Katherine Berdovskiy at San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Katherine (AQF '25) tells us about her experience at the Summer Vocal Academy at SFCM and how it inspired her to continue studying music.
“I'm so grateful to the Anthony Quinn Foundation for giving me such an amazing opportunity to be a part of San Francisco's conservatory program. It was such an amazing experience! It gave me the opportunity to work with incredible teachers who really helped me prepare my pieces over the span of only a week and I met so many incredible young artists and friends. I learned so much from them that I am currently applying to my newer pieces, and their passion for music and willpower to work through hardships has really inspired me to continue studying music and my vocal ability.
The program provided us with professional coaches, teachers, and guests who gave one on one lessons and masterclasses throughout the week, and by the end of the program we had a solo recital and afterwards an ensemble recital where groups of two up to six artists had the opportunity to perform opera scenes. I was so honored to be coached and receive feedback from Richard Cox, Suzanne Mentzer, Lester Lynch, Christopher Koelzer, and Kelly O'Connor.
Richard Cox was the first teacher I worked with, so while I was a little nervous at the beginning of the week, his passion, support, and welcoming nature really helped me feel comfortable exploring my voice in this new space. His exercises like singing on a lip trill/raspberry really helped me understand how to control the engagement of my core which would later help me sing through long phrases in both my solo and ensemble piece.
It was incredible to work with Professor Mentzer in both our lesson and masterclass. I was struggling to comfortably sing the jumps and high notes in my ensemble piece, and in our masterclass, she helped me figure out how to properly engage my core in those moments by having me resist her pull/pulling on the edge of the piano. I continue to use this exercise when learning my new repertoire, allowing me to work on more challenging pieces that I had struggled with in the past or was intimidated to attempt.
I really loved Professor Lynch’s passion for music, you could really tell he loved the art from how he explained technique, his musical journey, and literally anything related to his work. In our lesson, he introduced me to the rag doll exercise which I felt really helped me prepare my solo piece and release some tension in my jaw, something I have been struggling with for the last two years. I still use this exercise to warm up and relieve some of my jaw pain, and it has helped me realize how little I actually have to move my jaw when I sing (even in phrases with a lot of consonants).
Dr Koelzer was my coach and really helped me develop my pieces musically and technically. His suggestions for pronunciation, phrasing, and musicality were extremely helpful in developing my solo to what it currently is, and I wasn’t expecting to see such a drastic difference between my old rendition and my performance at the recital. I really appreciated his patience and attention to detail, both of which really changed how I perform and analyze music.
Ms O’Connor was so kind and welcoming, and I learned a lot from watching her masterclass. In our lesson we worked on exercises that helped me release jaw and tongue tension, improved my vocal agility, and helped me reach the high sustained notes in my ensemble piece.
Thank you so much again for making this wonderful experience possible for me!"
Katherine Berdovskiy