BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
This month, four young singers will join the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs to present Vaughan Williams’ Five Tudor Portraits. We touch base with each soloist ahead of the gig to learn about their passions.
Originally from Belgium, baritone Jarvis Dams has lived in New Zealand for 16 years and now resides in Hamilton. He holds a Master of Music with First Class Honours from The University of Waikato. He completed a vocal apprenticeship program at Astoria Music Festival in Oregon and was a recipient of the University of Waikato Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship.
The 25-year-old placed third in the 2015 New Zealand Aria competition and in 2016 he was selected as both a semifinalist in the Lexus song quest and as a finalist in the IFAC Australian Singing Competition in Sydney.
Why I am passionate about choral singing
There is such an incredible sense of community that you get from being in a choir. One of the most exhilarating moments one can have as a musician is to share a work that is often weeks, if not months, of collaboration with the world. For this reason, I am very excited at the opportunity to share the stage with the Sydney Philarmonia Choirs for their Tudor Portraits concert.
How I prepare to perform a solo part
This question is somewhat tricky to answer, as every work is so unique in so many weird and wonderful ways. In general, I like to approach every work, whether I already know it or not, with a fresh perspective. Music can have so many layers of meaning and as a performer one has to understand what they are singing about so they can realistically present this to the audience. I find that when I repeat the whole learning process several times, you find more layers to the meaning that the composer was trying to convey to his or her audience.
How I would like to see the Australian arts industry supporting young singers
It’s always amazing to see an arts industry get behind young singers and providing them with more work.
Advice I have for other young and emerging singers
Work hard and love every minute of it!
