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JMU Music Program in Germany

Summer 2010 (tentative dates):
Session One: 15 main-stage roles in Die Zauberflöte (May 17 to July 5) and Cabaret (May 17 to July 19) with the Middle-Saxony Theater
Session Two, June 21 to July 4: Schumann Lieder Course with Fortepiano

Welcome to our website! James Madison University’s Summer Music in Germany was created to give pianists and singers the opportunity to perform and study Opera and Lieder in Saxony, Germany, where they will work with both American and German instructors and colleagues. If you are just starting your collegiate academic career, or are an advanced student who feels the need to expand your musical horizons, this course will help you to understand the cultural norms and differences in musical practices between American and German societies and give you an opportunity to experience living and working in Germany. You’ll have opportunities to observe the German musical theater, operatic and concert systems and to gain insight into professional-level performance attitudes and practices. You’ll have chances to perform, and the journal you’ll keep will be a record of concerts and performances you participate in, as well as excursions to concert and opera performances you will attend.

Program Location & Academic Program

Dates (tentative) and Repertoire

Session One: 15 main-stage roles in Die Zauberflöte (May 17-July 5) and Cabaret (May 17-July 19) with the Middle-Saxony Theater

Magic Flute, (May 17-July 5)

Monosatos (Double Cast Lead Role)
Queen of the Night (Double Cast Lead Role)
Third Lady (Principle)
Sarastro (Understudy with two guaranteed performances plus chorus)
Pamina (Understudy with two guaranteed performances plus chorus)
Tamina (Understudy with two guaranteed performances plus chorus)

Cabaret (May 17-July 19)

Clifford Bradshaw (Principle in eight Performances)
Kit-Kat Girls (Eight performances)
All Cabaret cast may also participate in Magic Flute Chorus

Pyramus and Thisbee (May 17-July 5)

Pyramus
Thisbee
The Wall
The Lion
The Moon

Student Performances (subject to course enrollment)

Scenes and arias from operas and musicals appropriate to level of training (for all students participating in The Magic Flute and Cabaret)
Mozart’s The Impressario: All roles
Weill: Three Penny Opera: All roles

Additional Courses: Conversational German (101)

All courses offered for academic credit

For addition information on repertoire and instruction for Session Two, visit the website: http://mysite.verizon.net/resuc63p/freiberg2010.html

Accommodations

Sessions I and II: Dormitory style student housing will be arranged throughthe Freiberg Opera House Administration at a local community college. Accommodation is within walking distance of the theater and German classes, and bicycles are available for rent.

Program Costs*

For the current projected costs for this program, please click on the following link to the Fees for JMU Study Abroad Programs page.

Application

For more detailed instructions and to download the application, please click on the following link to the Applications and Forms section for JMU Short-Term Programs.

In addition, all applicants should apply to the director of the program, Dr. Dorothy Maddison with the following information:

Session One Applicants should:

Submit a resumé including their educational background, performance experience and repertoire.
Audition in person or send a DVD, CD or VHS with a minimum two contrasting pieces. For singers, if possible, one piece should be in German. A musical theater song is also recommended. Advanced singers should include an appropriate operatic aria. Pianists are invited to submit a recording collaborating with a singer on German Lieder and/or operatic repertoire.
Applicants should also send a recommendation from their current piano/singing teacher, or have their teacher e-mail the recommendation directly to Dr. Maddison at maddisdx@jmu.edu.
If possible, students may also audition for Jan Horstmann when he is in the USA in February 8-18th.

Session Two Applicants should:

Submit a resumé including their educational background, performance experience and repertoire.
If a live audition is not possible, send a DVD, CD or VHS with a minimum two contrasting pieces.
Applicants should also send a recommendation from their current singing/piano teacher, or have their teacher e-mail the recommendation directly to Dr. Maddison at maddisdx@jmu.edu.
Collaborative pianists are invited to include appropriate audition selections that reflect training appropriate to German Art Song.

Tentative dates for Auditions and Masterclasses in the USA:

Session One with Wieland Müller, November 3-15
Session Two with Jan Horstmann, November 16-23rd or January 19-27

Tentative Course Calendar

May 16: Students arrive at Dresden Airport
May 17 (Monday): First Day of Course in Freiberg
June 3: Magic Flute Dress Rehearsal, Freiberg
June 5: Magic Flute Premier, Freiberg
June 8: Magic Flute, Freiberg
June 9: Magic Flute Freiberg
June 11: Magic Flute Freiberg
June 12: Magic Flute Freiberg
June 14: Rehearsals begin for Cabaret, Magic Flute Soiree
June 17: Magic Flute Dress Rehearsal Doebeln
June 18: Magic Flute Premier Doebeln
June 19: Klangzauber Concert in Mittweida
June 20: 2:30 Magic Flute Matinee in Doebeln
June 21: Start of Schumann Lieder Course with Eckart Sellheim
June 23: Magic Flute Freiberg
June 24: Magic Flute Freiberg
June 26: Midsummernight’s Concert with American students
June 29: 2:30 Matinee Magic Flute in Freiberg
July 1: Cabaret run-through at Kriebstein Stage (?)
July 2: Cabaret dress rehearsal Kriebstein (?)
July 3: Magic Flute Freiberg
July 4: Final Concert for Schumann Lieder Course
July 5: Students not in Cabaret transported to Dresden Airport or train station (end of course)
July 7: Cabaret dress rehearsal Kriebstein
July 8: Cabaret Premier Kriebstein
July 9: Cabaret Kriebstein
July 10: Cabaret Kriebstein
July 11: Cabaret Kriebstein
July 15: Cabaret Kriebstein
July 16: Cabaret Kriebstein
July 17: Cabaret Kriebstein
July 18: Cabaret Kriebstein
July 19 (Monday): Students in Cabaret transported to Dresden Airport or Train Station (end of course)

Related Internet sites to visit

Mid-Saxony Opera of Freiberg and Döbeln:
www.mittelsaechsisches-theater.de

City of Freiberg:
http://www.freiberg.de/acaws/portal.nsf/framesets/freiberg

Freiberg Technical University (who help sponsor our German Courses and accommodation):
http://www.iuz.tu-freiberg.de/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1&lang=en

City of Döbeln (in German):
http://www.doebeln.de

Döbeln Music School (Friends of our program site in German):
http://www.musikschule-doebeln.de/53272599640d66106.html

FAQ’s

Do I have to enroll for academic credits? Yes. You will also be enrolled as a short-term Foreign student at the University of Freiberg.
How old should I be to do this course? The course has accommodated students from freshman level college students up through mature adults who are ready to look for professional work in Germany.
Will this course get me a job in Germany? Yes if you are ready. No if you are not. Each voice will fit into a particular vocal category which matures at a different time. If you are in your late teens to mid-twenties, the chances of getting a full-time job as a soloist are probably unrealistic. However, if you fall into that category, this summer course gives you a chance to learn what it would be like to work in a professional opera house once you are ready, as well as giving you a chance to make friends and contacts for future visits to the country with the most opera houses in the world. You’ll also have the chance to develop basic conversational skills the will be valuable to you in the future.
What music should I prepare? Contact Dr. Dorothy Maddison for further details to discuss what is appropriate for audition and repertoire during the summer course.
Will there be time on the weekends to travel? No. The weekends will be for excursions to see shows and tour for additional performances. The best alternative is to plan to stay in Europe after the course is completed to take time to visit friends and/or relatives or to tour on your own.
Do I have to speak German? Not before you go, but it would be a good idea to study a little if you have time. You will learn basic conversational German while you are there.
What will the weather be like? During the first two weeks of the course, it will still be early spring weather in Germany, and you should plan to bring a winter coat, hat, mittens and rain gear, including an umbrella. An equal amount of winter and summer clothing is advised.
Should I bring stage make-up and stage shoes? Yes.
What should I do about airfare? You are responsible for your airfare, but we will be working with Lincoln Travel in Bridgewater to find a reasonable group rate for a flight that you can purchase individually between Washington and Dresden. This flight will be met at the airport to transport you to Chemnitz.
What is the accommodation like? The student housing in Freiberg is NOT luxury hotel living; it is a dormitory associated with the local “Berufsschule” where German and Foreign Students associated with the University of Freiberg are housed for short-term stays. Each apartment has a kitchenette with an eating area and a shared bathroom with 2-3 bedrooms. Some rooms also have a living room with a TV, but not all. Linens and a few small towels are provided, as well as a limited selection of cooking and eating utensils. Some bedrooms are single rooms and some are shared with one other student.
What do we need to do about health and travel insurance? JMU will purchase health insurance for you as part of your course fee, and you will pay for any trips to doctors and hospitals yourself, keep receipts and apply to the insurance company for a refund. The JMU health insurance is not optional. It is strongly suggested that you take travel insurance to cover the cost of emergency or last-minute changes to your airfare which may occur.
How will transportation during the work? On a day-to-day basis the program provides second-hand bicycles for you to ride within the city of Freiberg. For excursions outside of Freiberg, mini-vans and cars are rented. It is advised that you bring appropriate gear for riding bicycles on rainy days as well as good walking shoes!
Can my relatives and friends come and stay in the apartment with me? No. If you relatives or friends come you must make separate arrangements for housing with them. JMU will not accept responsibility for housing anyone else in the dormitory during your stay there.
What Music should I bring? During the first session, we arrange solo concerts for you as well as the work with the opera company. You should also bring a selection of “party pieces” in American English by American composers, and this can include Musical Theater selections. Contact Dr. Maddison for further ideas.
What textbooks will I need? You should plan to purchase

A copy of the Barenreiter edition of “The Magic Flute”. These can be purchased online through TIS Music or other reputable music dealers. The product information is: “Die Zauberflöte”, K. 620 (The Magic Flute) Vocal Score. Edition No: BA 4553a. It has a blue cover and has only German text inside.
A German Dictionary with International Phonetic Alphabet symbols.
A small, portable German Grammar textbook for reference, since the German Language classes will all be taught in German!

Comments from Participants and Parents

“I am very glad that I came. This was a really great experience. I’ve learned so much, and I think it has been very valuable to me on many levels. One of the things that I really appreciate about Germany is that the profession of being a musician is still revered and considered a noble….I’ve learned so much about being on stage and acting…The Freiberg opera is so nice….The members are all so generous and kind. I will miss them.” Natalie Naudus (2008 participant GMU sophomore)

“My trip to Germany during the summer of 2008 was an immensely rewarding experience. In addition to singing multiple concerts with Wieland Müller’s studio, we had the opportunity to become friends with many of the studio singers….Events were often followed by a party including a very nice barbeque. This portion of the program, the exchange of culture and ideas, was so much fun and one of the more memorable parts of our trip abroad. I was provided with an opportunity to learn a complete role and perform with a professional opera company in Europe. This experience will undoubtedly help me as I continue to build my career as both a professional singer and music educator. Thank you so much for organizing this wonderful program. I learned so much and have so many wonderful memories.” James Myers (2008 program participant JMU and GMU Graduate student)

“I learned (most importantly of all) that I loved it enough to do it for the rest of my life, and that I am willing to put in the work to actually make that a possibility.” (Kirsti Esch, 2008 participant, BU Freshman)

“I have had plenty of performance experience in Europe. It is my first time playing with a professional orchestra. I really enjoy being a pianist in an orchestra doing concerts. I am really glad that Herr Horstmann allowed me this opportunity.” (Brad Rinaldo, 2008 JMU Senior pianist)

“Recently I was reading the blog of an opera director…She said this project made them stretch, and it sometimes hurt, and it sometimes brought relief, but it always left the people involved walking taller after. I think this sentiment perfectly describes my time in Germany.” Sarah Lennertz (2008 participant, GMU sophomore)

“I will miss Germany, and I will miss the friends that I’ve met there even more. I know I will go back one day, and I can’t wait to be reunited with all of them and see how much we have all changes by that time….Thank you so much for what has been an incredible time in my academic career.” John Holman (2008 participant, JMU Junior)

“I will start my Masters of Business Administration at the University of Texas - Houston this August and am scheduled to graduate in summer of 2010. I know that my diverse background was one of the factors that helped get in into school and I know it will help in my career. I look back on my time with you…in Germany with a great deal of fondness and I am so thankful that I had those experiences.” Sarah Cuddy (2001 program participant)

What parents say

I wanted first of all to thank you for all that you did for Kirsti this summer in the Opera Program in Germany. She had such an incredible experience - she absolutely LOVED it!
I had a fabulous time visiting Freiberg and many of the other towns around there - Dobeln, Chemnitz, Dresden, Meissen - all very charming and interesting! I took several day trips out and about while Kirsti was busy. The highlight definitely was the "Street Scene" opera in Dobeln. It was amazing, but most of all it was so great to see Kirsti so enthralled with performing and everything it entailed. There were so many wonderful people we encountered there as well, and Kirsti was able to develop many friendships with both the students and also the German acquaintances. She has so much more confidence now in her vocal performance and her voice really developed!It will definitely be a lifetime experience both of us will always remember. Sonia Esch (Parent 2008)

We want to express our deepest thanks for all that you did for all the young people you worked with especially Sarah. We are sure it was a lot of work on your part to organize the trip, audition the students, arrange for their accommodations, meet them at the airport, transport them throughout the session, give voice lessons, etc.We were able to see Sarah and the other American students perform in Freiberg on June 28th. We also were able to attend the Opera twice in Dobeln. It was great!!!!Sarah had a wonderful experience that she will always treasure. Thank-you again. Debbie and Tom Lennertz (Parents 2008)

Faculty and Staff

Instructors and Directors from the USA and Germany:

Dorothy Maddison, Director, received a BM degree St. Olaf College, her MM and DMA in vocal performance at Arizona State University, and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. During her professional career in Europe as a lyric-coloratura soprano, she was a full-time soloist with the Stadttheater of Döbeln, Germany, where she performed the roles of Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta and Stella in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Euridice in Offenbach's Orphée aux Enfers, and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. She toured Germany singing Christine in the Yeston-Kopit version of Phantom. Dr. Maddison is co-author of Kein’ Angst Baby!, a book to help singers audition in Germany. Her discography includes the CD Christmas Art Songs and Songs for Brenda and Bertha featuring the song cycles ME(Brenda Ueland) by Libby Larsen and Brautlieder by Peter Cornelius. She is an associate professor of voice and opera at JMU, and recently appeared with the wind symphony under the direction of Patrick Rooney at the Kennedy Center. Off campus, she has performed in concert and oratorio in the USA, England, Germany and in October of 2007 she performed with the Camerati Amici Ensemble in Brazil, singing for Vice-President José Alencar at the Portuguese Embassy Palace in Rio de Janeiro.

William Reber, Conductor, and Accompanist-Coach (Session One), earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Opera and Conducting at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Lyric Opera Theatre and Professor of Music at Arizona State University. From 1993 through 2004, he was head of the vocal coaching program for AIMS (American Institute of Musical Studies), in Graz, Austria. In addition to conducting symphony and chamber orchestra concerts in the United States and Europe, he has served as Music Director/Conductor for more than 125 productions of operas, musicals and ballets. Former Music Director of the Minnesota Opera Studio and conductor for the Minnesota Opera, he also served as conductor and vocal coach for the Altenburger Musiktheater Akademie in Altenburg, Germany. He was Music Advisor to the StaatsOperette Dresden, Assistant Conductor for Arizona Opera's two productions of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, and a member of the music staff for the Minnesota Dance Theatre. Dr. Reber also served as Music Director for both the Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre at California State University, Fullerton, and was a member of the conducting faculty of The University of Texas at Austin where he founded the Chamber Orchestra and conducted productions of the Opera Theatre. As a recital accompanist, he has performed with singers and instrumentalists in Germany, Austria, Macedonia and throughout the United States. A frequent lecturer on opera and symphonic repertory, he has presented lectures to audiences and classes in Macedonia, Austria, Germany and several U. S. cities. For Arizona Opera, he created and presented introductory lectures for more than twenty different productions and well as a series of special topic lectures for their two productions of Wagner’s Ring.

Eckart Sellheim (Session One Collaborative Artist Coach) . received his musical training in Germany and Switzerland; Adolf Drescher and Jakob Gimpel were among his teachers. He was appointed to the faculty of the two major conservatories in Cologne and continued his academic career as an Assistant Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan. From 1989 until 2008 he was Professor and Director of Collaborative Piano at Arizona State University. He also served as a Guest Lecturer of Fortepiano and Performance Practice at various music academies in Germany (most notably at the Musikhochschule in Trossingen) and taught numerous master classes in the United States and in several European countries. Sellheim maintains an active performance schedule, having made concert tours in the USA, Latin America and the Carribean, the Middle East, Africa, and throughout Europe. He appears regularly on radio programs in the USA and abroad and has made more than 20 recordings as piano and fortepiano soloist and collaborative pianist, among them a great number with his late brother, celebrated German cellist Friedrich-Juergen Sellheim.

Jan Horstmann, (Session Two Conductor) is currently the General Music Director, Freiberg Opera House. He studied at the Music Conservatory in Hamburg, Germany. His first employment was as a repetiteur and conductor at the Wuppertaler Theater. He also conducts regularly for the Dance theater company of Pina Bausch. In 1996 he became the first conductor of the Magdeburg Theater and is now the General Music Director of the Middle-Saxony theater. He has also been a guest conductor in Hamburg and Bonn and conducted in Amsterdam, Bonn, Brasilia, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, as well as leading the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra. He also has a secret passion for Cabaret/Street Music and has a one-person Cabaret act which he performs regularly.

Christa Heinicke, German Language Instructor. (Sessions One and Two), has special interests in Art and Culture. From 1996 she has worked as a freelance Teacher of English and German at High Schools and colleges in Dresden and Radebeul and Chemnitz. She has also worked as a professional translator for the Coltronic Company in Chesterfield, England.

Her employment experience also includes speech therapy, and work as secretary and counselor for addiction in Dresden alongside her other occupation a housewife who has raised four children. She pursued post-graduate study at the Graduate School of Economics in Dresden and the Webster Graduate Studies Centre in London and also did further Postgraduate studies in European Marketing Consultancy. She has studied at the Linguistic School of Berlitz in Dresden in the subjects of economics, business management and marketing. She received her diploma at the Humboldt University of Berlin which qualified her to teach English and German.

Anne Elgar Kopta, (Guest Lecturer) is a soprano and associate professor of Music in voice, at Arizona State University Herberger College School of Music. Under the stage name of Anne Elgar, she regularly appeared in leading roles with the New York City Opera and the opera companies of San Francisco, San Diego, Houston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Wichita.Her credits include Violetta in La Traviata, Gilda in Rigoletto, Mimi in La Boheme, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Blonde in The Abduction from the Seraglio, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Rosina in Barber of Seville, Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Abigail in The Crucible, and Sister Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites, among many others. She created the role of Margaret in the world premier of Lizzie Borden by Jack Beeson, a work commissioned by the New York City Opera. The original cast album released on Desto Records has recently been reissued on CDs by Composers Recordings, Inc./CRI. Miss Anne Elgar has also recorded opera by Rossini and Meyerbeer on the Vanguard (reissued on CDs) and the HRE labels. Under the sponsorship of Columbia Artists' Community Concerts Series, she was a popular recitalist. There were also many guest appearances at Tanglewood, Chautauqua, Caramoor, Newport, Saratoga and other summer music festivals.For more than 20 years, she has taught at major universities during the academic year and devoted the other months to summer music schools in Austria, Italy, Israel, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Formerly, Professor Kopta was a regular faculty member of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Her master classes at Mexico's National Conservatory of Music have become an annual event, and have resulted in special appreciation of ASU’s School of Music among students and faculty there.