This Man!

This man. Bill Schuman.
My voice teacher.

“On Saturday, March 28th, the Academy of Vocal Arts will celebrate its 85th anniversary with BrAVA Philadelphia! For the first time 80 years, The Met Philadelphia stage will showcase some of the best-known singers in the world. The gala will honor the internationally recognized voice teacher Bill Schuman, bestowing upon him the AVA Distinguished Achievement in the Arts Award.

Schuman has taught at AVA for the past 30 years, and his students, past and present, include Marcello Giordani, Lisette Oropesa, Stephen Costello, Michael Fabiano, and Angela Meade.”

I am so excited and grateful for Bill!

I have had the extraordinary privilege to work with this extraordinary teacher for the bulk of my professional career. Bill has worked with, not only the wondrous opera singers mentioned above, but also the likes of Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton and Broadway stars Judy McLane and Anne Crumb.

In this short excerpt from Operawire’s interview with him, Bill describes his core principles in teaching:

OW:  What are some core principles you try to instill in your students?

BS: I believe the number one thing is humility. I tell them that no matter how wonderful you are, no matter how wonderful you think you are, or how great the press says you are, there’s somebody in a church someplace who can outsing you completely.

And I think discipline; I try to instill discipline in them because I’m not there for their careers all the time. To be a great singer is like a prized athlete and without the discipline many, many great talents have gone by the wayside. Finally, curiosity about what’s needed for the career: curiosity of musical style, about music, about technique, and singing traditions. So, I think when I break it down to three things humility, discipline, and curiosity.

Bill has been there for me through thick and thin in all of my work as a performing, concert and recording artist. The way I can best honor him is to keep on doing what I am doing and continue to work to grow and evolve as an artist.

Huge congratulations, Bill, for this recognition and award so richly deserved.

Complimenti, Maestro!

Read the whole article here on operawire.com.