Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Danielle Vasallo.
The composer Richard Wagner once wrote, “Music is the inarticulate speech of the heart, which cannot be compressed into words because it is infinite.” From the time that I was a little girl up until this very day, music has always fascinated me, and it has always been the voice of my soul. Being the youngest of three siblings, I would see my brother and sister singing in our elementary school choir, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing them sing their melodies around the house. Aside from wanting to follow in their footsteps, I was excited to audition for choir because I too was hoping to sing my heart out. At eight years old, I was finally given that opportunity. In our elementary school, traditionally only the fourth and fifth graders were given the opportunity to try out; however, because both of my siblings were already in a choir and I was excelling in my music class, my teacher at the time allowed me to try out. As one of the few selected third graders to sing in my elementary school choir, this was the opportunity of a lifetime and just the moment I had been waiting for all my young life. It was here where my love for music grew, and it kept growing as I also took up yet another instrument, the piano. The summer before I finally chose to ask my mom for piano lessons, I remember my sister playing the piano as I danced around her while she played pieces by Chopin, Beethoven, and the likes. This moment was forever ingrained in my memory, and it became the reason why I wanted to fully delve myself into “the arts.”
Soon enough, I was enrolled in private piano lessons and continued singing until I was able to audition for South Miami Middle School and eventually thereafter, Coral Reef Senior High School. My choir directors at the time were outstanding and inspired me to work hard while I continued to hone in on my craft. I eventually stopped taking piano lessons and started taking voice lessons during my last two years of high school. While taking voice lessons with my voice teacher, I would continuously express my love for singing and how I couldn’t foresee myself doing anything else as a career. We would constantly talk about the different professions in music, and what options I may want to think about when planning auditions for music conservatories and universities.
In a nutshell, I was, and am, trained classically. My grade school teachers, and my private voice teacher at the time, collectively encouraged me to continue my path on the classical route by going to see the Florida Grand Opera’s production of Carmen. After seeing Carmen, I was so completely enamored that I immediately began imagining myself singing on that big stage. After this profound and inspiring moment, I realized that opera was an art form that is larger than life and I wanted in!
After high school, I went on to study Vocal Performance and graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Florida/New World School of the Arts College Division. Shortly thereafter, I set my sights on a graduate program and enrolled at Florida International University where I am currently a masters student, as well as an adjunct voice professor. I strongly believe that having a solid education, I can will continue to acquire the insight needed in order to propel my career to the next octave.
For young opera singers such as myself, it is imperative to couple a solid music education with hands-on opportunities, which will enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities that such schooling instills. I have, and continue to pursue, these performance opportunities which offer me the growth that I need as an artist. In doing so, I have sung in various young artist summer programs, such as the New York Opera Conservatory 2018 Summer Program for Developing Opera Singers, the 2017 Florida State University summer cultural exchange program in Havana, Cuba and the Opera Fusion Emerging Artists Project series of both 2016 and 2015. Each summer program I have been a part of has allowed me to gain further insight into the business of singing and enabled me to work one-on-one with renowned coaches. During my summer immersion artist programs, I’ve also been fortunate to partake in masterclasses with international artists, esteemed speakers and guest singers from the Metropolitan Opera, whom have helped me grow immensely as a young artist. These invaluable musical experiences grant me the ability to continue to refine my craft when learning roles and developing my characters.
From the 15-1700s, artists from all mediums were considered the crème-de-la-crème of their society and were typically treated as such. However, in a modern society with modern conveniences, the cynic and the eternal optimist in me are always at war when it comes to answering questions related to the artist’s condition. On one hand, I want to say that true classically trained artists are often overshadowed by the auto-tuned, commercially successful artists, undervalued by the masses, and often fall victim to the “starving artist” stereotype. On the other hand, though, what a time to be alive! Unlike the generations of musicians that came before us, we have the entire world available to us at our fingertips (i.e. Met Opera on Demand, Youtube, and Naxos Library) and the opportunities as an artist are quite literally endless. However, given the fact that this isn’t your traditional nine to five career, it requires hard work and creativity in order to succeed—I guess you can say that the challenge was part of the reason why I was drawn to this career in the first place. Fortunately for me, I live in a beautiful metropolis with a thriving art scene. From the Florida Grand Opera, to Art Basel, to the Miami International Book Fair, to Palm Beach Opera, to the Miami City Ballet, The New World Symphony Orchestra and more, Miami offers a wide range of art-related events that encourage artists to not only seek new opportunities, but also thrive. On another note, it is often the case that there are misconceptions that surround the beautiful art form that is opera. Opera still has a reputation of being old-fashioned, elitist, too lengthy, having boring plots that are over-the-top, and that one needs to be a classical expert to understand it. Part of the problem of these misguided opinions of the art form is that opera company budgets are stringent, and because of it, the opportunities for community outreach are not ideal. If finances weren’t an obstacle, I believe community outreach programs could help curb the misconceptions that surround the art form and help spark a newfound interest in the hearts of young listeners.
I have an artist website, www.erikavasallo.com, where you can see my upcoming performance schedule, recordings, photos, etc. Also, I have a Facebook artist page, @ErikaVasalloMezzo, where you can look at more of my musical adventures, both on and off stage.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.erikavasallo.com
- Email: ErikaDanielleVasallo@
gmail.com - Facebook: @ErikaVasalloMezzo
- Twitter: @Erika_Vasallo
Image Credit:
Juan Cabrera and Ramón Frontera.
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