Q&A: Vocal performance student discusses changes in learning due to the pandemic

Segura, a music major studying voice, had close ties with Central Michigan University's music program before attending the university. 

Segura has been enjoyed music their entire life, but after more than a year of in-person learning, like so many others, they were forced to change the way they learn and practice.

Related Stories

Segura said they have adapted to pandemic restrictions, but in the world of musical performances, “the old normal” could not possibly return any sooner.    

Central Michigan Life spoke with Segura about their experiences with music, giving a glimpse into what learning is like for CMU music students during the coronavirus pandemic. 

CM Life: How long have you been involved with music? 

Formally, I’ve been in some sort of choir since I was in fifth grade, but I have always grown up around music. I had two great grandmas that were both choir teachers when they were younger and like multiple family members that have been in the band and my grandma sings. So, formally involved with music since fifth grade, but been around music heavily since I was like, you know, born. 

Who is your favorite composer or artist? 

I mean, my favorite artist is Melinda Kathleen Reese. She’s a smaller kind of alternative pop artist and I just really adore her music. I’ve been following her since like sixth grade, but I don’t know specifically if I have a favorite composer. I sing a lot of different things. 

Other than singing, do you play any instruments? How did you get your start with those instruments? 

I play piano because we have to take four semesters of it for my major. I’ve taught myself to play the ukulele to a smaller extent. Well, piano, you sort of just have to learn it because you need it for your professional life. Ukulele is just an easy instrument to learn and I’m not super coordinated so that was the first instrument that I tried.

What made you want to study music at CMU? 

I don’t feel the same way doing anything else, so like, the way that I feel when I’m performing—something just kind of clicks inside of me, whereas like, nothing else that I do feels like that. As for CMU, I mean part of it is just that, living in Midland, the Midland schools have a really strong connection with the CMU music program, and so I worked with Dr. Eady—the choral director—before I started here and I worked with Dr. Tucker—who is the dean of music and also one of the voice teachers—before I came here. And so, it’s sort of almost a natural progression of things for a lot of people at Dow and Midland that are interested in music. I also just got a really good scholarship to go here. 

Who would you say is your favorite professor in the music program and why? 

I really like working with Dr. Batzner. He’s just a very funny guy; a very good teacher. He’s the advisor for the student organization, Students Demand Action, that I run, which I goaded him into a little bit knowing that he’d be good for the job, because he is kind of willing to help with whatever. I mean, the music professors in general at CMU are really wonderful.

What are your rehearsals and lessons like right now compared to before the pandemic hit? 

Rehearsals are a little weird. In terms of choir, the SSAA ensemble and the TTBB ensemble aren’t ever rehearsing together. We have some music that we will do together at our next concert, but we will never rehearse together. Definitely, that is the weirdest thing; the ensembles are smaller and we’re rehearsing a lot less and with a lot less people. As far as personal rehearsals, that’s also a little weird because the practice rooms all have locks on them, and you have to schedule a time. That also is hard too because then there is one practice room per studio, or in our case we have 2 small studios sharing one, whereas before the pandemic you could just find an open practice room. Now, if someone is in there, I can’t use it. Lessons are pretty normal, though. She has plexiglass in there so that we can do lessons without masks when we are comfortable because masks are really hard to sing with sometimes, and for her, especially, to hear us singing well with them. 

What are your performances like now compared to before the pandemic hit? 

I would say pretty much the same, except that we don’t have an audience, or it’s a tiny one. The voice area, every Tuesday at 11, has any singers that want to sign up to sing for the voice students and the voice professors, and it is just a private little thing. Before, everyone was required to be there, whereas like now, it is all online so, sometimes you stand up there and there’s like 10 people in the audience in that large auditorium of like 250 seats or something, so that’s definitely different. I haven’t been in a choir performance or a different performance yet, but I know that all of those are all virtual, so we don’t have any audience at all other than Dr. Tucker as the dean. It’s definitely different. We’re still getting to perform, and that’s not always true for other ensembles across the state. 

How are you on-stage emotions different between in-person concerts and virtual ones? 

I think the hard part is that if you have a full audience in front of you, there’s always going to be someone that kind of gets the audience in motion, so to speak; someone always starts clapping. If there is a small audience, it’s harder to read their emotions and also harder to get them in motion. Dr. Keisgen sometimes describes it as, “sometimes the audience is going to interact with you, and sometimes they’re just going to be a wall.” The reason for that is because it’s just such a small number, so that is definitely the harder part. 

What keeps you motivated to keep practicing and performing during a time when you cannot have concerts with large in-person audiences? 

For me, music is about connecting with people, so even if it’s a smaller crowd, I’m still trying to connect with them. I’m sort of used to recording myself into a camera anyways for other things without an audience, so, I think just making sure that my connection to the music is really solid is more important than what the audience looks like, because the connection is going to come across whether there’s an audience in front of me or not. 

Do you record yourself performing on your own? 

I’ve done some stuff on my own with my ukulele. We are recording auditions and our vocal finals right now. I feel like, even before this, recording is just a part of a classical and musical theater musician’s life because, you know, people can’t get to New York to audition for things all the time. Recorded auditions are kind of normal for musicians at this point. I feel like it wasn’t a big adjustment for me because I had already done recorded auditions and stuff when I had applied for college. 

Are you excited to get back to normal concerts? 

Oh yes, absolutely. As much as I don’t necessarily mind singing in front of a tiny audience or lack of audience, I definitely look forward to the day where I can invite my friends to choir concerts again. I am ready. 

What is your favorite song to sing? 

It kind of depends on what I’m working on at the time. Right now I’m doing “I Won’t Mind” by Jeff Blumenkrantz, so that one is currently my favorite. I’m performing it at the voice area recital next week, and then I’m also auditioning with it for a voice program later in the semester. 

What is your most memorable performance here at CMU? 

The one that comes to mind is Voi Che Sapete—which is an Italian aria—last semester in voice area recital. It was like the first time at CMU that I came out of a performance just feeling really, really solid. So I think that one probably, even though it was just in front of voice students. 

What can people in the CMU community do to show support for the music program during the pandemic? 

A lot of the concerts for faculty and students that have been asked to perform are broadcasted Thursday night on the Facebook page, so definitely go to those when you can. I know they’re not always at the greatest time, because that’s always a busy time for people, but they are always 7:30 on Thursday nights, so go check those out. Other than that, I think I would just say generally that if you have friends that are in the music program, or you know people that are in the music program and you see an opportunity outside of the regular CMU music community that they might be able to fulfill. So if you see an open call for auditions for something like an open mic night. That’s really hard right now, we’re not getting a lot of opportunities to perform outside of our regular music routine, so keeping an eye out for those as well and letting your friends know that are in the music program. 

Do you have any upcoming performances? 

I will be performing in the voice area recital for the music students and faculty next Tuesday, and then I will be in a choir concert at the end of February. That’s all I know for sure right now. 

How has music impacted your life? 

I think in a lot of ways it’s kept me going. Music kind of impacts me in a way that nothing else does. It’s always kind of been my go-to for self care and music, I think growing up around it definitely impacts us as well. I feel it in my body and also, I care so much about connecting with people and music has always been the best way for me to do that.