Born in Ireland in 1970, baritone Sam McElroy studied voice and acting at the celebrated
Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London under Rudolph Piernay and David Pollard. Sam combined his voice studies with an honours degree in modern languages (French, Italian, German and Russian) at
the University of London.
He made his professional debut as a soloist at the Paris Opera in 1996, and since then has sung as
a principal guest soloist in many of Europe's opera houses and throughout the world, winning international critical acclaim
in a wide range of roles from 18th century to contemporary opera. In 1999 he represented Ireland at
the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, receiving critical special mention for his singing of Schubert
and Benjamin Britten. (Please visit http://sammcelroy.com for a complete biography, repertoire list, photo
gallery and MP3 audio samples.)
Sam now combines his career as an opera singer with specialized voice coaching. He works closely
with singers interested in the classical repertoire, offering an intimate knowledge of the French, German, Italian and Russian
classical repertoire. On the coaching of singing he says the following:
''All singing stems from the ability to inhale correctly and then to control the rate of the outgoing breath
release. It forms the foundation upon which any voice MUST be built. But singing is not a mechanical exercise, and it must
never be taught separately from its artistc aims. Even the simplest vocal exercise should be an expression of music, in the
same way that the accomplished violinist can make great music from a single note by using his practiced mechanical skills
to serve his musical intention. The ancient Greeks gave us the word ''technique'', from teknikos. It
means ''of art'', and captures the essence of my belief that the VOICE and
the art of SINGING should never be treated as separate entities.''
In addition, Sam applies his advanced knowledge of ''natural vocal mechanics in a non-amplified setting''
to coach actors in the healthy use of the vocal system:
"As with singing, I coach the mechanics of the speaking voice, but without separating the VOICE from
the MESSAGE. That is to say, I coach an actor not only to phonate healthily but to do so in the artistic context of ''word
painting'', to borrow a classical singer's term. Every word has it's literal meaning, but with an intimate knowledge of vocal
resonance and close attention to the composite sounds within every word we utter, the actor can access a fuller palette of
emotional and communicative colors."
Sam
specializes in the many regional dialects of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and Wales, as well
as the dialects associated with the French, Italian, German and Russian languages.
Read what students are saying about
Sam McElroy.
