The thing I took away from CLA France is that there is no such thing as a solo artist.
Arriving at the chateau bleary-eyed and dazed from a long trip almost sent me straight to bed. But before I opened my door to my room, I heard laughing from the common area. I couldn't help myself and had to see what was so interesting. I found myself talking with strangers for hours. This would be the theme for the next 18 days in France and there was never a moment where I wished to retire back to my room. Listening to how these young singers talked about making music was so inspiring and intoxicating that I found myself searching the grounds for them in my free time.
Seeing Glenn and all the singers for breakfast was always something to look forward to. Whether it was a quiet, coffee sipping morning or a heated conversation about which recording is the best for a certain aria, there was never a dull start to a long day. I would try to attend every singer's coaching, not only to hear them easily rattle off high E's at 10 in the morning, but also to soak in all the knowledge the coaches had to offer.
Hearing Glenn introduce resonance to the singers made it so accessible to a pianist like me that he had me resonating out of places I didn't know could. Gaspard was so precise on how to get an orchestral sound out of a piano. He did this not just through touch, but by explaining how an orchestra crescendos and uses rubato. I was also taught how to sing and emote by Hélène while I played the piano. She taught me that music isn't about perfecting but about experiencing. And what is music for if not that?
The saying "work hard, play hard" defines the France 2023 Artists. The French class with Raphaël was attended by eager minds ready to read and translate French, trying to perfect the French "schwa" while catch phrases and inside jokes were constantly being made along the way. Or a singer would want to run a piece with me, and once we felt confident, we'd sing and play Disney tunes. The perfect end to a day of performing and rehearsing ended with finding large frogs and naming them after singers.
The thing I took away from CLA France is that there is no such thing as a solo artist. Breathing together with the singers in performance melded two individuals into a single, living instrument. Taking what I learned from the coaches and the emerging artists, has melded all fifteen wonderful singers and four amazing coaches into a single pianists music. My music is changing and shifting from the people I meet and I will carry the influence they had on my music forever.
- Joseph Stevens