Intellectual Property Law

Masterclass: Ben Heppner’s geek cred

By Wendy Seltzer

One of the great things about teaching at Northeastern is the proximity to Boston’s cultural scene. The Museum of Fine Arts is just across the from the Law School; Symphony Hall is just down the street; and conservatories are all around.

This afternoon I was tipped off to a masterclass with heldentenor Ben Heppner at New England Conservatory, so along with no more than 100 others, I got to hear him coaching four young singers and annotating with a bit of singing of his own. The students were superb, and yet Heppner was able to inspire each of them to sing better. I could hear the effect of the changes he suggested, and of course the thrill of getting personalized advice from a reigning master must have helped.

Amid lots of great signing, though, the best moment was discovering Heppner’s geek cred. When prompting a singer to keep the energy up through a sustained note, he suggested “think of renewing a lease,” as in DHCP lease, “for the techies out there.”

Now to see if I can scavenge a ticket to hear his Mahler Monday night…

Full post as published by Legal Tags on November 15, 2007 (boomark / email).