The Inclusion of CCM Styles in the Nation\u27s Young Artist Programs

Young artist programs are the voice equivalent of an internship program in the business world. Due to the large amount of applicants versus scarce positions available, these are highly sought out positions and often lead to an important network for the emerging young professional opera singer. Even though these programs are for futureopera singers, there is currently a trend of including music theatre within the sungrepertoire, which is essentially counter-culture, as this genre hasn\u27t been included in traditional operatic seasons due to many cultural factors. Because many YAPs are associated with or are run by major opera companies, young singers are being asked to include music theatre in their auditions for these programs but are often not trained to manage the vocal demands nor understand what is stylistically appropriate for this genre of music. A longitudinal study ofthe repertoire within the seasons of these YAPs and quantification of the auditionpostings that include non-classical requirements was doneas well as identification of the type of musical theatre genre (legit, pop, rock, etc.) that hasbeen performed in these YAPs. The study is ongoing and will eventually include interviews of YAP participants and directors as well as an analysis of pedagogy and technique participants receive