Amity Matthews...

continued from page 4 practicing singing in my heels and dresses,” Amity said. “I work on my entrances, exits, how to carry myself onstage, and how to act during each of my pieces to name a few.”

By enrolling in a graduate program

Amity has an abundance of resources at her disposal. “I spend time each week working with various faculty members, including my voice teacher, however, most of the time I’m practicing on my own,” Amity said. “We have access to individual practice rooms at CSU, so I spend a lot of time just learning my pieces on my own in front of the piano.”

A favorite method of practice for Amity is, “silent practice”, which is practicing without singing. “This is the time I use to study my music, work on my language, listen to accompaniment tracks and mentally follow along in the score, and most importantly work on my memorization,” Amity said. “This practice combination has really been key for me personally, and I love having a solid routine to rely on.”

The feedback she receives allows her to understand there’s always something else to work on and that improvement is a process guided by quality mentors. “My voice teacher is amazing at giving me helpful corrections without making me feel upset in myself, and on the occasion that I do become dejected, she helps lift me with encouragement,” Amity said. “At my age and in this program, I do have a lot of experience singing classically already so discussions with my voice teacher feel very collaborative; having this type of comfort and respect with my professor has been wonderful for me.”

Her primary collaborators include her voice teacher, the department coach, and her assigned accompanist. “I work with these three on a weekly basis, which really helps solidify me in my learning each week,” Amity said. “I have one voice lesson a week where I work with my amazing voice teacher, one weekly session where I work with a different vocal coach on my language and technique, and one practice session per week with my assigned accompanist,”

Her demanding schedule includes time to work with the faculty when needed. “I go to my diction professor to ask languagerelated questions which in turn help me in my other lessons,” Amity said. “ Having a solid academic support system is crucial to success, and I’m very lucky to have that.”

Amity has three hours per week of practice time built into her class schedule, additional practice time is up to her. “I try to spend at least an additional five hours a week at the absolute minimum practicing on my own time- this includes silent practice,” Amity said. “I establish a practice schedule around my classes, taking into account what practice sessions I already have built into my schedule and then add on individual practice times.”

She is careful to create balance in her life by taking time away from the hard work she puts into honing her craft. “I practice for however long I can- sometimes I’ll warm up and sing for an hour straight, other times I’ll take 15 minutes in between classes and study my music,” Amity said. “ It’s really easy to get burned out and start to feel very tired, so properly pacing myself helps keep me feeling good. I also make a point to leave at least one day a week when I don’t sing at all! It all comes back to not feeling burned out and for me, this means taking one day to do whatever I want and not having to worry about singing.”