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Letter from Noel KingGraduateResident Artist Training Program"I joined the Resident Artist Training Program directly from college having very little performance experience. Mr. Doherty's vocal instruction was easy to follow and understand and my technique was quickly developed. His knowledge of the voice and how it works is unsurpassed. His amazing ability as a world-class pianist is also a great help to his students. Being able to sing with appropriate accompaniment makes a big difference to a singer learning new music. By the time I graduated from the Resident Artist Training Program, my singing had become effortless, my voice had amazing endurance and color and my resume of roles had grown immensely.
Through the Resident Artist Training Program, I was given a vast palette of performance opportunities which prepared me for any and all kinds of situations I might encounter in my career. Recitals, excerpt concerts, supporting and leading roles, ensemble parts, operetta roles, dinner concerts and school outreach programs. All of these experiences played an important part in developing my skills as a performer.
While in the Resident Artist Training Program, I was afforded the opportunity to work with legendary figures of the opera world through Master Classes. The most notable of whom were Mme. Licia Albanese and Rita Shane of the Metropolitan Opera, Carmen Savoca & Peyton Hibbitt of Tri-Cities Opera and Pasquale Caputo of the Mohawk Valley Opera. Each class offered immeasurable input into proper technique and presentation.
Having the opportunity to perform leading roles in operas was by far the most valuable experience. Having time to learn how to develop characters, deliver recitative properly, and move on stage is something I could not have had from any other organization. Most resident artist programs with larger companies relegate their resident artists to small supporting roles or chorus parts. As a member of the Resident Artist Training Program I was given the opportunity to sing roles such as Azucena in Il Trovatore, Carmen, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Katisha in Mikado, the Marquise in Daughter of the Regiment, Flora in La Traviata, Ruth in Pirates of Penzance, Musetta in La Boheme, 2nd Lady in The Magic Flute, Berta in The Barber of Seville, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and others.
My experience with Mr. Doherty as a member of the Resident Artist Training Program led me to winning numerous regional and national vocal competitions and being accepted into the Merola Program of the San Francisco Opera. I could not recommend another teacher/coach more highly than Mr. Doherty. His ability to develop world-class voices is extraordinary.
Noel King
Mezzo-soprano
Orlando, FL
Everyone's talking about CFLO's Resident Artist Training Program
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Letter from Lisa KerstinFormer MemberResident Artist Training Program"The time I spent with the Central Florida Lyric Opera in the Resident Artist Training Program has been a phenomenal and life-expanding experience. Though I had previously studied voice for several years, the technique and experience I have gained while working with Mr. Doherty has far exceeded what I could have ever imagined. I am now beginning to find professional singing work in the Central Florida area and have no doubt that the career I had hoped to pursue is becoming a reality partly because of the knowledge I gained as a member of the Central Florida Lyric Opera's Resident Artist Training Program."
Lisa Kerstin
Professional Singing Actress
Letter from Kristin PattersonGraduateResident Artist Training Program"I was a member of the Central Florida Lyric Opera's Resident Artist Training Program for five years. During that time I gained an exceptional amount of professional experience with the company. I have performed the roles of Susanna in Nozze di Figaro, both Carmen and Mercedes in Carmen, Nedda in Pagliacci, Flora in La Traviata, Musetta in La Boheme, Third Lady in Die Zauberflote, Alice in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Mother in Amahl & The Night Visitors and Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte. The training classes are wonderful and have taught me how to adequately prepare scenes and roles for productions and I have learned how to present an audition that brings about results. While in CFLO's RATP, I spent a summer at Des Moines Metro Opera and had the opporunity to perform with Maestro Doherty in two concert tours in Italy.
I have also had the pleasure of studying voice privately with Bill Doherty. Mr. Doherty is not only a wonderful teacher but a supportive and caring mentor. He has absolutely prepared me to continue a professional opera career and helped me along in every way possible. His impressive and stunning musicality has helped and inspired me to learn a wide spectrum of roles. Always I feel both technically and musically prepared. I would certainly highly recommend this program to all levels of singers."
Kristin Patterson
Professional Mezzo-soprano
New York, NY
Letter from Elise CurranGraduateResident Artist Training Program"I was a member of the Resident Artist Training Program when Bill Doherty first came to Orlando from New York. I had very little knowledge of good singing up to that point, but in the very first lesson, when he placed me in the correct fach, and I was finally singing what I was supposed to be singing, an ENTIRE WORLD opened up to me. My voice just took off like crazy, and I progressed very rapidly.
As a professional clarinetist, I know good musicianship, and Bill Doherty is the real deal. Not only does he have perfect pitch and virtuoso piano skills, but an unerring sense of what kind of support is needed from him as an accompanist. On an even higher plane, he taught me musicality, line, and pure expression that none of my instrumental teachers had ever approached. My playing is immeasurably better because of Bill's teaching me voice.
As to the voice lessons, Bill has the most incredible ear I've come across, and an intimate knowledge of the physical mechanics of the voice. I have worked with many people, famous people, and none of them had the insight into how the voice works to the same degree. When I was still a beginner, Bill Doherty could already hear where my voice was going to end up. As a matter of fact, I got a full scholarship for my first few years in the Resident Artist Training Program, when I couldn't afford to study, because of Bill's faith in my abilities and where they would lead. Also, I have seen and heard him work with many students whom other people had turned away and said they could not help, and turn these same people into good, even great singers, some of whom went on to professional singing careers. This is what it is to be a real teacher.
I had the opportunity, over the years with the Resident Artist Training Program, to sing many staged roles with orchestra, when my friends were sitting around looking for chances to sing and not finding them -that is, the friends who did not end up joining the program! I had the chance to refer many people to the company, to their benefit. There is simply no other place around that I know of where an unknown or beginning singer can be given a chance to learn their craft and get on the stage and do it."
Elise Curran
Professional Coloratura Soprano
Buxton Festival, England
Winner of the Bel-Canto Foundation's International Vocal Competition
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Letter from Meredith Johnson
Graduate
Resident Artist Training Program
"Bill Doherty is a very unusual combination of genius and humility. Besides being a piano prodigy, he is a superb vocal teacher, who maintains international connections and judges prestigious vocal competitions, while still reaching out to new students on a regular basis, and also willingly mentoring other vocal teachers.
Bill is subtle in the growth process that he takes you on as a singer - it's painless both emotionally as well as physically. He frees your voice, while leading you gently thru rapid change.
The Resident Artist Training Program is wonderful, giving students an opportunity to build their resumes with significant roles and a well rounded repertoire. Through his managing skills, Bill leads these artists into obtaining a flexible professional demeanor."
Meredith Johnson
Professional Soprano
Voice Teacher
Orlando, FL
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Letter from Thom LichGraduateResident Artist Training Program“As a professional singer in Denver, Colorado, I constantly call upon the training and experience that I received as a member of CFLO's Resident Artist Training Program. Even though I majored in Vocal Performance in college and studied with some fine instructors, my real education didn’t start until I stepped into Bill Doherty’s voice studio. I am forever grateful to Bill Doherty for the career I now enjoy. Thank you Bill!”
Thom Lich
Professional Tenor
Denver, CO
Letter from Kevin RouchellGraduateResident Artist Training Program"I participated in the Resident Artist Training Program for two seasons. I had just finished my Master's Degree at Manhattan School of Music and through the Resident Artist Training Program was now having the chance to sing leading roles in a few operas that really suited my voice - most notably Alfredo in "La Traviata" and Tamino in "The Magic Flute." Since then I have auditioned and sung quite a bit in Europe as well as in the States. It takes time and patience to develop one's skills as a professional operatic performer. It is sometimes easy for some singers to lose faith in themselves and their talent over the years as they work and develop. Luckily, I haven't lost hope and I contribute some of that to the experiences I had working with Bill Doherty and his company. Nothing compares to actually standing on stage and singing through the operas! Through my experiences I had as a member of the Resident Artist Training Program, I was able to prove to myself that I could do it and I therefore never lost sight of my goals. I realize now that perseverance plays a major role in one's success in this business and success is built on advancing from one performing opportunity to the next."
Kevin Rouchell
Professional Tenor
New Orleans, LA
Letter from Christopher SiroisPerformerCentral Florida Lyric Opera"Bill is a pleasure to work with, both as a performing artist and as a teacher. His understanding of vocal pedagogy and ability to bring his students to a production of true "bel canto" singing is admirable. In addition to being a sensitive and attuned accompanist, Bill is a professional and supportive teacher. I have grown as an artist working with him, and would encourage any young professional to seek his guidance."
Christopher Sirois,
Professional Baritone
Orlando, FL
