GERMAN DICTION

I am an experienced German diction coach, and recently coached diction for the San Diego Opera’s production of Salome. The Union Tribune wrote that the title role was “credibly portrayed.”

I hold a Master’s degree in German with a specialization in musicology from Middlebury College, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in German from Rice University, where I also completed my BM in voice and learned the International Phonetic Alphabet. I lived in Berlin for about two and a half years.

  • My time in Germany began with two semesters of coursework for Middlebury’s MA program (I completed most of the coursework in Germany). During my first year in Berlin, I studied at the Freie Universität Berlin in the Musikwissenschaft (musicology) department, taking courses alongside students pursuing MA degrees in musicology and dramaturgy. As the only non-German student in these classes, I attended all lectures and seminars in German, and completed all written assignments in German. At Middlebury, I also performed the role of Polly Peachum in the (German-language) summer production, Die Dreigroschenoper (Weill/Brecht).

    After earning my Master’s degree, I remained in Germany on an artist visa, working as a freelance choral singer. I lived and worked entirely in German—participating in rehearsals, professional engagements, and daily life in the language. At this time, I was often mistaken for a native speaker.

    When I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my DMA, my German language skills continued to be valuable, as much of the important scholarship in musicology is in German. During graduate school, I also sometimes coached singers in German diction at USC, and toured through Germany one summer, where a local newspaper interviewed my colleague (a native German speaker) and me in German and subsequently published an article about our concert.

    After I finished my doctorate, I joined the faculty of the German International School of Silicon Valley (Mountain View Campus), a German immersion program. At the school, I taught music to children in German. I left this job when I had my first child.

    Since returning to the U.S., I find that I continue to use German regularly, although naturally not as often as when I lived in Germany! I continue to engage with German-language books, articles, and podcasts on music history and current events. I still find myself holding conversations in German with acquaintances, and I use German almost daily in lessons with my voice students--of whom I expect perfect diction! Also, I still take my own voice lessons in German (my teacher is German).

    I hope this summary provides a clear picture of my German language fluency and experience.