Opus 1 Music Studio is a place where musical aspirations become attainable realities. With a dedication to nurturing talent and fostering success, Opus 1 takes immense pride in its role in helping students achieve their musical dreams. One such success story is that of Alexis, a longstanding vocal student, who left her mark in the musical world by winning first place in the Broadway Musical Theater category at the International American Protege Vocal competition in 2022.
Alexis showcased her talent with a performance of "All Falls Down" from the musical "Chaplin," a song she had diligently worked on at Opus 1. Notably, she also graced the stage at Opus 1's 2022 recital before earning a coveted spot at the Winners Recital held at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City. Reflecting on her remarkable achievement, Alexis shared, "The whole time I was there, I kept thinking, 'I can't believe that I am here at Carnegie Hall!' That competition was a ton of work, and my teacher at Opus 1 worked on it a lot with me in class, and I put in time outside. I would run through my song every two days just to make sure that I still had it, and I like recording myself when I sing, so I get the acting down, and can see what changes I need to make for my performance,” she explained.
Alexis's musical journey began at Opus 1 when she was in elementary school. Initially, she embarked on piano lessons, but her growing passion for Musical Theater led her to transition to vocal lessons. For four years, she has been honing her vocal talents at Opus 1, achieving remarkable success along the way. Her accomplishments include passing ABRSM exams with Merit in the Singing for Musical Theater category and thriving at her high school, where she actively participates in the Acapella Group and shines in musical productions like "Something Rotten!"
Through her journey of performing and preparing for exams, Alexis has discovered the power of empathy in enhancing her acting and singing skills. She shared, “I think I'm learning more empathy. I feel like I pay more attention to the subtext behind the words, or how I as a singer can portray them, and what choices I can make in technique, style and body language to achieve an accurate portrayal of a feeling, or situation,” she said.
Notably, Teacher Katrina at Opus 1 has played a vital role in guiding Alexis. She has helped Alexis strike a balance between maintaining strong vocal technique and infusing her performances with her unique style. Alexis explained, “It’s good to just get a balance of what you want in your own style along with the technical side of singing. When I first started trying to sing higher notes, the style sounded more operatic than I wanted it to because I was going for a theater style. So, I worked with Katrina on making it a bit more mixed, and she helped me learn to alter my technique to make this possible,” she explained.
Despite her numerous successes, Alexis considers her willingness to identify areas for improvement and work on her weaknesses as the most valuable lesson she has learned. She passionately advises aspiring singers, “ Don't be afraid of trying to improve your weaknesses, or practice things you are not good at,” she said. She went on to elaborate “For a long time, I didn't want to flip over into falsetto. I thought that I'm normally a belter, so I just tried to sing super loud. I thought falsetto sounded super weird, and I did not work on it. When I went to the classes with my teachers they were able to point this out as an area we need to focus on to build back up to make me a more well-rounded singer,” she explained.