Joel Katz Opera Studio
Looking for a singing career? Music training for the serious opera student.
Joel Katz Opera Studio
Looking for a singing career? Music training for the serious opera student.
"Joel is a wonderful teacher! He helped me switch from baritone to tenor." Zack Rioux, tenor, Bayrische Staatsoper Studio, Munich
About Joel Katz Opera Studio
Education
Dr. Katz graduated with a PhD in Music from York University in 2019 and a Master's in Psychology for Musicians (Distinction) from the University of Sheffield in 2014. He holds an Opera Diploma and an Artist Diploma from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor's Degree from Bennington College. Joel is one of a handful of Canadian artists to have received a Canada Council Arts B Award, an Ontario Arts Council Chalmers Grant, and most recently, a three-year SSHRC fellowship to support his research into singers’ memory. He is a 2018 recipient of the Provost’s Dissertation Scholarship at York University. Joel was chairman of the voice department at the GGS from 2005-2009 and director of the Royal Conservatory School opera program from 2000-2010,
Professional Experience
Canadian bass Joel Katz teaches at the Glenn Gould and Peterson Schools of the Royal Conservatory of Music. At the Glenn Gould School, he is an instructor in applied voice, music history, vocal literature, vocal pedagogy, and opera. Joel has taught in Bayreuth, Germany; at La Monnaie in Brussels; and in Manchester, England, as well as maintaining a private studio in Toronto. Joel is a past winner of the ARD Competition (Munich), a semi-finalist in the Rio de Janeiro and Pavarotti Competitions, and a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions. He has sung in opera and oratorio across Canada, the U.S., and Germany.
Skills
In my studio, I help singers find exactly the right "fach" or repertoire for an opera-singing career. I have shown baritones how to switch to tenor and mezzo sopranos to spinto sopranos through meticulous attention to vocal technical matters. These include breathing (yes, there is a right way to breathe), support, relaxation of the jaw and throat, placement (singing as you speak), and passaggio.
Students
Joel's students have sung at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Bayerische Staastsoper, the Semper Oper Dresden, the Canadian Opera Company, and many other international opera houses. Among his recent students, tenor Zack Rioux is currently resident in the Opernstudio in Munich, and both baritone Alex Hayek and tenor Tonatiuh Abrego are singing with Voicebox Opera in Concert in Toronto.
"Joel got me a high D for my COC debut as Sara Riel in Somer's Louis Riel, and here I thought I was a mezzo." Joanna Diindiisikwe Simmons, Soprano
