Darwin Prakash

‘I had absolutely no formal training in music or singing before December 2014. I landed in the UK on 12 December that year and since then I have been having regular lessons with Robert Alderson, starting with the basics of music theory and vocals. I had never worked in a music school-like environment before. I really wanted experience how it felt to be a music student with other fellow musicians and top-grade teachers.’

‘I got to know about Glyndebourne Academy through my teacher Dr. Robert Alderson, who insisted that I should give it go. Later, when I researched it on the internet, I understood the whole structure of the course, the nature of the work and activities that we will be expected to do. I knew that getting into the Academy would definitely bring about some positive changes in my voice, my learning curve, my technical understanding and work ethic.’

‘The most important things that I took back with me are the invaluable experiences – new methods to go about learning repertoire, the importance of understanding a new language in all its details, the importance of physical well-being and overall fitness and realising how much of a direct impact it has on our singing, how to work in team and time management; pretty much everything important pertaining to singing. And last but not least, I made wonderful new friends as you get to know them as a person and as a musician, both participants and teachers, as you learn so much just observing them work.’