PEAKE: The Rest Of The Story

An abbreviated version of this story appeared in the Lansing State Journal on Monday, 3/22/10. Now, please enjoy the full story of Nathaniel Peake winning the coveted MET audition.

It's been less than two years that tenor Nathaniel Peake was singing on the stage at Fairchild Theater as a member of the Michigan State University Opera Theatre. He received his masters of music at MSU in May of 2008. Yet on March 14, Nathaniel was striding the most important opera stage in the world - the boards of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. It was his final audition for the MET's 2010 National Council Grand Finals.

28-year-old Peake from Humble Texas said, "I walked on the stage and the chandeliers looked like stars. It was a full house that day and when I looked out at the hall, I imagined that this is how a place in heaven would look."

Peake's MSU vocal teacher Richard Fracker said, "When I saw who got into the finals, I thought that he had a really great chance. I knew his musicianship was going to shine. You've got ten minutes to make your case."

The young tenor had tried the MET auditions before, but never made it beyond the district level. In this year, nearly 1500 singers participated in 45 districts and 15 regionals throughout the US and Canada. This highly competitive audition process was featured in the acclaimed documentary "The Audition" that was shown on PBS and is now on DVD.

Instead of being ravaged by nerves for his final audition, Peake decided to enjoy the moment. "I knew I wouldn't get it, so I wasn't even thinking about the competition. I just decided to enjoy the moment; singing with the awesome MET orchestra in front of a house that included every opera decision maker in the world. The thrill could be addictive.

"I watched the athletes during the Olympics and thought that you can let the situation control you, or you can control the situation. Also I was aware of all the people, family and friends, who were supporting me. I just sang from my heart."

After he sang his arias, Peake was standing backstage listening to presenters, he thought, read off the names of the final nine participants. What was happening, however, was the reading of the winners of the ultimate prize. And his name was read.

"I seriously could not believe it and still can't.'

Melanie Helton, director of the MSU Opera Theatre can believe. "I first heard Nathaniel when he was 18 in Houston. And even then, he had a sound that was melting. Now, Nathaniel is one of the most musical singers I've ever known. And since he left MSU, he hasn't stopped working, which is quite an achievement for a young singer."

Upon graduation, Nathaniel was accepted at the San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program, is now with the Houston Grand Opera Studio and will join the Wolf Trap Opera this summer.

Fracker, himself a MET tenor who has been on that hallowed stage for 168 performances said, "This will change Nathaniel's life. He is ready. He's the right age, the right time and right experience."

MSU's Opera Theatre, under Helton's leadership, has been growing in reputation and quality over the years. Peake's prize will add another trophy. Helton says, "We're on a role. We were just ranked up with the best opera programs in the country - along with Indiana, Eastman, Julliard and the rest."

"It's a tremendous thing for the MSU program," agrees Fracker. "It doesn't get any bigger than this."

Melton remembers when Peake first came to MSU, he was not only dedicated to learn to be a great singer, but he also knew that he was very overweight and needed to shed some pounds to make it on stage. Melton says, "Nathaniel lost 160 pounds in the two years he was here. He signed up for Weight Watchers his first week. I told him that I thought he was a leading man whatever his body weight was."

Fracker spoke less about his weight and more about the singer. "You could tell right away that he had great potential - you could hear his sensitivity and vulnerability. But he had no confidence. He had no idea how good he was.

"But boy, when he began to understand, he really started to make sounds!"

Peake grew up in a small town hear Houston from a family that knew nothing about music. "My parents never went to concerts, but have supported me every inch of the way." He sang in school choirs since the 5th grade and also played French horn throughout junior and high school. "I didn't know what I wanted to major in - horn or voice."

Although Peake never heard an opera until he was 20, he is now in love with the art form. "I love the characters and the truth of it all and the history. And when these great characters are singing the most beautiful melodies every written, nothing can be better."

Although Peake was offered full scholarships to several other schools, he was happy that he chose MSU.

"It's an awesome school. It's so collegial between the faculty, and Professor Fracker is one of the greatest tenor teachers in the US. He was a therapist before he was a singer, so he has great insights into the mental aspect of singing. He helped me find focus. His words come back in my head before an audition.

"Also Melanie has a great understanding of the opera stage and giving instruction on how to act. And as a conductor, Rafael Jimenez is one of the best I've ever worked with anywhere."

What happens now? Peake received a $15,000 prize and is being asked to audition everywhere. "It's not like I ever thought this was going to happen. I'm still in shock."

Play - Don't Listen.

Last Saturday, twelve concert bands from across Michigan converged on Okemos High school to participate in the Red Cedar Festival of Community Bands. Carolyn Sherrill, conductor of the Meridian Community Band had the bright idea of a community band festival fifteen years ago, and she and her committee have been running it ever since.

It was an inspirational day, watching bands (50-90 musicians each) earnestly play their 40-minute concerts and dutifully leaving the stage to make way for the next group. The bands were made of octogenarians and teenagers and everything in between. Factory workers, homemakers, retirees, professors, stockbrokers, business owners, nurses, doctors - every profession you can imagine played their music with surprising accuracy and musicianship.

All these amateur musicians have in common is their love of music. Some have music degrees and some have no degrees, but they all do it for the love of playing their horns.

It's one of the only activities I can think of that combines such a variety of ages, professions, nationalities and abilities into one performing organization. In Lansing alone, there are four community bands.

Playing amateur music together used to be a very common practice. Back in the day, every house had a piano and there were reams of sheet music on the bookshelves. It was not uncommon to have people come over to play music together on a Saturday night. Now, with CDs TV, and professional concerts we have become too intimidated to perform in public.

But playing music is good for the soul, for the brain and for social interaction. In fact, new studies are being published that say that the old idea of having your baby listen to Mozart to expand their little brains cells is all bunk. The studies are now showing that the key to building strong bodies and strong brains is to play music, not listen to it. The concentration, memorization and physical focus of perfoming music develops intelligence and guards against memory loss for oldsters like me.

One of the most entertaining parts of the Red Cedar was the appearance of a nine-year old phenom cornet player. Geoffrey Gallante performs all over the country and played Bugler's Holiday with two 80+ year old trumpet players with the Meridian Band. It was wonderful. And age wasn't an issue.

So if you have an old clarinet or trombone or fiddle gathering dust in your attic, don't sell it, play it. You'll feel better and you may just keep your memory sharp.