Educational Institutions
Enriching the Performance Experience
If there’s one word that describes what singers would like to experience in performance more than anything, it is this:
Freedom.
Freedom of mind, body, and voice is the gateway to authentic, engaging performance. But the desire to avoid mistakes and “get it right” oftentimes creates the opposite outcome: a limiting of potential and a higher chance of uninspiring presentation.
No matter how diligently a teacher works with a student on the voice, if the student’s mind and body are creating resistance, the performance results will not be optimal.
How Ann Is Expanding Performance Education
Ann Baltz complements the work of voice faculty and opera directors by focusing on methods that shift how singers approach the craft of performance.
The confines of time and curriculum requirements can make it challenging for faculty to include all the skills needed for students to excel. “It takes a village,” as they say, to help students graduate with confidence and to leave their program with the ability to secure work or advanced professional development.
Ann is helping collegiate-level opera programs to fill in the training gaps by providing workshops, master classes, and residencies designed to help singers break free from their self-imposed restrictions.
Her work has helped thousands of students develop their talent, deliver compelling auditions, and embark on careers as successful and savvy independent performers.
Expressive freedom doesn’t abandon technique. It often makes it stronger.
Ann’s method is rooted in a three-part process:
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Establish an environment of partnership and trust, where singers feel safe to explore and take risks without the fear of being judged.
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See and respect everyone as a whole person, acknowledging each person’s individual talent, skillset, psychology, physicality, and personality.
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Use improvisation to release the mind from right/wrong thinking, while giving each person permission to explore beyond their self-imposed boundaries.
Singers Learn…
…that their instrument is their entire being and how the different aspects affect one another and their performances
…to give themselves permission to step out of their self-constructed box and explore their true creative impulses
…to practice more effectively by overriding self-judgment with accurate observations
…to integrate their character’s emotions into defined gestures, creating more connected and authentic performances
And…
…Voice faculty find more in ease in teaching as their students become more confident and take more risks
…Opera directors have more flexibility with creative vision as students broaden the strength of their presence and movement
…Audiences experience authentic performances that move them, increasing the chance of advocacy and support for the program or department
Customize To Fit Your Students' Needs
Ann works with each institution to customize the curriculum for performance projects, workshops, master classes, or multi-day residencies, based on your program’s interests and schedule. Curricula can be combined or taught as stand-alone classes.
PASTICHE OPERA PROJECTS
Unlike traditional operas, pastiche operas can utilize all of your program’s talent equally while creating an inspiring work of art. Ann re-conceptualizes existing classical art song, opera, and musical theatre repertoire into original storylines that address current social issues. Performers and audience members alike can experience different perspectives in real time and connect to the music and performance on a deeper level. Talkbacks with the audience, performers, and creators follow the performances. These projects can be done in a minimalistic setting or as a full production.
PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUES
This interactive workshop provides performers with an array of non-traditional technical skills combined with creativity to produce committed, impassioned, and courageous performances. Receiving gentle guidance from Ann, singers learn ways to utilize their whole instrument and access their imaginations to release physical and mental blocks. These classes often result in major breakthroughs. Singers begin with group introductory exercises, followed by individual work in a master class or small group setting. An accompanist must be provided.
MUSICAL IMPROVISATION
One of Ann’s signature classes, Improvisation workshops increase listening sensitivity, harmonic awareness, vocal expression, and emotional connection to music while eliminating the boundaries of right and wrong. Performers experience a new kind of musical and vocal freedom while being encouraged to explore their own creativity, often surprising themselves with what they are able to do! The mindset shifts and physical sensations experienced in improvisation can be easily transferred to existing repertoire, making this a highly valuable tool for building confidence and taking positive risks.
An educational version of this class is also available for those who wish to learn how to use improvisation in their teaching.
PRIVATE COACHINGS
Ann’s private coachings give perfomers the opportunity to go deeper into the methods that address their entire being. By assessing and supporting their strengths as a starting place, performers are given tools to shift from focusing on mistakes to taking positive risks and developing their talent. An accompanist must be provided.
BUSINESS PLANS for ARTISTS
Very few students understand and acknowledge that a performance career means starting a business for themselves. In addition to cultivating their talent, they must also plan for how they intend to market that talent. In this class, performers are encouraged to explore multiple options for creating success. They will define the strengths of their product, clarify their goals, and create a 3- or 5-year plan that will serve as a guide for achieving their goals.
AUDITION TECHNIQUES
Confidence and consistency in auditions is one of the most powerful skills a performer can possess. This workshop begins with an introduction on how performers can showcase their unique capabilities in the little time they have to make an impression. In a no-risk environment, individuals perform their repertoire in a simulated audition, receive immediate constructive feedback, and then perform again in a “callback” audition to incorporate the feedback suggestions. An accompanist must be provided.
EMPOWERED HOLISTIC PEDAGOGY for TEACHERS & DIRECTORS
Ann is also passionate about working with the heart and soul behind the development of the talent – their mentors! One of the most powerful influences teachers can have on a student is their words, and the communication methods a teacher uses in the studio can have a life-long impact on the student.
Voice faculty and pedagogy students are introduced to different learning styles and how those affect their own teaching styles. By adopting language that keeps the student open and curious, the technical work of teachers can be received and explored faster, with better results. Ann gives examples of different characteristics of students, their needs, and specific ways teachers can approach each student to succeed as an individual artist.
Interested in Bringing Innovative Training to Your Program?
Thousands of singers, voice teachers, coaches, pianists, and directors have benefited from Ann's exceptional training, which is both positive and affirming.
Connect with Ann to discuss the potential of bringing her work to your students and/or faculty.
TESTIMONIALS
"Working with Ann Baltz is an incomparable experience. Her knowledge in traditional styles and out-of-the-box thinking is exactly what academia and the industry needs to elevate young artists."
Alice Chung, mezzo | San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, winner - Loren Zachary National Competition 2024
"What Ann Baltz does in a three hour class is a bit of a miracle. …Her ability to instill immediate trust with the students is inspiring. I saw my students take risks that I never expected...In my years as a director and educator, my evening watching Ann work was one of the most magical I have spent."
David Gately | Director of Opera, Boston Conservatory at Berklee