Singer turned teacher: A voice that shapes future voices

Risa R. Harman, an adjunct assistant professor in private voice at Hofstra University, sits in her office in the Joseph G. Shapiro Family Hall. // Megan Naftali/ In Sheer Magazine.

Singers of classical music can perform in operas or sing at concerts, but their beautiful voices didn’t happen overnight. Many singers went through vigorous classical training, and even their teachers had to start somewhere.  

Risa R. Harman became an adjunct assistant professor in private voice at Hofstra University in 2017, but her musical journey began long before then.  

With her parents and four sisters, Harman grew up with musical roots in Virginia. Her dad was the minister of music at their church and her mom taught piano in their home. Together as a family, they would sing, with church music as a starting point.  

Harman performs as Jenny Lind in “Jenny Lind: The Swedish Nightingale.” // Photo courtesy of Roger Talman.

Harman sings live in concert at the Bay View Music Festival. // Photo courtesy of Adrian Boyer.

“My mom didn't really have the opportunity to be a professional singer, though she could have been. It just wasn't done that much in her day,” Harman said. “The fact that we were encouraged to be able to do these creative things as independent women is one of the joys I'm very grateful to my parents for encouraging when particularly my mother was not given that same kind of opportunity.” 

Harman, a soprano, has performed in operas such as “Jenny Lind: The Swedish Nightingale” and “La Traviata.”   Today, Harman is a voice teacher, but most importantly, a advocate for the arts who is determined to keep broadening the diversity of people able to enter the profession.  

Harman started singing at the Bay View Music Festival in Petoskey, Michigan, and shortly after, began working as a teacher for the first time at the conservatory attached to the festival.  

“I realized, in my working with these singers that were coming through, that there wasn't a lot of information about how to have a career in music, you know, the nuts and bolts like a resume or an audition package, what you might offer to sing for an audition, how to organize your money or taxes when you're a performer,” Harman said. “So I started creating these discussions as a moderator with information about how to share certain aspects of career development to classical musicians.” 

From that position, Harman grew to become the head of the vocal department of the conservatory in which she oversees the course offerings of the summer program and selects the students who will participate in the program. Additionally, Harman co-created new study programs for the conservatory including a 10-day intensive program where they invite students to work on American spirituals and learn about that type of music.  

“Because I am a singer, I had an opportunity to see what was needed,” Harman said. “So to be able to be an administrator and know what a singer is going through in order to try to go into their college life or into a professional life or whatever it might be, has been really helpful.” 

Harman is not only a singer, teacher and arts administrator, she is also an arts advocate. Harman finds herself in discussions about what music is and what is needed in music, especially when it comes to diversity and inclusion. 

“All the broader topics that we're talking about as a community, a global community, we’re also talking about in the arts field and figuring out how we can be more inclusive and broaden our ideas of what is acceptable on stage when it comes to the type of singers and colors of artists that we have,” Harman said. “It was pretty much a white elitist art form to start with and we're trying to make sure we're representing everybody who wants to sing.”  

Harman hasn’t performed in an opera since before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but she has been singing at concerts. The next concert where she will perform a new music ensemble is scheduled for the spring of 2023.  

The time until the concert “is good because it allows me to really focus, particularly on the fall semester when [I’m] teaching,” Harman said. “You're meeting new students, it's all encompassing and all devouring so it's nice to be able to really focus on this and once this kind of settles down a little bit then to be able to focus on some of the other projects.” 

Harman’s love of music has grown so strong that she went from singing herself to training future generations of singers.  

Emily Oberstein, a junior music education major at Hofstra University, appreciates Harman’s encouragement.  

“To a lot of us, voice is very personal. It’s literally a part of you. So to hear that encouragement from her, especially not only the weeks that are hard, but weeks that were just really good, it matters. It makes a difference,” Oberstein said. 

As much as Harman loves her occupation and musical experience, there were downsides.  

“I think most people who are not performers think it's a fairly glamorous lifestyle and career, and, yes, there are so many wonderful and interesting things about being a performer, ie., the travel, meeting new people, the music and creating interesting stories onstage,” Harman said. “It also can be fairly isolating as you have to be very conscious about your vocal health and many times you have to make choices about your opportunities versus spending time with family. It's something that I talk about with my students frequently.” 

Even though being a performer had its ups and downs, Harman wouldn’t change anything for the world.  

“Music is such a beautiful part of me, and sometimes I don't know where I stop and the music begins, or vice versa,” Harman said. “I love being able to share music. I think it's beautiful. It speaks to me. I feel my reason for why I'm here somehow involves music.”