NotaPushyMum.Com

Hi Everyone,

Title says it all really! I have a 10 year old boy who has a good operatic style of voice and I am looking to find him an agent or auditions for solos or within a chorus in operas or classical music concerts. I don't know where to begin to look. He's not a dancer so we're not interested in musical theatre unless it was more like Phantom. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi there and welcome to NAPM!
I hope you'll find the site interesting and useful (if you're like me, you may find it a bit addictive!).

Your question is interesting and I hope my response doesn't seem negative in any way:

I doubt very much whether there will be agents who will take on your son specifically for this kind of work. I may be completely wrong, but my limited knowledge of this (classical) world suggests that young soloists and choristers are normally from organisations/choirs/schools that are already established. I suspect it is rare for there to be any payment (my daughter went to Chethams School of Music in Manchester and took part in lots of wonderful concerts - none of the children were paid as far as I'm aware). If there is no payment, then the agent gets no benefit - so this kind of work is unlikely to be part of the agent's usual working day.

If this is the kind of thing your son enjoys then I would imagine that his singing teacher would be the best route to find opportunities for him. You can also keep on eye on this site, The Stage website (or newspaper) and any websites that cover the classical music sphere in case there are opportunities that crop up in mainstream or popular shows that ask for classical singing styles.

Of course there may be many wonderful amateur and youth theatre (and choir) opportunities which he could enjoy hugely. I'm sure he would be made very welcome in many youth productions.

That's not to say that an agent won't be interested. A great singing voice is going to be an asset of course, but his style of singing will only be suitable for a limited number of opportunities. Does he do much acting? Is he only interested in singing?

Hi talentless mum (I'm sure you're not talentless )!
I can empathise, as my dd who is fifteen sings in a classical style and is working hard towards her ambition to become an opera singer. Opportunities to sing in any operas are, I have found very few and far between. I have found some brilliant youth opera opportunities but not unfortunately in striking distance for us (and they are also unpaid of course, but very good for experience!) I wouldn't necessarily rule out musical theatre though personally, as my dd has been in a few. She's not a fabulous dancer, but moves very well, and so she is usually cast in things which require a very good standard of singing rather than a dancer. I would try to find him a good agent if I were you. We recently signed with an agent who told us they can often place kids of your sons age, who have a good voice and good technique in westend musicals. Good luck to your little ds !

Thanksfor your replies, and trust me - no talent here!

The money isn't important to me and he would be unaware that there was a fee. He is in a good choir but it is quite insular and outside opportunities come from the parents, who keep their agents/events well under wraps! I'd be really grateful if a kind member would pm me the name of a suitable agent...Coco? I have trawled the internet and I do not know where to start.

I dont know where you are based but Opera North have a childrens choir and post on their website when auditions are being held. you need to attend their weekly rehearsals in Leeds though.

Hi again talentlessmum, I know what you mean, sometimes even friends will keep quiet about potential opportunites they have found for their kids, so this doesn't surprise me tbh, especially if your ds has an especially nice voice ! I have found some things for my dd in the past just by regularly googling things like musicals auditions kids, or youth opera Essex, that kind of thing. There seems to be more youth opera things going on up North, so no good for us. Also found a good youth opera group in Luton, too far for us too ! Glynebourn has a youth opera group for youngster which is supposed to be really good. Also worth spending a few minutes checking out a good local paper each week. As far as agencies are concerned, even it your ds is very talented it can sometimes take a while to get a response from an agent, so don't be disspirtied if it takes a while to hear back. Quite a few members of this forum have recently been for auditions for Abacus, which is a good reputable agency. I'm not sure if they are still seeing kids for this intake, but it might be worth emailing them to ask. A& J management is also very good and apparently they audition through a workshop every month or so. I don't have any direct experience with any others I'm afraid. Hope that has helped. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

There's a list of agents here you might like to consider, http://screenterrier.blogspot.com/p/agents.html
plus some general tips here:
http://straightfromschool.org/acting-gu ... explained/
but these are acting agents.

I'm not trying to be obstructive at all, but I wonder whether perhaps I confused you with my post on the money/fee front.
An agent is unlikely to be looking for (or even know about) classical music opportunities for child clients because there is no money in it for the agent, so you would still need to do your own hunting for this kind of opportunity. Coco's suggestion of regularly searching the internet is a good idea. You can also keep a close eye on what is happening at any professional theatres near you just in case there are opportunities or any contacts you can make there. Music and Arts Festivals are another possible source of opportunities - there are quite often community/youth opportunities advertised. National Association of Youth Theatres is another potential source of information.

I'm not certain whether an acting agent would take on a good singer unless he/she also had good acting skills/experience - you'd obviously need acting skills for a West End musical unless it was something like Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (and in this case, the choirs tend to be from local stage schools like Stagecoach for the touring show I think). Of course your son may have great acting skills/experience - in which case an agent might well be interested!

If you are starting out it's important to recognise that, however lovely an agent is, he or she is in the business to make money. They're not there to facilitate children having a lovely time enjoying their hobby or improving their skills. They will either make the money because they charge you to be on their books (and therefore don't have as much incentive to try to find work for you in my opinion) or they will make money because you/your child earn money and they take commission. In either case, they probably won't be terribly interested in (or well-informed about) any kind of amateur opportunity.

Does your son have performance experience other than as a singer Talentless Mum (that feels all wrong typing that )?
What kind of things do the other members of the choir get involved in that you think your son might also like? If you can give me a general idea of the sort of thing they do, I might be able to suggest where you could find out about similar opportunities.

BTW have just posted details of Gilbert and Sullivan opportunities in the summer holidays in Derbyshire on the auditions page - don't know whether this will be of interest or within reach!

You have all been so kind. I have to admit that, based on my experience with so-called-friends, I thought members may conceal some information but you are all clearly not pushy mums (or dads)!

DS is a chorister but solo performance opportunities are rare (long story and not a reflection on the boys abilities) and he is a member of the NYCGB but again this is group singing. He really would like to perform anywhere but because he has come to this quite late he feels embarrassed at his lack of singing and dancing abilities and almost doesn't want to join a local club because he'll be put in with the little ones. But I know he needs to start somewhere. He did audition for Oliver once but the whole process terrified him and me - there were some scary mums there and he got put in with the 12 year olds because of his height (he was . He also struggled trying to make his "posh" singing voice sound cockney, but as he as got more moody this seems to be happening more naturally.

I have found a teacher who puts on high quality amateur childrens operas once a year and she says he can take part but it won't be until he does this that we will know if he can act and sing.

I'm based in Gloucester but his dad lives in London. I have noticed many opera opportunites up North too. Anyway I will definitely look into all the suggestions and good luck to all your DC's, who seem to be doing very well.

TalentlessMum wrote:He also struggled trying to make his "posh" singing voice sound cockney, but as he as got more moody this seems to be happening more naturally.

This made me laugh out loud! Brilliant. I hope that's not too indicative of what's to come for you - do you think you're going to end up with a "Kevin"?.

If you fancy a week's holiday in Derbyshire, I can recommend P B Theatricals' "Mikado". The director (Pamela Bilik) is inspirational and the children gain such a lot from being involved. It may not be at all practical for you (it would mean you or another adult would need to come too as there is no accommodation provided) but it would be a great chance for your son to find out whether he enjoyed the acting as well as the singing. There tends to be quite a mixture of abilities from very talented/experienced to never-set-foot-on-a-stage. There's no cost involved - apart from buying a score - though donations are welcome. (Obviously there would be a cost implication for you because of finding accommodation for a week). If he can commit to the whole week he would be guaranteed to be included (there are auditions for principal roles but chorus members need not audition unless they want to). All in all it's a wonderful introduction to performance.

That's rather a lot of parentheses...( )

Both my children have been involved with Pamela's productions over many years and have really loved them - though neither of them is really a Gilbert and Sullivan fan (neither am I particularly!). My ds (24) is now working professionally as an actor and my dd is at Music Colllege, though I think she's decided she's not heading for the profession (sensible girl!) - she'll be assisting the Musical Director on Mikado this year.

i think the PB theatricals show looks like it would be amazing pg ! My dd' does a lovely rendition of the 'suns whose rays' (although I'm naturally a bit biased !) Do you happen to know if they have any video clips of their performances anywhere ? I can't find anywhere doing anything like that where we live !

Coco, are you aware of Mj-uk productions run by Maria Jagusz? She is putting on Carmen in Cheltenham this summer with rehearsals in Cirencester. Auditions have passed but I think she is always interested in hearing late applicants.

The one in Buxton looks great but may be quite far.

Hi TalentlessMum.

Just joining in slightly late but there is an agency that has posted previously for children to sing at The Royal Opera House.

http://primadonna-agency.com/page7.htm

i don't know what they are like but the odd thread has appeared on here when they have been looking for recruits.

If you did decide to travel to Derbyshire for Mikado I can reccommend a wonderful B & B in Buxton.

Myy dd is slightly too young and the auditions are on the day of her dance school show and rehearsals the week after - a bit too much

We have similar frustrations in that where I live there are very few amateur opportunities until you are 11 and dd is 9. She has her dance school and Stagecoach but would like to be involved in more MT.

Thanks for that talentlessmum I will look into that ! And I would be interested to know the name of the b&b please islandsofsodor, just in case. Thanks so much guys ! I'm always on the look out for any operatic/classical opportunities for my dd to try to get her as much experience before she has to audition for music colleges in eighteen months time. Not surprisingly I suppose, Essex is usually a bit of a desert in that respect !