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Bass-baritone Mark Glanville, opera singer and author of an honored memoir, “The Goldberg Variations,” has enjoyed a lifelong passion for Schubert lieder and affection for Yiddish songs. When he began introducing Yiddish and Hebrew songs successfully into his classical recitals, it was not long before memories of family members murdered at Auschwitz materialized.

So it was that he awoke at three one morning envisioning a cycle of songs with a Holocaust context. That revelation would soon evolve into “A Yiddish Winterreise: Elegy for a Vanished World.”

During his first meeting with pianist Alexander Knapp at London’s Westminster Synagogue to perform classical Jewish music for high festival days, Glanville discovered that Knapp was a scholar, arranger of Jewish music and an expert in the Yiddish language with its medieval, oriental flavor and intonation that differs from German. Thus began their partnership in developing the song cycle.

Glanville emphasizes that the Holocaust always figured significantly in his sense of who he is and where he is from. Schubert’s “Winterreise” is about a man wounded in love and reminiscing wistfully as he travels away from his beloved. Glanville’s hero has just witnessed the destruction of his world, Vilna, the great Jewish city liquidated by the Nazis in 1941 and the home of his father’s family.

It made sense that his hero would be a professional singer, someone he can identify with, so the cycle begins with a favorite song of his traditionally performed by a badchen (wedding singer). This is the last thing the protagonist sings before the ghetto is destroyed. When he arrives on stage, he is in trauma, so he uses songs to reminisce about the world he has lost and lift himself up.

The words and melodies Glanville chose to replicate the sad journey taken by the Schubert protagonist are traditional Yiddish art songs. Some of them are upbeat, but as the cycle progresses, the terrible things he has witnessed, including the murder of his children, are revealed. In the end, he becomes mad with grief and calls on his own father as if he is a child himself. The last song, sung in Aramaic, is a kaddish associated with funerals or memorials.

From my experience children love to sing – and when they do so they can often sing with a confidence and freedom that can fade as we grow older. It is very important to nurture these wonderful qualities from the start.

Singing lessons for children are designed to teach your child the skills needed to strengthen and control the voice, whilst remaining fun and enjoyable. The voice is still developing as we grow through our teenage years so finding suitable exercises is very important.

Lessons are combined with ‘song practice.’ This is where we finish the session with a song that is chosen by the student – we have many backing tracks available, from ‘High School Musical’ to ‘Lilly Allen!’

Finding time in our busy schedules whilst making sure that our children are well supervised can be difficult. In my experience lessons work more effectively when taught in the comfort of your own home. This allows your child to learn within a relaxed and familiar environment.

Music happens to be one of those rare things which each and every child enjoys. Though most 5 year olds, 6 year olds, 8 year olds, etc. are at an age where they are too young to understand music theories or music appreciation, nevertheless, nearly all of them enjoy the ‘sound’ of music. This is something which is very important, and it is often a very decisive factor in a child pursuing music or developing a serious interest in music at a later stage.

Singing happens to be one aspect of music that most kids are introduced to in the early stages of school. A friendly-looking music teacher, whose slightly plump, with rimmed glasses that rest at the tip of her nose, sitting at the piano, teaching “Popeye the Sailorman” to a bunch of young enthusiastic kiddos, is a very common sight, and one which instantly brings a smile on the face of any bystander. Well, the liking for music (not to mention, the increasing influence of reality shows) has led to quite a few children developing a serious interest in music, and in particular, singing. Well, for all you kids and young children who wish to sing well, here are some singing tips for kids.

Singing Tips for Kids