America's Got Talent star is studying at Juilliard

America's Got Talent star is studying at Juilliard

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norman lebrecht

July 17, 2011

A heated discussion on a previous page of this site has yielded the welcome information that Jackie Evancho, the 11 year-old child presently topping the US Billboard classical charts, checks in to study at the Juilliard School.

One of her fans reports: Jackie’s mother released the name of her Juilliard coach today. She’s Lorraine Nubar, the head of Juilliard’s Pre-College Division of singing.

Well, in a manner of speaking. Ms Nubar runs a Saturday class for 12 to 15 year-olds. Jackie has been allowed to slip in under the age bar. But it’s a good sign. She’ll get a solid grounding in general technique and a sharp eye for career opportunity. I look forward to receiving her grades.

 

 

Comments

  • Marie Lamb says:

    Sounds like a step in the right direction for this young singer…best of luck to her.

  • Janey says:

    Lorraine Nubar is training an 11-year-old who sang Nessun Dorma? That seems strange.

    Of course, Lorraine Nubar is much more than a Saturday class teacher! I’m shocked.

  • Rich Adams says:

    That’s what you get for listening to “one of her fans”. The only part of this that’s true is the name Lorraine Nubar.

    • Janey says:

      Then, what is the truth? And her fans have certainly claimed to know “the truth” through the entire conversation on the other thread. Are you saying they don’t?

      • This is a snip from the Amazon.com forum and is from Lisa Evancho, Jackies’ mother. I don’t .. would this perhaps be good enough for you?

        “Jackie is not “registered to study” in this program. She’s not registered to study with anyone or thing. Lorraine just checks jackie for us periodically. The fact that her program is for 14-18 year olds does not negate the fact that she has an impressive background and is the perfect fit for someone like jackie. Even if jackie were in a position to take part in Lorraine’s program, I doubt she would be under consideration at all. They work within a specific age requirement.”

  • HomoSapiensLaptopicus says:

    Just to clarify: Jackie is NOT part of Ms Nubar’s Pre-College voice program at Juilliard because (1) the minimum age for that program is 14; & (2) Jackie lives hundreds of miles away. Jackie is consulting with Ms Nubar to reduce the risk of long-term damage to her voice. I NEVER said she was part of Ms Nubar’s Juilliard program.

    Others have said she has already been accepted into Juilliard, & while it wouldn’t surprise me to see her go there at one point or another, i have no independent information on that question.

    Ms Nubar no doubt knows what she is doing with young singers, so she’s an excellent resource for Jackie & her family. She probably wouldn’t waste her time on someone without talent.

    Personally, i don’t think we can infer that Ms Nubar suggested that Jackie sing Nessun Dorma. But if she thought it was inordinately dangerous, we can probably infer she would have warned the Evanchos to avoid it.

  • I’d prefer her to be studying music theory and an instrument rather than singing at the Juillard! Give her larynx a chance to settle down during puberty before she embarks on serious vocal training.

    • HomoSapiensLaptopicus says:

      @Jean Campbell Collen
      The Evanchos have said they have no intention of having Jackie do serious vocal training before puberty. At present they allow her to sing on a fairly light schedule, taking as many precautions as possible to protect the health of her voice over the long term. She performs on this limited schedule because she loves to sing & is very, very good at it.

      I’d venture to guess that you’d be shocked at the depth of her intuitive understanding of music & theory, just like David Foster was. He’s commented multipte times on that. I’d also agree with you about training on an instrument, especially the piano. If she ever did decide to study traditional music theory, some facility at the piano would come in very, very handy. It would also be useful if she decided to write her own songs in the future, or study classical music composition (depending on the genre of music she might choose).

  • angel says:

    Mr. Lebrecht

    This is direct quote from Mrs Evancho:Re: Julliard Association and Mr. Lebract comments

    http://www.amazon.com/Jackie-Evancho-general-discussion-2/forum/Fx3521E4Z59FKRK/Tx1ZL9TFCL3ZT77/3/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg3?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B004UB2WAQ&cdSort=newest

    L. Evancho says:
    Problem with that post is that it is all wrong. Can this guy not get anything right? Jackie is not “registered to study” in this program. She’s not registered to study with anyone or thing. Lorraine just checks jackie for us periodically. The fact that her program is for 14-18 year olds does not negate the fact that she has an impressive background and is the perfect fit for someone like jackie. Even if jackie were in a position to take part in Lorraine’s program, I doubt she would be under consideration at all. They work within a specific age requirement. I’ve heard that this Lebrecht guy has been fired from several of his jobs. He
    must have a tattoo on his forehead of a big L

    Mr. Lebranct, your comments “This is a mockery of classical music. So is the rest of the chart. Nothing classical about it.” regarding Jackie Billboard Classification is disgraceful. Jackie Evancho and Sony are major contributors to PBS, CD’s of Jackie are purchased at members at $100.00 a pop. Why would you attack a young performer on PBS “Great Performance” that recently viewed on WCNY TV

    Do the honorable thing and apologize to the valuable contributors to PBS members, Sony Records, Evancho
    family and especially Jackie Evancho. You allowed your previous blog fester into a pissing contest between jackie fans and detractors, and not once have reply to any assertions from bloggers

    If it were up to me, your association with PBS would be terminated immediately as conduct detrimental to WCNY Policy. We should inquire thru James C. Burns Chairman WCNY Board of Trustees the policy of PBS employees (Marie Lamb) and it’s associates criticizing PBS performers.

    Also no lawyer worth their salt would engage in a frivolous lawsuit with Billboard magazine, they may be counter sued for their stupidity. Matter of fact why don’t you resign and go back to the UK and take your attack dog Drew Lewis with you. Both of you can hold each other hands and discuss the virtues of Classical Music.

    I await your reply and I will forward this exact blog entry will be forwarded to WCNY radio station to get an explanation.
    http://www.wcny.org/about/contact-us
    There is a saying USA “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you!

    • Janey says:

      I have no idea what you’re going on about, but what an odd link you provided. The mother of a professional recording artist posts on an Amazon forum (and doesn’t like IMG). Well, I imagine she’s not alone on that point.

      Doubt that’s really an Evancho, though.

  • Let me clarify. The original post drew attention to the Billboard classical chart being topped by an apparently untrained 11 year-old singer from America’s Got Talent. Fans of the singer, eventually quoting her family, maintained that she was studying at Juilliard. I misphrased one of these comments as ‘registered’ at Juilliard, an error I corrected hours later. Juilliard has asked me to point out that she is not studying there.
    This thread is now closed.

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