# Do well known conservatories have a cutoff for age?



## lovestosing (Aug 1, 2021)

I'm 32 and I want to attend a conservatory for vocal training. I have a good reason why I didn't start earlier; I was part of an ultra religious fundamentalist sect that didn't allow it, and only now am trying to break out of that horrible place. 

Another question - do any of these schools have scholarships for underrepresented minorities?


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

lovestosing said:


> I'm 32 and I want to attend a conservatory for vocal training. I have a good reason why I didn't start earlier; I was part of an ultra religious fundamentalist sect that didn't allow it, and only now am trying to break out of that horrible place.
> 
> Another question - do any of these schools have scholarships for underrepresented minorities?


I can't help you directly, just to say that at my Alma Mater (Royal Academy, London) when I was there in the 1980's there where one or two singers in their mid 30's I believe, so it might well be possible. One would hope so anyway as voices mature or change with age and it sounds like you deserve the break.


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

I can't help you directly, either, but I do recall that the late English tenor, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, managed a dairy farm near Glyndebourne (!) until he was 29 years old, and prior to that had only sung in a local church choir. Then, between the ages of 29 & 32 he studied voice at the Guildhall School of Music in London, and at 32 began to sing in choruses, until he eventually became a soloist at around age 35 or so. Granted, he was a little younger than you are when he first began to study voice, but his career shows that it is definitely possible. (Johnson was wonderful in Baroque music, and I also remember a very fine recording of Britten song cycles from him.) As far as auditions are concerned, I'd like to think that a stunning natural voice or at least a very fine natural voice will always win people over. They'll see the potential in you and won't give a d-mn about your age. I wouldn't.

http://www.bruceduffie.com/rolfejohnson.html

But you don't have to necessarily start studying in a school right away. You could instead find a private coach for the time being--depending on where you are?, to get started, and take it from there. That's how it often used to be done. Although of course, you'll have to find a very good voice teacher, someone that knows what they're doing. That's critical. At your age, you have to start right, since you can't afford to waste time, or worse, damage your voice, due to some lousy teacher.

I recall Dame Janet Baker once saying that the best advice she received from her teacher was that if the singing didn't happen naturally and easily, something wasn't right with the vocal technique (or words to that effect).

So, you might contact some of the better music schools, and ask (1) if they would accept you at your age, and (2) if any of their vocal coaches work privately. I expect some do. In fact, just the other day I read that the retired Scottish soprano, Linda Esther Gray teaches privately in Scotland and she can be contacted via her website. If you were a soprano, you could do worse, since I thought that Gray's Isolde with Sir Reginald Goodall on Decca was very fine. (Elly Ameling and Dame Janet Baker also teach, but they may be affiliated with schools, I'm not sure.) If, on the other hand, you're a male singer, I'm sure some comparable situation exists, you just have to find it.

So, who are your favorite singers on record? and why don't you reach out to one or two of them, whose artistry & singing you identify with & love--who are retired and teaching now, and contact them directly. I recall that when I lived in London in the 1980s, the rooms at Wigmore Hall used to be full of such teachers giving private lessons. Plus, if a private teacher had strong affiliations with a music school, they could be extremely instrumental in helping to get you admitted as a student.

There's also a lot that you can begin to do on you own. Such as learning various languages that you will need to know in order to sing the music of composers whose texts are not in English (assuming that English is your native language). You should also try to watch every video that you can find of stage productions, either opera or theater (such as the Royal Shakespeare Company from the 1960s,70s, & 80s), to begin to study great stage acting (You Tube will be a goldmine in this respect). You don't want to be one of those opera singers that can't act!

It would also greatly help to start taking piano lessons, so that you can become a better musician. In the end, good musicianship is everything. You don't want to become like a famous soprano that I remember many years ago singing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who in rehearsal had to have the notes pounded out for her on the piano because she couldn't read music (or at least not very well). I won't name her, but she later became a dame...

I'm sorry to hear about your "fundamentalist sect". How sad and blind that your sect didn't allow the joy of singing--especially considering that much of the best music ever composed was written for the greater glory of God. J.S. Bach & F.J. Haydn even wrote as much on their scores. It saddens me that there isn't a religion on earth whose original truth & message mankind hasn't corrupted & distorted in some way.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

^^^ These are all valuable suggestions. I would only add that, if you have any interest in performing opera, and have addtional time and funds available, you might also take an acting class. This would likely be more beneficial than simply watching the acting of others (particularly opera singers, not all of whom are the best role models).


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

amfortas said:


> ^^^ These are all valuable suggestions. I would only add that, if you have any interest in performing opera, and have addtional time and funds available, you might also take an acting class. This would likely be more beneficial than simply watching the acting of others (particularly opera singers, not all of whom are the best role models).


Yes, I agree. Studying the great stage actors on video & via sound recordings (& in films) would be better than studying opera singers, who aren't always known for their stellar acting abilities.

As for acting classes, yes, if you can find a good acting teacher. But there are so many quasi-acting 'gurus' out there, you have to tread carefully, and make sure that you're working with a seasoned stage actor. I'd also say that the British acting training is usually preferable to the American training by miles. Today, many American actors think that training to become an actor means going to the gym everyday, & looking good in the mirror. Which is why Hollywood must often hire British & Australian actors--who can do an American accent flawlessly--when they need a real actor to play a difficult role. Which is not to say that there aren't excellent stage actors in America, as there are. But Hollywood seldom hires them, because they're not considered "box-office".


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## Marie7 (Aug 25, 2021)

Some conservatories, like the Paris one, have minimum age requirements, but I think that it's not the norm  I think that it all depends on where you want to study. Good luck!


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