By Carleigh Kenny
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Towson University music student Troy Koger calls it “the Mount Everest of operas.” The song he’s referring to is “Ah! Mes amis” from Gaetano Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment,” known as one of the most difficult to sing because of its nine high Cs. And it’s the piece he’ll be tackling for his last student performance.
“Even just completing the first of the Cs is like trying to break through a cement wall,” Koger said. “If you don’t get through the first one, you sure aren’t getting through to the other eight.”
So you could say there’s just a little bit of pressure. But Koger is more than thankful for the people that set him up for success since he first discovered his love for opera.
“Working with Troy in and out of Towson has been such a pleasure,” said Ester Lee, Koger’s piano teacher. “I think we’ve always worked so well together we almost follow each other musically.”
They both attend the same church, where Lee serves as the pianist. You could say Koger and Lee have always made music together.
“Every music student that completes a final project, more often than not is a performance,” Lee said. “Troy has actually been preparing for this performance since his first semester here.”
Koger’s music teacher, Leah Inger, has listened to Koger’s voice develop since he was 18. Koger is now 22 and she says he is more than ready to tackle his performance of ”La Fille du Régiment.”
“Troy and I actually went about four semesters straight just simply warming up in his range of being a tenor. Before we worked on this particular aria, it was more about building the vocal stamina and making sure the muscle memory was there,” Inger said. “I have to make sure it isn’t just a fluke.”
Inger’s strategy is making sure students are relaxed. Their body language and especially their voice. Inger said that one of her worst fears is having a student lose their voice due to her teaching.
“Having Miss Inger watch over my voice and I for my entire college experience has been truly special,” Koger said. “Miss Inger slowly working me up to my true vocal stamina has definitely helped me in making sure the muscle memory was there.”
Koger’s adoration of the opera genre has been a longtime coming. He credits his love from being exposed to versatile singers like Lady Gaga and Beyoncé as early as 6 years old. Koger’s father is actually a jazz musician, so Troy credits his influence in a variety of musical performances in jazz and musical theater.
By the time he reached high school, he knew he wanted to sing professionally.
“I attended the Baltimore School for the Arts where students really studied their art specifically to groom them for a professional career,” Koger said. “I would say this is the place where I really took singing seriously as a career.”
This is where the Baltimore native discovered the enthusiasm he had for not just singing, but specifically opera. Koger says his favorite types of pieces to perform are arias. An aria is a solo piece accompanied by an orchestra associated with the opera genre.
“I would say opera is the pinnacle of a singer’s career if they are pursuing classical voice,” Lee said. “Pop stars wouldn’t be able to do all of this. A lot of people don’t think about that aspect of singing but the roots of that technique are very essential to any type of vocal production I perform alongside anyone with, really.”
In preparation for his live performance at Towson’s Performing Arts Center on May 12, Koger has been practicing the nine Cs of the aria diligently to make sure he goes out with a bang like he has always intended.
“I take it as gliding through my range,” Koger said. “You know I look back even just a semester ago and gliding was definitely not the word I’d use to describe my voice. Especially going up and down with my voice when I’m performing, it’s like my entire body gets a workout.”
Both of Koger’s teachers will be supporting him during the performance, Lee by accompanying him on the piano and Inger in the audience. As he prepares, Koger reminds himself to simply just breathe.
“Breathing is all I’ve been telling myself,” Koger said, “because all singing is rooted in breathing.”
Despite those nine high Cs, there is no silencing this opera singer.
“One of my old professors used to tell me, ‘opera is going to be your bread and butter,’ ” Koger said, “and I’ve taken that kind of literally ever since.”