Learn Singing your way with a TakeLessons expert

By Stephen M. - Alpharetta Singing Teacher

Are you interested in taking singing lessons in Alpharetta? Do you want to be the next big singer from the Atlanta area? Well, you’re in luck, because nearby Atlanta has many places to hear great singers live and many outlets where aspiring singers can hone their skills - whether in musical theater, opera, choral, rock n’ roll, pop, and every style in between. There’s no better way to become a singer than to start seeing and hearing live performances and to participate in making music with other great singers as early as possible.

To supplement their singing lessons in Alpharetta, I encourage all my students to check out these great venues:

1. Cathedral of St. Philip, www.stphilipscathedral.org Definitely one of the foremost sacred music centers in Atlanta, the Cathedral hosts world-class artists every season. Notable artists and choral groups to perform at St. Philip’s include The Choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral (London, England), Schola Cantorum of Oxford (England), the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and David Daniels (international countertenor from Atlanta). For aspiring singers, I can’t recommend this church’s music program highly enough. Designed for children as young as the third grade, and continuing all through high school, the Cathedral Choristers are trained based on the Royal School of Church Music, and their leadership strives to provide all these young singers with excellent musical and performance skills.

2. The Atlanta Opera, www.atlantaopera.org A premier regional opera company, The Atlanta Opera not only presents excellent main stage productions, but is also committed to keeping the art of opera thriving for future generations through their education programs. Also, since 2007, all main stage productions have been performed at the state of the art Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre just inside I-285. For young professional singers, the Atlanta Opera offers the 24-hour Opera Project – where a brand new one-act opera is written in the first 12 hours and learned and performed in the second. And, in early summer, rising 10th through 12th graders may participate in the High School Opera Institute, a joint venture between the Atlanta Opera and Emory University, where they receive vocal coaching lessons, movement and characterization classes, audition techniques and many more exciting opportunities to consider classical singing as a real vocation.

3. Atlanta Lyric Theatre, atlantalyrictheatre.com For those singers more inclined towards musical theater, the Atlanta Lyric Theatre serves at the only professional musical theater company in Atlanta. The company originally only performed the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, but as the company grew, so did their repertoire. Most recently, their production roster might be mistaken for that of any major theater in New York City. As a teacher, I tremendously appreciate this company’s efforts to educate young people through the Jr. Lyric Musical Theatre workshops. Similar to the Atlanta Opera’s institute, here young musical theatre leading men, leading ladies, and character actors will be directed, choreographed, and coached in a tailor-made program that WILL take their singing, dancing, and acting to the next level.

4. Eddie Owens Presents, www.eddieowenpresents.com And, just when everyone thought I left out the rock stars and pop idols, we have Eddie Owens Presents at the Red Clay Music Foundry in Duluth, GA. Recently voted ‘Best New Music Venue’ by Atlanta Magazine, not only is Eddie Owens a performance venue, it also offers an open mic night on Sunday nights and provides a great local hangout for established and up-and-coming singer-songwriters alike. Besides that, I didn’t even mention that found Eddie Owens helped artists John Mayer, the Indigo Girls, and Sugarland get their start.

5. AtlantaPlanit.com Lastly, I had to mention one of my favorite websites for discovering cultural events around Atlanta. Not only does the site provide listings of events and provide ticket information, it also promotes the work of 450 different arts organizations. I will say that because the site offers so many events, I’m a firm believer in making friends with the search and advanced search boxes; searching for a particular voice type (baritone, tenor, soprano, contralto), genre (classical, opera, pop, rock), and including the word “singer” should refine your search to the most pertinent listings.

For any singer/musician, it’s extremely important to surround him/herself with other talented musicians. Besides just being fun and leading to great musical conversations, it’s a fantastic educational experience. I hope this article will inspire singers of all ages and experience levels to get out in their community and discover all that Alpharetta and nearby Atlanta have to offer. The Atlanta area has a bustling music scene with many talented professional and amateur singers, and I encourage students and professionals to hear as many as they can.