The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

Lily McKnight’s first piano class as a freshman at Southeast Missouri State University’s Department of Music began in an unusual and most unexpected way, when she heard an unfamiliar person say, “I hear you have quite the voice.” Surprised, Lily looked up and caught the gaze of one of the department’s noted professors of music. She wondered how the professor already knew who she was, and how they had heard about her singing. Had one of the members of the entrance audition jury been talking about her? After all, they had offered her entrance as a music degree candidate on the spot, and sweetened the offer with two substantial scholarships. Lily, a very humble and modest young lady, wasn’t used to this kind of attention.

As a child, Lily had always loved singing. Singing as a profession and career choice hadn’t ever crossed her mind, though. Her journey began through her mother, Cari McKnight, a lead singer for the premier St. Louis area band, All Mixed Up. Cari noticed that the band’s demanding schedule and repertoire were fatiguing her voice. She realized she needed expert help if she wanted to sing with greater stamina, and to avoid serious vocal problems and long-term damage. In addition to learning proper singing technique, she also decided singing lessons would be a good opportunity to improve her musicianship skills.

Photo: Cari McKnight singing with her band, All Mixed Up, at Fast Eddie's in Alton, IL

Knowing that anyone can call themselves a voice teacher, Cari took her search very seriously. Where could she find a true professional: a qualified, reputable teacher with the requisite skills, experience, and track record? Cari turned to the internet where, through a process of elimination, she discovered Michael Rocchio, Teacher of Singing & Professional Singer.

Cari liked what she saw: impeccable credentials, decades of experience, and dozens of glowing testimonials. She knew she’d found an exceptional opportunity, and contacted Michael to request an interview. It wasn’t long after that Michael accepted her into his voice studio. Cari worked very hard, and experienced great improvement under his tutelage.

Cari was so happy with her own progress that she decided to ask Michael about giving lessons to her daughter, Lily, as well. She knew Lily loved singing and had a gift for it, but that she needed knowledge and direction. Michael agreed to meet with Lily.

An Exceptional Voice

Michael immediately recognized that Lily had an exceptional voice. Both as a favor to Cari, and to ensure Lily would get the best possible start, Michael took her into his studio even though she was a bit younger than his usual age minimum. Lily was quick and bright, but like so many teenagers, she didn’t believe in herself. She thought that Michael was “just being nice” when he told her she had a gift. Michael knew that her lack of belief in herself and her talent would hold her back. He refused to let her off the hook. Her lessons went beyond singing technique as he relentlessly coaxed her to reach beyond herself in the pursuit of excellence.

Prior to beginning study, Lily’s only solo had been a one-liner in a school musical. Otherwise, her talent had been relegated to the chorus. One day, something clicked. She began to make the link between her talent, her voice, and herself. With Michael’s encouragement and coaching, she auditioned for a local theater group production of “Beauty and the Beast”. The audition panel was so impressed by her voice and stage presence, that in spite of never having worked with her before, they offered her the female lead, “Belle”.

Gold Medal Winner

It was time to get serious. That which had been impossible suddenly became not just possible, but do-able. Lily was shocked, yet proud and excited…and hungry. She threw herself passionately into her lessons as she came to grips with what Michael had been telling her all along.

Lily’s lessons with Michael took on a professional air. In addition to continuing to develop her vocal technique, Michael worked with her to refine her musicianship (sight-singing, music theory, singing in multiple languages, etc.) and to polish her innate musicality (song interpretation, phrasing, captivating the audience, etc.). She moved beyond emulating others, and began to sing with her unique “real” voice.

As a junior in high school, Lily was awarded a gold medal in her first-ever state competition. She would very likely have repeated the win in her senior year if the pandemic hadn’t caused the competition to be cancelled.

The Southeast Missouri State Department of Music entrance audition jury told Lily she had among the most advanced skills and repertoire lists they had ever seen from an incoming freshman.

Photo by Mo Rackers, from Footloose, January 2020

Roles, Performances & Awards

Stage

Beauty and the Beast: “Belle"

Annie: "Grace Ferrell"

Newsies: “Hannah"

Les Miserables: "Madame Thénardier"

The Wizard of Oz: “Glinda"

Godspell: "Day by Day Disciple"

Footloose: "Vi Moore"

Guys and Dolls: "Sarah Brown" performance cancelled due to pandemic

Awards

Highest rating 2019 MSHSAA District Music Festival/Vocal Solo - Repertoire: "The Crucifixion” - Barber, "Ridente La Calma” - Mozart

Gold Medal 2019 MSHSAA State Music Festival - Repertoire: "The Crucifixion” - Barber, "Ridente La Calma” - Mozart

Highest rating 2020 MSHSAA District Music Festival/Vocal Solo - "When I Have Sung My Songs to You” - Charles, "Mandoline” - Fauré

2020 Missouri State competition was cancelled due to the pandemic

Lily is currently pursuing a degree in vocal performance at Southeast Missouri State. She was awarded scholarships for academics and for music.

“YOU are the instrument.”

You cannot extricate one from the other, Michael tells his students. He teaches the whole person. “I am so grateful,” says Cari. “Michael took Lily from a shy girl who liked to sing but didn’t know what to do, and built in her motivation, confidence, and technique. He helped her to develop skills as a young woman, as a performer, and as a person. What he did for her mentally was way above and beyond what I could have expected. He was above all invested in Lily developing as a person, and that made all the difference in her lessons with him.”

“What I received from Michael is much more than what I signed up for,” Lily agrees. “I’ve grown as a person. I’ve learned to love myself because I have a gift inside of myself. Michael is a big part of my life; he was there for my whole adolescence. I have friends who also took voice lessons from him, and I have seen them grow not only with their instruments, but in their personal lives. Michael is focused on what each of us has to offer to the world as a person, a contributor, through the gifts we have to offer.”

Photo by Mo Rackers

Teacher, Mentor, and Friend

When asked why she decided to pursue singing as a profession, Lily’s answer is that of a true artist. “Michael was always painting the picture for what’s next before I could see it for myself. At a certain point I started believing it. Singing inspires me. Hearing just one tone makes an emotion that I can feel in my bones. Musicals and operas have an effect on me and bring tears to my eyes. I want to give inspiration to others, to make them feel and have an impact.

“There aren’t enough words to express what Michael has done in my life in the last couple years,” Lily added at the end of our interview. “He is a mentor, a friend, a member of my family. Studying with Michael is a cool journey that I would recommend to anyone who wants to do something musical.”

To inquire about voice study with Michael Rocchio, click here.

Related articles:

• The Studio Legacy of Michael Rocchio, Professional Singer and Teacher of Singing

• Following One's Dreams During a Pandemic

Following one's dreams during a pandemic

“Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’” - Eleanor Roosevelt

photo by Mo Rackers: Saint Dominic High School's production of Les Miserables, 2019

It’s no secret that the 2020 pandemic hit the music industry particularly hard. Broadway, the New York Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and nearly all other live entertainment agencies in the USA and around the world are closed until Fall of 2021 at least. In a time when the life of a musician has been turned upside-down, the foresight and perseverance of one high school senior in Saint Louis is setting a standard of hope.

Charlie Wehde discovered a passion for the stage during his freshman year of high school. When nominated for Best Actor for his performance as Marius in Les Miserables during his sophomore year, the idea of making a living on stage solidified. His natural talent, engaging personality, self determination, and supportive family have leveraged him well in this regard.

Charlie threw himself wholeheartedly into every opportunity to better himself as a musician and an actor, juggling a loaded schedule of school, private lessons, and music productions. Just in 2019, he played roles in seven different musicals, including such notable leads as Jesus in Godspell, the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, Marius in Les Miserables, and Jack Kelly in Newsies.

“The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but it is the most difficult to play.” - Richard Strauss

One critical thing was missing from these activities, however: formal singing lessons. Last year the heavy singing schedule was starting to take its toll on the voice of the self-taught singer. Charlie knew of Michael’s work as a teacher of singing, having witnessed the transformation of his classmate, Soprano Lily McKnight, from a shy chorister to a captivating star performer in their school musicals. (Lily has gone on to pursue a degree in vocal performance at Southeast Missouri State. She was awarded scholarships for academics and for music.) Once learning of Michael’s own history as a professional singer and actor, he knew he had found the missing link.

photo by Mo Rackers: Charlie Wehde and Lily McKnight starring in Godspell, 2019

Charlie began voice lessons in a respected and distinguished singing and pedagogical lineage at the beginning of his junior year of high school. “Michael opened my eyes to a lot of things. He has given me knowledge of the anatomy of my instrument, and applications for that knowledge. A lot of my progress in navigating my instrument has come from recognizing that my voice is, in fact, a complicated instrument. It’s not just a simple lever which you push harder to get more sound, if that makes sense.

"I’m happy to see that Broadway is shifting away from the era of belters and screaming tenors and mezzo-sopranos. Versatility is important. I’m excited to see what Broadway looks like in another 10 years.”

Charlie quickly excelled in Michael’s studio. In March of 2020, at the end of his junior year of high school, he was looking forward to performing the star role of Sky Masterson in Saint Dominic High School’s production of Guys and Dolls.

But the virus had other plans. Just days from opening night, it was announced to a heartbroken cast that the musical had to be cancelled entirely.

Uncertainty about the future is pretty normal for a high school senior. Career choices, college applications, and leaving one’s circle of friends and family can all be sources of apprehension. Add a worldwide pandemic and the shutdown of Broadway into the mix, and Charlie naturally found himself questioning the future. “Should I be pursuing a career on the stage, when Broadway itself is closed indefinitely?”

photo by Mo Rackers

Tom and Sarah, Charlie’s parents, have been encouraging him to hold tight to his dreams, reminding him that the pandemic won’t last forever. It hasn’t always been easy helping him to follow those dreams, however, when the path is so unclear.

Sometimes the only thing that a person can do is take the next step. When one is determined to eat an elephant, one must do so simply one bite at a time.

In Michael Rocchio’s studio, that next step was transitioning in-person lessons to virtual lessons. As private lessons, schools and productions all over the country shut down during that historic week in March, Michael brought to the fore the skills he had honed as the very first online teacher of classical singing a number of years ago. Having worked with students as far away as New Zealand, he had already developed methods to deal with sound latency and less-than-perfect audio technology. Michael was able to maintain a solid connection with his students in a time of confusion.

Charlie’s mother, Sarah, could not have been more grateful for Michael’s presence in Charlie’s life during such an historic time. “Michael gives great advice, and is a real mentor. In a world which Charlie wants to be in perspective, he helps him to take the blinders off, to see his own potential. Michael works with him not only from a vocal standpoint, but helps him to build self confidence and to develop as a person. I’m so glad that Charlie has his mentorship right now.”

photo by Mo Rackers: two of Michael's voice students; Charlie, Tenor, as the Tin Man, and Nate Johnson, Basso Profundo, as the Wizard of Oz, 2019

The "Performer's Mindset" is something Michael develops with his students. Michael helped Charlie to see the opportunity within adversity. The world may have gone through a shutdown, but Charlie didn’t have to. The absence of theatrical productions was presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perfect his craft of singing.

Charlie committed himself to the shift, and in the past several months has made tremendous strides as a singer. Following Michael’s lead, Charlie has also been focusing on the virtual world, seeking out opportunities for online exposure. “The internet and social media are avenues for expression that have been begging to be explored. Now is the time to do it.”

Charlie added that feeling safe in one’s environment is necessary for doing one’s best work, and is thankful that many arts programs are taking Covid-19 safety precautions so seriously.

It was in this online quest that he learned from another family member about Broadway World’s Next on Stage competition. Among several giveaways, Grand Prize winners will receive a $1000 donation to a charity of choice, get to record a single for the Actors Fund on Broadway Records, and take part in a behind-the-scenes look at a Broadway casting session.

“The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” - Chinese Proverb

Charlie recorded and submitted a video for the competition, not knowing what to expect. At the time of the writing of this blog article, Charlie has advanced through the Top 30 and Top 10, to the Top 5, and is undergoing voting for the Top 3 position, running against candidates across the country from San Francisco to New Jersey.

Charlie has applied to all of his colleges of choice, and plans to pursue a BFA (Bachelor in Fine Arts) degree. When not singing and going to school, he has been working with his guitar and channeling energy into writing, the latter having been an interest for which he had no time prior to the shutdown.

When asked about his experience taking voice lessons online, he observes, “The connection of in-person experiences is hard to recreate, but with all the technology we have now, we are getting closer and closer. The time we live in gives us new opportunities. I have noticed that with online lessons, I need to create the space in order to learn productively. Just sitting on a bed is not a proactive environment for me. I don’t like to compare in-person lessons to online lessons too much, though. They are just different kinds of experiences.”

Looking back over the past seven months, Charlie acknowledges that the shift into this new way of life has not always been easy. Nonetheless, he is grateful for many of the changes. “I didn’t have a break in years. I loved what I was doing, and just kept piling stuff on, not realizing how thin I was spread. Time for myself was missing, and that was translating into my craft. I was so used to working under rushed settings with deadlines. Now I can say that my most productive work has not been under the deadline of a show.

"Not being under pressure now, I can explore what I really love.”

To inquire about voice study with Michael Rocchio, click here.

Related articles:

• The Stuff Dreams are Made Of

• The Studio Legacy of Michael Rocchio, Professional Singer and Teacher of Singing

Wehde family L to R: college freshman Delaney (Contralto and former student in Michael's studio), Natalie, Sarah and Tom, Mary Kate, and Charlie

Michael Rocchio is a professional singer, and teacher of singing, with a voice studio in Ballwin, MO. He has worked with students in all forms of music: Classical, Musical Theater, Jazz, and even Rock, teaching the ‘real deal’ - true Bel Canto singing.

photos by Mo Rackers; senior portrait by Hannah Wilmes

#onlinevoicelessons #onlinesinginglessons #belcanto #singinglessons #silverlining #performermindset #mindset #dowhatyoulove #followyourdreams #broadwayworld #nextonstage #professionalsinger

The Studio's Legacy

Dear Reader: The following is meant to provide my students, prospective students, et al, with an understanding and appreciation of the respected and distinguished singing and pedagogical lineage professed in my studio. It was some years following my tenure as a student of Margaret Harshaw that I came to know the legacy I'd been fortunate to have been gifted. It is now my privilege to pass the torch to the next generation of singers dedicated to the study and practice of the vocal arts in their highest and most refined form. -MR

The biographical outline below is the copyrighted work of Daniel James Shigo, Daniel James Shigo Voice Studio, New York, NY. Thank you, Daniel.

Margaret Harshaw

Margaret Harshaw (1909-1997) was born in Narbeth, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia, attended the Curtis Institute of Music in 1932, and made her professional debut in the dramatic mezzo-soprano role of Azucena in Guiseppe in Verdi’s Il trovatore with The Philadelphia Operatic Society in 1934. She entered the graduate program at The Juilliard School in 1936, where she studied with Anna E. Schoen-René, who had been a student of Pauline Viardot-García and her brother Manuel García. It was at Juilliard that Harshaw, after singing the role of Dido in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeaneas, met Walter Damroasch who prophesied: “My child, one day you will be Brünhilde!” She won the Metropolitan Opera’s ‘Auditions on the Air’ in 1942, and made her debut as the second Norn in Richard Wagner’sGötterdämmerung. Gifted with an extended range,

Harshaw sang many mezzo-soprano roles for the next nine seasons before she entered soprano territory in 1951 when she sang the role of Senta in The Flying Dutchman. By 1954 she had inherited the mantel of Kirsten Flagstad and Helen Traubel, and sang all the leading Wagnerian soprano roles, including Isolda, Brünhilde, Elisabeth, Kundry and Sieglinde. Harshaw retired in 1964 from the Metropolitan Opera after singing 375 performances of 38 roles in 25 works over 22 consecutive seasons. She then became a professor of voice at Indiana University in 1962, where she taught until 1993. She also taught at the Curtis Institute of Music and Westminster Choir College. Among her many students are Benita Valente, Vinson Cole, Matthew Polenzani, John Reardon, Michael Sylvester, Shirley Love, Nadine Secunde, Kevin Langan, Sally Wolf, Nancy Maultsby, Franz Grundheber and Michael Rocchio.

Anna E. Schoen-René

Known as the ‘Prussian General’ to her students, Anna Schoen-René (1864-1942) was slated to make her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1893 when she contracted tuberculosis onboard ship to New York. Having been trained by Pauline Viardot-García in Paris, she spent three years recovering at her sister’s house in Minneapolis. Now a successful voice-teacher, Schoen-René was sent by Viardot-García to London for a special course in teaching men with Manuel García, her brother. With the García imprimatur, Schoen-René was told by Viardot-García that her students should consider themselves “our musical grandchildren.” Schoen-René became an American citizen in 1906, taught in Berlin until the First World War, and then returned to New York, joining the Juilliard School faculty in 1925.

Her memoir, America’s Musical Inheritance: Memories and Reminiscences, was published in 1941. Among her students were Lucie Manén, Florenzio Constantino, Risé Stevens, Mack Harrell, Kitty Carlisle Hart, Judith Doniger, Lanny Ross, Ludwig Wüllner, Marshall Bartholomew, George Meader, Sonia Essen, Paul Robeson, Thelma Votipka, Lillian Blauvelt, Florence Easton, Karin Branzell, Florence Austral, Charles Kullman, Marie Tiffany, Maria von Maximovitch, Julius Huehn, Eva Gauthier, George Britton and Margaret Harshaw.

Pauline Viardot-García

Pauline Viardot-García (1821-1910) was the youngest child of the Romantic tenor and vocal pedagogue Manuel García I (1875-1832) who died when she was eleven. Her sister was the legendary mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran, and her brother Manuel García II, the 19th century’s most famous vocal pedagogue. Viardot-García originally wanted to become a concert pianist, and studied with Franz Liszt before turning her attention towards the voice at the insistence of her mother Maria-Joaquína García-Sitchez (1780-1854) who became her teacher. A mezzo- soprano with an extended range like her sister Maria, Viardot-García was renowned for her prodigious vocal technique and dramatic interpretation. She created the role of Fidés in Meyerbeer’s Le prophéte and revived the role of Orpheus in Gluck’s Orfeo et Euridice in which she appeared 150 times.

A consummate artist, her wise counsel to other musicians resulted in her being referred to as The Oracle of Paris. Her students included Désire Artot, Jeanne Gerville- Réache, Félia Litvinne, Aglaja Orgéni, Anna E. Schoen-René, Antoinette Sterling, Annie Louise Cary, Ada Adini, Lydia Iretskya, Natalia Iretskaya and Marianne Brandt.

Manuel García

The son of the Manuel García I (1775-1832), Manuel García II (1805-1906) recorded his father’s method in his groundbreaking book A complete treatise on the art of singing (1847), and became world-renowned after being the first person to observe the action of the vocal folds during singing with a primitive laryngoscope. Because his father had studied with Giovanni Ansani (a student of the great 18th century voice teacher Nicola Porpora), García is credited with preserving the precepts of the Old Italian School. He taught at the Paris Conservatoire in Paris, and then at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His teaching was later condensed in How to Sing (1894). Considered the greatest voice teacher of the 19h century and the father of voice science, García taught his students to sing without making them aware of anatomy and physiology. He lived to be 101. His many students included Mathilde Marchesi, Julius Stockhausen, Henry Wood, Jenny Lind, Marie Tempest, Camille Everardi, Charles Bataille, Christina Nilsson and Charles Santley, Henrietta Nissen, Antoinette Sterling and Catherine Hayes.

Read more about Michael's Singing Studio in St. Louis, MO