Classic Lyric Arts Vocal Academy

After nearly fifteen years of bringing the music of language to life across the globe, CLA launches a flagship program: the Classic Lyric Arts Vocal Academy (CLAVA) Pilot Program- an exclusive, customized training and performance experience for exceptional CLA Alumni to launch their professional careers right here in New York City. The 2024 CLAVA pilot is a smaller version of what’s to come for the year-round installment of CLAVA come Fall of 2024.

This exclusive, invitation-only program is designed to support former CLA summer participants who are ready to prepare for major auditions and competitions as they launch international opera careers. In addition to musical, linguistic, and dramatic coaching, CLAVA Resident Artists will benefit from career consultations and mentorship sessions with leading industry experts.

Often, the most difficult part of launching a professional career for emerging artists is bridging the gap between conservatory and the professional sphere, financially. The cost of coachings, lessons, audition preparation, and more can quickly become overwhelming and prevent artists from reaching their true professional potential. Not only does CLAVA supply coaching with some of the most superb faculty in the industry, it also puts artists first, covering 75% of the artist’s tuition thereby giving them the opportunity to devote themselves entirely to the trajectory of their budding careers. This revolutionary approach is what makes CLAVA so essential for the future of opera.

The talented team of CLAVA Faculty includes: Glenn Morton, Artistic Director & Vocal Coach (Glimmerglass Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Sarasota Opera); John Viscardi, Tenor & Career Coach (Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Detroit Opera); Michelle Rofrano, Conductor & Vocal Coach (City Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago); Daniel Isengart, Director & Acting Coach (Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Bare Opera). Much of of the work at CLAVA will be conducted in studios throughout Manhattan as well as The Bloomingdale School of Music in the Upper West Side, and Opera America.

The arrival of CLAVA offers donors a new opportunity to directly impact the opera professionals of tomorrow. While the CLA summer programs are intended to help emerging artists discover their potential, CLAVA provides its artists the opportunity to refine and master their craft at the highest professional level. Donors have the opportunity to be a part of journey to success for many of the Vocal Academy artists, with a plethora of opportunities to connect and attend public performances throughout the year.

With the introduction of the CLA Vocal Academy comes the opportunity for donors to join The Founder’s Circle and launch the careers of tomorrow’s most impactful artists. The Founder’s Circle is comprised of supporters who make a contribution of $10,000 or more within the first year of the CLA Vocal Academy’s launch. Your name will appear on a special webpage devoted to the Founder’s Circle, along with all Vocal Academy materials. Click the button below to learn more about how you can support the CLAVA artists.

This is a landmark moment in CLA’s history and its vision for the future of opera and song. A year-round program in the cultural capital of the world is a monumental step in CLA’s vision to ensure that exceptional opera continues to enrich our world. Preparing for plenty of performance opportunities on the horizon, the dates of the 2024 CLA Concert Series will be announced soon. Stay tuned for information on how to reserve your seats at what are sure to be truly spectacular events.

CLA’s mission is to inspire emerging opera singers to expand their artistic potential by teaching through the prism of language, culture, and history. Introducing a vocal academy dedicated to superb CLA Alumni in NYC furthers this mission by creating new opportunities for our most professional artists. The initiation of the Classic Lyric Arts Vocal Academy would not have been possible without the support of our community. We thank you for impacting the lives and professional journeys of the talented singers who grace our programs, and now, the CLA Vocal Academy.

A presto,

The CLA Team

The Impact of CLA on Emerging Artists

“We need practicality. We need strategy, and we need flexibility within that strategy. I really appreciate that we had time to not just work on music, but also how to make this profession work on a practical level…that’s a missing piece that conservatories lack.

CLA made it less confusing.”

— Julia Johnson, Soprano

“I have learned much more in the last few weeks than in the last two years, vocally, technically, linguistically, and most importantly in my perspective towards singing.”

— Shengnan Yang, Mezzo- Soprano

“I’ve heard my voice do things that I haven’t before.
I feel like I know what I am capable of doing now.”

— Eliana Berrean, Mezzo-Soprano

“I really didn’t think a program of this caliber was possible.”

— Sarah Luedke, Mezzo-Soprano