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Cynthia Hoffman
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| Cynthia Hoffmann
and her husband on a rafting trip on the Colorado River in the
1980's. |
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Milwaukee native Cynthia Hoffmann has been a member of
the voice faculty since 1991 and has chaired that department since 1995. She gives
master classes both here and abroad, and teaches in summer festivals around the
world.
What is the most satisfying aspect of teaching for you?
To help students grow into artists capable of being more freely expressive in
their music making—to encourage their musical, expressive, and physical understanding
of their instrument so they can accomplish this.
What's the most frustrating aspect?
When things interfere with learning—communication problems, or a lack of preparation,
especially when a singer does not know a word-for-word meaning of the text before
singing the music. Sometimes it is difficult to have to repeat the same things
again and again; but at the same time, we learn through repetition—so there you
are.
When did you first know you wanted to be a musician and how did you come
to know it?
My father said I could sing before I could walk or talk, and I have played the
piano on and off since the age of 8. I discovered classical singing in my late
teens, but it was when I lived in Salzburg, Austria, for six months during my
junior year in college that I became seriously committed to having a career in
music. I heard classical music in the concert halls, churches, streets, and even
in pubs, where they sang madrigals—it seemed to be part of everyday life.
Who was the teacher who most inspired you when you were growing up and
what did you learn from that person?
My piano teacher in California, Madame Margaret Buttree, always listened to me
play as if it was the most important thing—she listened intently and made me feel
that how I made music, the way in which I expressed it, really mattered.
What was the significance of the first recording you ever bought?
I do not really remember, but early on I loved listening to the Fischer-Dieskau/Furtwaengler
recording of Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer and
Op. 31 of Brahms, the Four Last Songs of
R. Strauss, and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess with
Price and Warfield. These pieces had such feeling, energy, and beauty of sound.
If you could have your students visit any place in the world, where would
it be and why?
I would have to say Europe: Vienna, Salzburg, Florence, Venice, Paris, etc. For
a singer, hearing and learning a foreign language in a country of origin—invaluable.
To be in the church where Mozart composed the Grand Mass in C—enriching. I would
also recommend a raft trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon as a good
way of gaining perspective as to who and where we are in the world.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
My husband and I collect American Indian arts and crafts. We also go antiquing
for our country cottage. What might be surprising is that I was a pretty decent
volleyball player in my early 20s and met my husband on the court in Central Park.
Would that I had known then how bumping, setting, and blocking would affect my
finger joints later on in life! I sang in and prepared radio and television commercials,
and also sang with a popular music group under an alias. The residuals helped
put me through graduate school. I have studied the Alexander Technique for many
years and trained to be a teacher before being appointed to the voice faculty
at Juilliard.
What words of wisdom can you offer young people entering the field today?
You need that "fire in the belly" and the love of your instrument and your art.
Have joy in your music making, be committed to the learning process, and trust
that this process (good, bad, and often messy) will help your development as an
artist. Have a life outside of music, so that your self-worth does not depend
solely upon your career.
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