Harrower Summer Opera

No scheduled auditions.

Reviews (2)

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  Anonymous · 2026

  Even with how cheap the tuition is for this program, it still manages to be a scam, and is not worth attending. The housing was completely unacceptable - Dorm-style shared bedrooms and bathrooms with no fan or overhead lights, visible mold on the walls and ceilings, water turned off with no notice, and visibly dirty from the moment I moved in. Also, singers weren’t warned ahead of time that we wouldn’t have access to a kitchen, so people who didn’t pay an extra $875 for a meal plan were left out to dry. Parking is not included in the housing cost. The area of downtown Atlanta is unsafe and the program does nothing to accommodate for this. Often times small groups of 2-3 women were called until 10PM, and then had to walk back to the housing 15-20 minutes away. I was followed back to the dorms and into rehearsal spaced multiple times. GSU owns many golf carts and vans, but the people in charge of Harrower didn’t seem to think it was worth it to rent one or two of them for the singers’ safety. Communication from GSU staff was rude and untimely. We received schedules after 10PM, even past midnight on occasion, when rehearsal starts at 9AM the next day. The description for this program is also extremely misleading. The “resident artist” was actually a guest/visiting artist who spent 3 days there, and only about ~7 hours total with the singers between masterclasses and a gala performance. I did not receive a single voice lesson or coaching the whole time as advertised. These “fully staged productions” actually perform in a recital hall, and no videos were taken. One cast of each show was photographed, and even then, singers the year prior were denied access to the photos. In summary, this program is not worth your money or your time. Most of these issues can be chalked up to blatant disrespect and disregard for the singers paying to be there. I guess you get what you pay for.

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  Kaylee Oxendale · 2026

  The Harrower Program was, in my opinion, not worth the cost. I met new colleagues and made connections, but the rest of the program I found incredibly lacking. The information on the website and application were all incorrect, not only in terms of what the program entailed, but also in terms of what kind of amenities were available to us during our stay in the GSU dorms. Most importantly, not enough attention to safety was given in the rehearsal process. Harrower is in downtown Atlanta and rehearsals go until 10 p.m. After which, you have to walk 15 minutes to the dorms. Rehearsals were not scheduled in a way that was safe to this- often calling a few female presenting individuals or releasing one or two at late hours. Additionally, there is no run crew or set/prop directors, so young artists have to strike and do scene changes if relevant. The "resident artist" was at the program for three days. She gave 2 masterclasses and sung in the gala, but was ushered away from participants before and after these events. This is of course no fault of her own, I just think the term "visiting artist" would've been more apt. Masterclasses were fine, but each participant was given one masterclass performance and not all participants were allowed their full 20 minutes of coaching. There were very limited coachings during the program- only students who were "behind" were given any. I do not feel that this experience was worth the cost, as the dorms/meal plan was an additional 1.5k.

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