By Sharla Cerra
I recently spoke with Tanner Engeseth and Ella Young, students at the UNL Glenn Korff School of Music. Tanner, who is in his first year of a Master’s program studying Voice Performance, is a baritone. Ella, a senior, is a mezzo. They serve as student representatives to the Friends of Opera board.
They both sang at the Friends of Opera Gala fundraiser for the School of Music last September. That program, “In the Kingdom of Bohemia,” was comprised of music by composers born in the 1800s what was then the old Kingdom of Bohemia. These primarily were Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, and Bedřich Smetana.
The program had them singing in Czech for many of the songs. Dr. Suna Gunther, their director, helped them by bringing in some recordings of their music in Czech and brought in Dr. Rachel Green, a Lecturer in Voice at the School of Music, whose dissertation was about making Czech písňe (art song) accessible to novice singers. There was one final rehearsal just to focus on language with Dr. Green. At the conclusion of the gala performance, Dr. Mila Saskova-Pierce, Honorary Consult to the Czech Republic in Nebraska, leapt to her feet to exclaim about the quality of the performance, including the beautiful articulation of the language.
I asked Tanner and Ella how long it takes to warm up their voices. “About 30 minutes,” Ella said. Tanner said it was about the same for him. “I start with five minutes checking to see how my voice is doing,” he said. “Then I work until it feels good. That might be 10 minutes, sometimes as long as 25.” Tanner said that some singers warm up for as much as an hour. “That’s insane!” Ella said, and Tanner laughed. After that, the conversation evolved into upcoming performances such as “Urinetown,” and an outreach performance in May at a Czech Hall in southeast Nebraska. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the work of these two dedicated and enthusiastic vocal students.
Ella has an upcoming recital at Eastridge Presbyterian Church on April 29 at 7:30pm. She will be living in Lincoln after graduation, looking for opportunities for stage management and performing.
Tanner will be performing the role of Marcello in Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme with the Vienna Summer Music Festival in July. He plans on finishing his degree next spring and working as a freelance performer after graduation.
Both will be taking part in the Opera Scenes program in May.
Ella Young, senior
Tanner Engeseth, Master’s Student