From project to album.
During 2020, Oliver was reviewing repertoire that he could learn over the next few years.
“After buying enough sheet music to know the salesman at the music store on a first name basis, it only made sense to move on and start learning the repertoire on my bookshelf.”
Why record? “I only started singing classical repertoire 4, maybe 5 years ago. However, by the time I was starting to sound good, I had aged out of all the major competitions. I understood the requirement for an age restriction, but it felt very limiting. I knew I could attend festivals, get feedback, and keep learning. I enjoy all those elements. But being excluded from the competitive nature of higher level competitions was, in politically correct terms, very disappointing. Recording an album was a solid way to create a benchmark of performance for myself that I could revisit at a later time. It has all the elements of a competition: limited time, working with very demanding people, and knowing that any singing would later be critiqued by any and all. In those terms, it was worse than competition: I had to be first against myself. It was also a lot of fun!”
“Even when I asked the question to colleagues: Hey, has anyone ever recorded a classical album? Where do I start?, I got a lot of blank stares. Everyone did audition tapes for post-secondary programs, but I didn’t want that. ‘I knew a guy that did recording, but he’s dead now.’ It felt like a let-down. I have friends that are into mountain climbing, and they spend thousands of dollars towards their passion. Seeing this project as a mountain to climb, it couldn’t be that expensive… right?”
“When I attend classical concerts, I usually read artist bios. This person has completed a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in music, attended 4-5 festivals, 2 international summer artistic programs, and adjudication sessions with several famous classical artists. I don’t fit that mould. I have a post-secondary degree (BA, International Relations), but something music focused - like an ARCT designation - isn’t currently in my portfolio. The closest I’ll get is being an audience member during a classical voice adjudication session, taking notes on how the singer on stage is being ripped apart for improper technique.”
“The only artist bio that stuck with me was the opera singer that was a headliner at Edmonton Opera a few years ago. I can’t remember which production, but they basically dropped their career as a firefighter, and took up classical singing. I’m sure people that go through advanced music programs see that path as very unorthodox. I don’t. In fact, it’s bull-headed and brutalist. Even if you meet minimum standards, artistic development programs will still take your money. I guess I just decided to skip a few steps, place my money where my mouth is, and record something that people can nit-pick for the next few years. I’ll just take their critique, learn from it, and put that knowledge towards my current training… and maybe another album.”
