Savannah VOICE Festival- Milnes VOICE Studio

No scheduled auditions.

Reviews (3)

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  Beginner/Intermediate friendly, skip if you’re looking for role experience - continued

  Anonymous

  Continuing the second review of this program, for some reason it only submitted my first paragraph. If you are not one of their favorites or you are new to the program, expect 2-3 concerts and ensemble. They have masterclasses and other things, but those experiences are not guaranteed. They also have some classes/lectures, but they are very much beginner-oriented. A big downside to their program is this: they have their favorite singers who they ask to come back every year, and they are often emailed very early in the casting process with offers for the leads in their MainStage and Studio productions. However, SVF usually still says they are casting leads on their website and YAP Tracker listings, even though they have likely had their leads casted for months. They are also generally pretty disorganized, although this seems to be the case with almost every pay-to-sing there is. SVF used to pay their Milnes Studio Artists in past years and set them up with quality home-stays so they did not have to pay for housing. Now young artists pay for the program and for housing. Scholarships and work study are available, but they typically only take off a couple hundred dollars. Most of my memories of this program are good ones. I have learned a lot, met some great people, and gotten a decent amount of stage experience through their concerts. I have also never had any problems with most of the staff; they are generally delightful and very knowledgeable. Again, best for beginners/intermediate singers.

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  Beginner/Intermediate friendly, skip if you’re looking for role experience

  Anonymous

  SVF is a great program for beginner and intermediate singers. The biggest takeaway is the wonderful quality of coachings and lessons you receive. Their new General Director is a very kind man and their Artistic Director is a very talented conductor who is a joy to work with.

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  Good pay to sing if you don’t expect too much

  Anonymous

  Overall, it’s a good beginner-intermediate pay to sing. Specifically, it’s a great intensive program for coachings/lessons. It’s also a great way to meet some people in the industry and other young artists. However, the company itself can be very logistically disorganized and sometimes over-markets what it actually offers. Logistically, it feels like they’re flying by the seat of their pants sometimes. Among other things, communication with artists can definitely be lacking, the schedule is sent out daily but there are frequent last minute changes, and there isn’t a good system in place to get from place to place- the only plan is artists with cars giving other people rides around the city. So if your schedule doesn’t line up with someone with a car, you might be out of luck or need to uber (which to my knowledge isn’t reimbursed). Also, role opportunities are often advertised, when in reality roles are not guaranteed- especially larger roles or leads. Realistically, you’ll usually perform in 2-3 concerts and the ensemble of any productions that have an ensemble. Outside of that, you MIGHT get selected for a masterclass, MIGHT get a very small role in a mainstage production, and MIGHT get a larger role if they happen to be doing a studio only production that year. They do offer scholarships or work study if you send a note requesting it with your application, but it usually only knocks a few hundred dollars off the tuition price. I’m going to be honest: people who attend usually fall into two camps, those who absolutely loved the experience and consider it to be a “family” and return year after year, and those who leave a little sad/bitter because their goals for the program were higher than what they received (as in they wanted a larger role, more stage time, inclusion in a masterclass, etc.). As long as you’re realistic about what the program actually offers, it’s a great program for beginner-intermediate singers.

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