Today I would like to share a few reflections on the role of the interpreter who embodies great characters and communicate the message encoded in the words and the music to the audience. This task involves many overlapping elements, touches on many aspects of life, and of necessity involves the emotions and the psychology of the singer, as well as those of the audience. The self image of the singer in reference to his own level of artistry, cannot be ignored, even though the

I had a colleague at conservatory who used to practice many hours a day, repeating passages over and over in slow tempo supposedly in pursuit of perfection. This very talented instrumentalist worked intensively to innervate the motions contained in the passages in order to be able to get through the pieces he was working on at the moment. The result: poor playing and not being able to play at all the other pieces he was not working on at the moment. This colleague would put o

Just as an architect develops the capacity to view a building in his mind, musicians can develop the capacity to view the form of a musical work. Since music happens in time, one must hold the perception of what went on before and of what follows. One must keep a sense of direction and understand and reflect through the rendition the function of the particular note, chord or element within the phrase, or between the smaller units and the whole. Then we understand and reflect