Singing Praises of Music Training

T he event: Master class and luncheon featuring opera star Deborah Voigt, a former resident of Orange County. The event, staged by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra League, was held at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Visit from a diva: “Special voices come along rarely in our lifetime, and Orange County hails one of these truly special voices,” said orchestra director Carl St.Clair, introducing Voigt to 210 guests in the hotel grand ballroom.

Voigt graduated from El Dorado High in Placentia in 1978 and attended Cal State Fullerton before becoming a leading dramatic soprano and guest artist with the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

She returned to her home turf to conduct a recent master class for aspiring opera singers Andrew Fernando and Christina Suh. “I’m always nervous when someone talks about being master of anything,” Voigt joked.

After each student sang an aria, Voigt offered voice tips such as: Relax the tongue; don’t sing out of one side of your mouth; and practice breathing “as if you were blowing out candles on a cake.”

She reminded Suh to collect her bouquet: “That’s another diva thing you need to learn,” she said.

Music appreciation: Since 1990, the PSO League has raised funds to support the orchestra and its youth education programs. The Pacific Symphony has more than 20 outreach programs, including Class Act, which establishes yearlong partnerships with musicians from the orchestra who “adopt” a local elementary school.

The league also sponsors the orchestra’s Music on the Move program, which brings musical performances to patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Quote: “Music education is important for all children. They are our future audience,” event chairwoman Jean Fox said. “Education programs . . . expose students to different types of music.”

Bottom line: The benefit netted $20,000 for the Pacific Symphony’s youth education and Music on the Move programs.

Faces: Janice Smith, league president; Henri Venanzi, accompanist and chorus master of Opera Pacific; John Forsyte, Pacific Symphony president; Doug Freeman, Pacific Symphony board chairman; Jane Paul, Voigt’s former vocal teacher at Cal State Fullerton; Mary Myan, chairwoman of the Music on the Move program; Jeanette Segerstrom; Susan St.Clair; Barbara Johnson; Michael Bates; Birthe Burnett; Claire Burt; Peggy George; Dorcas Preston; Gloria Gellman; and Kam and Virginia Cirica.

What’s ahead: Violinist Sarah Chang will perform Feb. 9-10 with the Pacific Symphony as part of the orchestra’s Leo Freedman Foundation Classics Series. (714) 755-5799.