Rise to the Occasion of Your Opera Career with Chandler Johnson, Director of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers

We love an encore! And this one's got it all: audition trends, futurecasting, and pragmatic advice for young opera talent. Key Change co-hosts Anna Garcia and Olga Perez Flora also serve up plenty of musical memories, behind-the-scenes intel, and a little love for the Santa Fe Opera as a venue as they continue their visit with Chandler Johnson. When we last met Chandler, he had introduced us to career paths less traveled. "There's more to this business than just singing,” he continues. Chandler knows this truth better than most. After discovering opera in his early teens, he pivoted from singing to arts administration. Chandler credits his years spent auditioning and performing for exposing him to career opportunities beyond the stage. “Singing was my path to get to this place,” he confides, before launching into an impressive list of creative, collaborative opportunities within the opera ecosystem. "You can go into development, marketing and PR, media and AV. You can go into costuming and set design," he says, adding, "Having the experience of being a singer informs where you pivot in your life and in this art form." As for the art form in question, Chandler is not one to tinker with what works. "I wouldn't change anything about opera. I truly love the glitz, the glamor, the opulence, the stories, the chaos. I love it all!" he muses before offering one final piece of advice. "We just have to keep doing good art––keep doing good opera!––and the people will come." KEY CHANGE RECOMMENDED PLAYLIST Taking Care of the Art with Chandler Johnson What’s Opera to a Bunch of High School Students? Young Voices, “The New Crop” Harmony in Process: The Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera with Amy "Process" Owens FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE Chandler Johnson, Director, Apprentice Program For Singers | Santa Fe Opera MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Apprentice Program For Singers | Santa Fe Opera Preview Dinners | Santa Fe Opera University Of New Mexico Opera Theatre | UNM Music Department Cincinnati Opera The Maryland State Boychoir Atlanta Public Schools Choir The Baltimore County Honor Choir Leontyne Price Messa di requiem | Giuseppe Verdi The Defiant Requiem Foundation Fach System Rigoletto Lohengrin Verdi’s Macbeth Berlin State Opera Bavarian State Opera *** Key Change is a production of The Santa Fe Opera, Department of Community Engagement & Education. Share your favorite opera moments and questions with Community Engagement: agarcia@santafeopera.org Produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios Hosted by Anna Garcia & Olga Perez Flora Audio Engineering: Collin Ungerleider & Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe Technical Director: Edwin R. Ruiz Production Support from Alex Riegler Show Notes by Lisa Widder Theme music by Rene Orth with Corrie Stallings, mezzo-soprano, and Joe Becktell, cello Cover art by Dylan Crouch This podcast is made possible due to the generous support of the Hankins Foundation, Principal Education Sponsor of the Santa Fe Opera. To learn more, visit SantaFeOpera.org/KeyChange.