Instructors, students at UWSP to teach, study in Italy

For the Metro Wire

Several voices will represent the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Italy this summer as part of the prestigious International Lyric Academy.

Held July 10-31 in Vicenza, Italy, the summer opera training program will feature Associate Professor of Voice Matthew Markham as a faculty member. Five students will attend, including Stephen Calgaro, Appleton; Jaymes Gayhart, Bristol; Josh Hazard, Stanley; Katy Radiske, Elm Grove; and Lindsay Tippins, Oshkosh. A 2016 alumnus, Lee St. Martin, Stevens Point, and Stevens Point music teacher and singer, Margot Friedli, will also attend. Participants must go through an audition process.

The International Lyric Academy offers singers and instrumentalists from all over the world an intensive three-week educational and performance opportunity. Singers receive professional coaching, voice lessons, daily Italian language study, master classes, acting classes, training for auditions and career strategizing.

They also participate in concerts, recitals, and rehearsals that culminate in performances of “The Magic Flute” by Mozart and “Suor Angelica” by Puccini. Productions are fully staged with costumes and an orchestra.

It is important for young singers to participate in summer apprenticeship programs to gain musical and stage experience outside of a university setting, Markham said. It is rare that one university would have six audition successfully for the program.

“The professional connections and personal friendships that will form with musicians from around the world will give our students first-rate and first-hand experiences with living the life of a professional singer,” he said. “Being able to study in Italian language and live and breathe amongst the creative and cultural life of the vibrant city of Vicenza, as well as to sing and study in the birthplace of opera, is a dream for most musicians.”