SFYCA alum, Nicholas Meyer (’04, ’05, ’06) shares the importance of staying positive, maintaining a good attitude, and having fun – in music and in life!
SFYCA alum Nicholas Meyer (’04, ’05, ’06) is an in-demand baritone, artistic co-director of Opera Theater Oregon, and teacher of a flourishing voice and piano studio of 40+ students (mainly adults) in Portland Oregon. He recently spoke with OBF education coordinator Barbara Harris about his time in the Youth Choral Academy and his professional development as a musician.
Nicholas began his vocal studies in high school at the Pacific Youth Choir with Mia Hall Miller and pre-professional training with the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy (SFYCA) under the mentorship Dr. Anton Armstrong. He attended college at Lawrence University and after taking a year off, Nicholas was accepted to the prestigious Manhattan School of Music graduate vocal arts program. His professional studies also included a 5-week summer residency with the Schubert Institute in Austria, coached by masters of the Schubert lieder.
Upon reflection of his music education, Nicholas recalls his time with SFYCA as being quite rigorous, but also incredibly rewarding! He stressed the value of community that he felt during the Choral Academy and how the program cultivated his joy of listening to and making music. On the topic of his early professional years, Nicholas spoke fondly of his longtime NYC based mentor, David Jones. He recalls learning the importance of staying positive, maintaining a good attitude, and having fun – all things that he brings into his teaching. Now a successful teacher, performer and artistic director, Nicholas says that he has learned walk the line between having fun and taking yourself too seriously – in music and in life!
Below are answers to some questions we posed to Nicholas about his musical journey and his experience with SFYCA. Enjoy!
SFYCA Alumni Profile Post #4!
In 2023, SFYCA will celebrate its 25th Anniversary! While still a year away, planning is already in the works to include an alumni reception and featured performances by alumni alongside 2023 SFYCA participants.
SFYCA Alumni Profiles are one of many ways we will be celebrating 1200+ alumni of the Choral Academy since 1998 and the incredible careers they have gone on to accomplish. If you are an alum, or know someone who is, please email Education & Operations Coordinator, Barbara Harris at bharris7@uoregon.edu. We would love to connect with you!
1. In your own words, what does SFYCA mean to you? How has it shaped and informed your career?
SFYCA is undoubtedly one of my favorite high school memories. It was very rigorous, but also so much fun. It had such a high level of standards with intense focus. I learned so much about music education that I still use today in my own teaching – the body singing technique and holistic movement classes. I loved the individual coaching sessions and being a part of such an embracing and important community
2. What is your favorite memory of SFYCA?
I have so many good memories that it is hard to choose just one. But one that still really resonates with me today is performing as one of the SFYCA soloists with the OBF Orchestra and Choir. The piece was the Brahms Requiem, and it was amazing. I’m not really a religious person, but it has become one of my favorite pieces of all time. To do something on such a grand scale was extraordinary.
3. OBF is looking forward to offering SFYCA in June 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. As communities slowly get back to “business as usual” and vaccinated populations continue to increase, what words of encouragement and advice do you have for high school choral musicians considering auditioning for the 2022 Academy?
This is a great question. I would encourage them to know what they are singing about and to focus on what they are performing. That is something that took me a decade to realize. I would also encourage them to sing from their heart and just have fun. Think less and do more. It’s also so important for young people to keep making live music.
4.Congratulations on the opening of your new venture – Lydian Music Studios! Can you share how it all came together?
Lydian Music Studios is near and dear to me. It’s essentially what I have been living and breathing for the last year. We opened for business in November 2021 right at the beginning of the omicron surge. While the timing of our opening was terrible, it’s been such a great experience. Based in Portland, OR, it’s designed as a community-based music school for everyone. It’s geared to adults from beginners to professional musicians. We have highly qualified instructors. We have a performing space where we can perform recitals and we also rent it out to other groups.
5. You are fortunate to be working musicians in an industry that has been hit hard by the pandemic. Do you have any words of inspiration, wisdom, and even caution for those who wish to pursue a career in the performing arts?
Forget about everything else and sing from the heart with love. Think less and do more!
6. During your time as performers, you’ve probably had the opportunity to work with several mentors. Who has been particularly influential in shaping your acting and performing philosophy?
I am lucky to have great mentorship in my musical career, often from people who have had overwhelmingly successful careers themselves. Steve Peters, was one of my early influences as he was my choir director at Cleveland High School. He was amazing and over his 20+ year tenure, he developed the choir into something very special. He had such incredible passion that “woke” so many of us. We won state my senior year and many of us went on to major in music in college.
Another early influence was Andre Flynn, an active performer in the Northwest for more than 30 years in opera, oratorio, concert, and recital. His appearances with Portland Opera include Don Prudenzio in Il Viaggio a Reims, Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata, Montano in Otello, Angelotti in Tosca and many others.
Programs like SFYCA are so necessary. Passions and hobbies go away if nobody is there to nurture them with positive feedback and validation. SFYCA undoubtedly gave me the validation I needed to move forward in my career, knowing that my skills and interests were appreciated and welcomed.
