Pitten changed my life as a singer

When I first went to the Festival in 1994, I hadn't done any singing in a decade. In the course of those morning choral rehearsals, I sensed improvement in my singing as never before. I attribute it all to David Neiweem's manner of developing voices while working on repertoire. In all my years of choral singing, I have never seen a better choral director. Every rehearsal is infused with a commitment to expressive sound. I am amazed at what our Festival Choruses accomplished in so little rehearsal time.

I came back to the Festival as one of the artists in from 1998 to 2004. 1998 was a turning point in my life. I was so fired up about continuing to sing that I auditioned for the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. I've been with that group for ten years now, and each year has been filled with "the greatest musical experiences of my life." It all goes back to David, and those mornings in the Festival Chorus.

--Michael Bouman

Alumni Comments Invited

Were you this happy about your experience in Austria? We want to build an archive of short stories by Festival students and artists about how you learned, grew, made new friends at the Pitten Festival.

You can send a piece with photo attachment or simply add a comment to this blog.