Last Week of AIMS - Thursday

Thursday was another big day, as I had my last coaching with Darryl, another agent audition, and our very last AIMS concert - the Meistersinger Competition - to attend in the evening with my family. I had a great session with Darryl and then we said adieu. I will definitely keep in touch with both him and Sra. Colon. They have been absolutely wonderful to work with, and I will miss them. My second agent audition was for another European agent, and that one went almost as well as the first one on Tuesday. I introduced myself to him and again sang "Caro Nome" as my first piece. He then chose "Depuis le jour" as my second aria, and it felt better than before the summer but not quite as legato and full as I had done in my lessons and coachings earlier. Good but not fabulous. Afterwards, the agent asked me what my plans were and I told him my intentions to audition and apply for young artist programs if I didn't get any job offers. He didn't offer any more feedback than that, so I thanked him for his time and walked out of the room. After I spoke with some of the other students that auditioned for the agents, sometimes they offered very specific feedback on what the singers needed to work on and sometimes they said nothing. I have sent the agents a follow-up email and am hoping they will respond with their feedback on my auditions so that I can get their perspective. The audition training seminar instructors both said they thought I did a great job; that I had come a long way on my arias over the past several weeks. Hoorah!!! Thursday evening was the last AIMS concert - the Meistersinger Competition. While I didn't advance to the second round, I feel good about how I did while acknowledging that nerves had an impact on my performance that day. Anyway...the 8 finalists and 2 alternates each performed an aria with the orchestra. The top 3 winners received prizes, and most likely contracts with agents. It was a fabulous concert and a great way to end the summer at AIMS. One of my favorite AIMS people - Siobhan Stagg - was the winner and she was just stunning. She and I sang some of the same arias over the summer, and she won singing "O quante volte." She will definitely have a great career, and I look forward to cheering her on with her success.