At most conservatories and music schools, work with vocal coaches is restricted to graduate voice students. But at the Blair School of Music, undergraduate voice majors have the opportunity to work with two full-time vocal coaches—also known as collaborative pianists—who lend their input, ears and piano technique to young singers.
Rather than being subordinate to the singer, collaborative pianists work with singers as partners to show them how to make the song relevant to the audience through diction, style and interpretation. A yearly master class in collaborative piano established two years ago adds to the student experience. In June, however, both undergraduates and coaches at Blair studied with an established master, Roger Vignoles.
Vignoles is one of the most respected accompanists working today. He studied at Magdalene College in Cambridge and at the Royal College of Music, where he subsequently taught and once served as vocal coach for the Royal Opera. He has accompanied renowned opera stars Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Sir Thomas Allen, among others.
“The idea was to help young coaches sharpen their skills at a time in their lives when they are too old for many of the apprentice programs, but not quite experienced enough to be a master of their craft,” says Jennifer McGuire, senior lecturer in collaborative piano at Blair.
McGuire and Ben Harris, senior lecturer in vocal music at Blair, worked with Vignoles along with two other coach participants: Dean Peiskee, vocal coach and graduate student at Florida State University, and Karen Verm, a collaborative pianist from Carnegie Mellon University. Blair students Erin Aurednik, Emma Jackson, William Nichols and Austin Vitaliano were the voice students who took part in the program.
“Working with Roger Vignoles changed my life, and I don’t say that lightly,” says McGuire. “He gave me the confidence I needed to take my coaching to the next level. I am rejuvenated, inspired and beyond excited to see my students this fall. I know the other coaches feel the same way.”
Vignoles came to campus courtesy of the Blair School’s L. Michelson, BMus’11, Fund for Collaborative Master Classes, which last year brought to campus Ken Griffiths, professor of collaborative piano at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.