or you are starting to think about which schools you want to apply to. Either way, it can be extremely stressful! This decision may affect your future career opportunities, and especially for singers, could make or break your vocal trajectory. In other words, it’s one of the most important decisions you could ever make. No pressure!
So, how do you decide where to apply? How do you decide which school to attend? These are big questions and they have multi-faceted answers. There is no one simple answer. However, here is a list of good things to think about as you make these decisions. We are already here - Susan’s last blog post about her German audition tour! If you’ve been following the GVAI blog, you know that Susan embarked on a three month audition adventure in Berlin, Germany. So, what did Susan learn? Should you plan your own audition tour? Was it totally weird to return to the United States after a quarter of a year abroad? We are so thankful to Susan for her contributions to the GVAI blog and are glad she’s back enjoying the holidays with family. What an eye-opening experience for all of us.
Happy New Year! Wow. 2018 is already four days old. This is the time of year when all the news agencies are predicting what will be big in the next months. People are getting ready to purchase their new gym memberships or finally join that food delivery program they see advertised. If you are like most people, you are also thinking over your past year and working out your resolutions.
Also, if you are like most people, you may find that you didn’t reach your resolution goals from last New Year’s Eve. OR you might not even remember which goals you set last year! So, how can you make this year different? How can you set and reach your goals successfully? Let me introduce you to something I learned from a teacher WAY back in high school. Smart goals are the new resolutions. Dear students, colleagues, supporters and friends,
only a few more hours and the year 2017 is over. I always feel strange about it because I wanted to do so many things, too many things. I made it a tradition in the last years to sit down and take time to review the last year. I use my calendar and go through every week. Often I am astonished what I achieved. I easily forget about it when I move from one project to the next and time passes quickly. I am very grateful for 2017 and I want to thank you for being part of the GVAI family and for following our blog posts. A big thanks goes to Anikka Abbott for writing most of the very interesting blog posts and Susan, who shared her experiences of her audition tour in Germany with us. Danke sehr. I wish you a happy new year, time to enjoy, time to rest, time to be grateful and for those of you singing concerts, a healthy and beautiful voice. Your's Christine |
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Most blog posts from June 2017 - June 2018 were written by GVAI's blogger Anikka Abbott who has just started her journalism studies. We already miss her. Learn more about her here or connect with her on Facebook.
Meet ChristineHello, I am Christine, the director of GVAI, a passionate singer, German diction, voice and performance coach. I love music, singing and dancing. Life is an exciting journey and I invite you to walk with me.... |