France
You’ve created an environment where we can thrive. Sometimes in training, we experience judgment and negativity, and it’s the complete opposite here. It blew away all of my expectations, and I felt the power of connection through music. I arrived at another level, as a musician and a human being. For any singer, this experience will move you mentally to a different place about how you think of yourself as a young artist.
— Temple Hammen, soprano, New York City
CLA France offers a "boutique/custom fit" experience. These programs treat all participants like professionals. Everything I've learned, which I practice every day, is simply "top" quality. The level is very high, and it's great that the team of teachers has a good rapport. It makes us feel safe. CLA has put me back on track every year I've attended. You always gather a great group of singers, assign challenging repertoire, and collaborate with an excellent team of teachers. It just works!
— Fernando Cisneros, baritone, Mexico
CLA France was an exceptional experience for me. I came from a severe crisis when I wanted to stop singing. All of you reminded me why I need to sing, why I want to stay in this career, and how special and magical it can be. It fills something inside me like nothing else. When I came out of coachings, I felt like I just wanted to study more. I wanted to learn French, not only to pronounce it but to speak it. To succeed, one needs to have mental and emotional sanity, and that’s what you gave me. It can be a scary, challenging, and lonely career, but you gave me hope.
— Gabriela Flores, mezzo-soprano, Mexico
In moving to NYC, we are all relocating from a small pond to a huge pond, and I started to feel not very special. I was one of a lot of singers. While having a balanced feeling about yourself is crucial, I don’t think you can succeed in this career without thinking that you have something unique to say. Before coming to CLA France, I hadn’t even realized that I had begun to feel a little defeated. I had lost the feeling that there was something unique that I could say through music. Being here, I was able to pull the focus back to: what are these words, what is the story, what am I trying to say to the audience? What is it that I can do that is special to make this music come to life? Each of you pushed us to fully realize how we’ll sound in 20 years and how we might imagine the music will feel. It was extraordinarily important. Having the memory of being able to perform with the feeling of genuinely communicating has changed me as an artist.
— Shannon Delijani, mezzo-soprano, California
I came to this program, knowing that I would have some transformative experience, and I had like eight different transformative experiences in eight different areas of my life. I love French so much, and I love bathing in French romantic music. I learned so much about diction that I had never gotten before, and I realized that I had forgotten a lot about phrasing and musicality. It was something I had naturally when I was like three but had forgotten over the last several years. Coaching with all of you helped bring that back. I feel like I’m on a good track again, and I’m filled with hope. This experience revived me.
— Hannah Klein, mezzo-soprano, Philadelphia
The attitude of professionalism, the artistic level, and the respect that everyone demonstrated here—that was huge, and that’s what made it special. The exchange here is so pure, and the energy flowing between people is excellent. I feel that we are friends now, and I hope we will cross paths and that we will work together again. I’m glad that CLA brings the world together.
— Elina Akselrud, pianist, Ukraine
Italy
Some people think that CLA is only for younger singers, and I have to say that it’s not true. Some participants are doing their first summer program, and some are ready to launch a career, and it does not matter. Everyone comes at their own level, and the coaches meet them where they are and help them to grow. That is so impressive. I’d love to go to CLA every year and keep getting better.
— Carolina Lopez Moreno, soprano, Germany
There’s often a perception of how a professional or advanced program should be, which is one where participants are under pressure in a strict environment, and one which often kills all artistic and creative vibe. Instead, CLA is a program that nurtures talent, focuses on the individual, and gives each one of us a feeling of being valued. I appreciate that here we can truly grow.
— Johanna Will, soprano, Germany
CLA Italy is by far the most stupendous summer program I have ever been a part of. I want everyone to know how challenging and how interesting this is. I feel professionally boot-camped! I think I’ve grown more in the past month than I had in many years, and in every way. I have been to many programs, and I must say that I feel super valued at CLA.
— Jake Landau, pianist/composer, New York City
I thought the coachings were incredible. We were able to grow and figure things out. I progressed more in this short time than I had in years.
— Eliana Berrean, mezzo-soprano, Florida
I have been to several other programs, and what I appreciate here is the incredible positivity and the collegiality of the coaches, which sets the tone for everything. Every coach teaches with their unique aesthetic and approach, but it all works together in harmony. This is why we have been able to learn so much. We feel safe and comfortable to be curious, and to explore, to make mistakes, to try things out. That has been incredibly valuable.
— Nina Horvath, pianist, Canada