Vocal Studies
Between small chamber ensembles, seasonal productions, and cross-departmental collaborations, Vocal Studies students have scores of opportunities to shine.
Train across genres—from opera and art song to jazz, contemporary, and global traditions—in a program designed for versatile vocalists. You’ll perform regularly in fully staged productions, intimate gatherings, and cross-genre collaborations, guided by faculty whose expertise spans the full spectrum of vocal performance.
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Perform full works across multiple styles and genres.
- Dive into nontraditional repertoire.
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Develop your artistic voice with new vocal techniques.
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Collaborate with Longy’s professional partners like The Boston Camerata and Lorelei Ensemble.
Vocal Studies Spotlight
ISABEL RENDALL (GPD 2023), Vocal Studies
“Longy provided an incredibly supportive environment that catalyzed my development as a musician and allowed me to truly start my professional career.”
SYDNEY PÉREZ (MM 2024), Vocal Studies
“I was very afraid of ‘I’ statements when I first came here. Longy really brought me away from that place and helped me develop an artist statement that was a lot more personal and true.”
Course Highlights
Gender-Benders and Trend-Disruptors
Perform nineteenth-century lieder that would traditionally be off-limits to your voice type, gender, or sexuality. Separate lieder from its cis-heteronormative, male-centric worldview and bring it into the twenty-first century with alternative character perspectives.
Broadway: Agent of Change
Consider how musical theater has created social change through its composition, production, and societal reach. Survey three musicals whose impact can still be felt today: The Color Purple, Next to Normal, and Fun Home.
Vox Exchange with Lorelei Ensemble
This auditioned ensemble offers graduate singers of treble voice a rare opportunity to train and perform side-by-side with members of the acclaimed Lorelei Ensemble. Six Longy students will spend the spring semester in rehearsal with Corrine Byrne, Longy faculty and Lorelei member, developing advanced ensemble skills, vocal artistry, and interpretive depth. Students will collaborate directly with Lorelei singers in intensive rehearsals and culminate their work in a public performance led by Lorelei’s Founder and Artistic Director, Beth Willer.
Customize Your Curriculum
Create your own opportunities, find new audiences, and make a living in unexpected ways by customizing your curriculum from a catalog of project-based courses you can’t find anywhere else. Our faculty mentors and experienced career coaches will be there to guide you.
More Highlights
Studio Lessons:
Collaboration with a faculty mentor is the cornerstone of conservatory education at Longy. Together you will explore your unique artistic and professional goals while expanding technical and musical insight.
Masterclasses and Seminars:
Through workshops, masterclasses, discussions, and presentations, frequent opportunities with faculty and guest artists offer singers exposure to many topics including coaching, stylistic interpretation, movement, dramatic presentation, auditioning, and career issues. Recent guests have included Martin Katz, Amanda Forsythe, Justin Austin, Tamara Wilson, and Nicholas Phan. Through a special partnership with Celebrity Series of Boston, emerging artists in its Debut Series present exclusive workshops and master classes with Longy students throughout the year.
Performance Courses:
Course rotation allows students to explore a wide range of focused repertoires including: American Art Song, French Mélodie, Spanish Art Song, English Art Song, German Lieder, European and American Cabaret, and various popular music genres.
Opera Productions:
Each semester, students audition to participate in a fully staged operatic production. Students also receive focused training for opera auditions and coaching toward concert performances of operatic scenes while learning to prepare roles with coaches and pianists.
Vocal Chamber Ensembles:
Singers benefit tremendously from developing strong ensemble skills. Assignments change each term based on student interests and faculty guidance, ranging from small and varied chamber groups to singing with the chamber orchestra.
Repertoire, Diction, and Language:
Coursework addresses the fundamentals necessary for building a solid vocal foundation. Through exploration of diverse repertoire, students develop command of the main operatic and song languages: English, French, German, and Italian.
Pedagogy:
We believe that teaching should be a form of heightened, enlivened communication. Rather than focusing solely on acquiring technical skills, we seek to draw out your latent expertise and help you communicate authentically.