“Without a doubt, each faculty member was invested in my growth as a performer and technician; I stepped into every performance knowing they, and my peers, completely had my back.”
Jin-Hee Lee and Clark Xiong performing
It sounds like a dream: three weeks in the beautiful French countryside, intimately studying the French repertoire that I have always wanted to know more closely, but didn’t know how to approach. How surreal that I can say this was my reality at CLA France this summer.
There is so much I could say about this summer, but the feelings of awe, surprise, and connection are the three threads that tied this experience together for me. Time and time again, these feelings found me as I dove headfirst into French mélodie and opera, learned from and alongside my peers, and became closer with the French language.
2025 CLA France Artists discussing poetry with Raphaël Treiner
Let me first reflect on awe. Snapshots of this feeling: stepping into the church at Monpazier, hearing the church bells ring perfectly in time with the final note of a divinely sung “Je dis que rien m'epouvante.” Exploring every corner of Louise de Vilmorin’s poetry through music after dissecting the diction with Raphaël. Watching a peer ring out a high E as clear as a bell after a coaching with Glenn. Opera is no stranger to awe, so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised that it found me everywhere throughout an immersive summer with CLA.
Glenn Morton and Giancarlo Llerena with one of the horses at La Ferme d’Hermance
Speaking of surprise, I experienced this the most with myself. Rather than overcalculating my singing left and right, I did my best to let the text and music guide me, to go with what felt natural - I especially tapped into this sensation in my coachings with Gaspard. It’s a wonderful phenomenon when you experience surprise, and a feeling of newness, around something you’ve known for a long time. Some of the repertoire that I’ve listened to for years gained new dimension and sparkle as a result of studying with Hélène. I was delightfully surprised by little secrets left in by the composers I hadn’t noticed before, at the double meaning of the text, and at my own capacity for growth and expression.
2025 CLA France Artists enjoying dinner together
As for connection, there’s one memory burned vividly into my mind that I’d like to share. Throughout the program, we had the chance to visit several local open-air markets in the different towns around our gîte. In a period of intense rehearsals for one of our ensembles, my duet partner and I found ourselves humming the tune everywhere we went, including the markets. We found ourselves humming in harmony at one of the stalls, and the owner’s eyes lit up with joy; she asked if we would sing for her. With a bit of shyness and excitement, we sang our rendition of Saint-Saëns’ “Pastorale.” Most unexpectedly, this kind woman was in tears by the end of our brief performance, embracing us and sharing how touched she felt by the music – our music. What other force in our world can connect people from across the globe in such an intense, personal way?
A selfie with some of the 2025 CLA France Artists
I’ve heard a few times that CLA “meets every artist where they are”. That could not have felt truer this summer. Without a doubt, each faculty member was invested in my growth as a performer and technician; I stepped into every performance knowing they, and my peers, completely had my back. Each of our four performances was held in breathtaking churches around the region and was a true celebration of our hard work and dedication.
It takes graceful and courageous audacity to step foot into a new country and deliver music in their language. It was through the mentorship of the CLA France faculty and the inspiration from my peers that I was able to garner enough grace, courage, and even a bit of audacity to take on our performances this summer and discover more about myself as an artist.