DAN WILLIAMSON, VOICE
Senior Student

Many different factors went into deciding which college I would attend. I knew that I wanted to attend a great school of music, but not a conservatory, and it turned out that Rice had everything I wanted: a scholarly collegiate atmosphere with an incredible music school that was small enough to give me the attention that I would need and desire. I also loved the idea of working with Joyce Farwell. I knew at Rice, I would not be a number or just another undergraduate, I believed that I would be considered an equal, even as a freshman.

I am able to interact with graduate and undergraduate students on a daily basis, and this allows me to draw on their years of experience. Another thing that appealed to me is the dearth of “up-tightness” here. Don’t get me wrong - everyone is very serious about what they do, they just understand that you don’t have to be in a state of perpetual agony and worry. I feel that Rice is a place where you don’t have to be perfect all the time; it is ok to try new things and make mistakes, as long as you learn from these errors.

At many of the schools I visited, music students were like slaves, constantly toiling on something they didn’t want to do, but here I feel like everyone works in order to achieve something they desire. Shepherd provides students with the perfect atmosphere to grow and mature in order to one day become complete musicians. In a conversation prior to accepting admission, my future teacher stated, “I will give you as much of my time as you need to get you to where you need to be.” I know this to be the fact with the entire faculty here. They love what they do and will help you in anyway that they can. In the end, I know that I would not have received such a personalized education anywhere else.

The Shepherd School is providing me with multilateral instruction, and by that I mean, I am not just being taught. I am being observed and critiqued, and shown how to be flexible and adapt. Every week I perform in studio class, and during this period my contemporaries are able to express what they like and dislike about my performance, and how they would go about fixing certain issues. Studio class is the most important class, in my opinion, because it gives you a chance to experiment with your interpretation, and know that if it was completely off, that it is ok. Similarly, at the Shepherd School, undergraduates work side by side with master and doctoral students; this has allowed me to see the course through which the human voice matures. As a young tenor, I experience great comfort in hearing more matured tenors identify with my struggles, and frquently receive advice on how to fix these issues. Being surrounded by people of varying levels of accomplishment, combined with unsurpassed instruction, is preparing me for the real world.

My favorite thing about the Shepherd school is the comraderie that exists between the students here. So many times musicians hear the phrase, “your best friend is also your worst enemy.” Although this may be true, at Shepherd a very supportive environment exists where no one feels like they are in constant competition with their neighbor. Instead, people go out of their way to help those around them succeed. These relationships inspire inward motivation, which is essential to survival as a performer, because they force you to work to beat your own best, not that of your neighbors. At Shepherd, there is an understanding that competition between one another is the chance to put your best on the table not to put somebody to shame. I have really enjoyed living and working in an environment that hosts such a great attitude.