By Mark Taylor

Growing up in a musical family, young Tamara Mumford would often sing in her ‘opera voice’ as a joke, but her family soon realized she had some serious talent. By her teen years she was studying voice formally, today, she is a celebrated singer called “revelatory” by the New York Times. 

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, mezzo-soprano Mumford made her debut there as Laura in Luisa Miller in 2006, and has since appeared in more than 140 performances with the company. Mumford is also represented by Opus 3 Artists, the leading management company acquired by SFCM in 2020. 

As part of SFCM’s ongoing collaborations with artists on the roster of Opus 3, Mumford was in San Francisco in September performing with the SFCM Orchestra for its first concert of the year. 

In addition to that performance, she gave a masterclass to students inside the Barbro Osher Recital Hall in the Bowes Center. 

During that class she gave tips and advice to musicians and worked with voice students like graduate student Laura Fernandez, who called it an incredible experience. “Every suggestion was followed by a kind word from her, which shows a lot about her as an artist and as a person,” Fernandez said. Fernandez cited two big takeaways from Mumford’s class, saying, “You can accomplish so much when you approach circumstances with kindness and openness, and from a technical view, singing through the entire line, letting the voice ring through the end of the phrase allows you to share every inch of the character and of the music with the audience.”

For voice student Sydnee Johnson, working with Mumford helped her re-examine her breathing technique, “Tamara’s advice basically helped me look at the certain technique I have been currently been working on with my voice teacher, Cathy Cook, of a free open throat breath that coupled with allowing no tension and is flexible,” Johnson continued, “This advice not only reinforced what I’ve been working on but helped me navigate this new technique in a performance aspect.”

In addition to the performance and masterclass, Mumford spoke with the SFCM Newsroom to share tips, and what she is most excited for in the future of music.

Tell us about your introduction to music.

I grew up in a large musical family. My dad studied opera at Utah State University and my mom was always a music lover with a nice alto voice herself. While my dad didn’t pursue music performance professionally, he was an exceptional talent. My sisters and I would sing together in four part harmonies for church and community events from when I was really small. We all played string instruments in school. I was a violist. We spent many summers doing community musicals together as a family: Fiddler on the Roof, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Annie, etc. I have the best memories of that time together. I would sometimes sing in my “opera voice” as a joke when I was young, but it was clear I had a talent for it so we looked for a classically-trained voice teacher when I started my formal training at 16. I fell in love with classical music and knew I had to continue in college. 

What are you currently listening to? 

Mostly podcasts: “The Daily,” “This American Life,” “Hidden Brain.”  

How do you prepare on the day of a performance?  

Getting enough sleep is really important for me to feel vocally healthy and mentally sharp. So that’s the biggest thing I try to make sure is happening leading up to performances. I like to lift weights and on a performance day, I’ll try to spend extra time post-workout just stretching and breathing and feeling present in my body, letting my mind be still or reflecting with gratitude. I always look through my music the day of a performance. Even something that I’ve sung a hundred times. I flip through my music and look at every phrase, reviewing the things I’ve rehearsed.

What is your biggest piece of advice for young musicians today? 

It’s important to be teachable but it’s also important to have a strong sense of your own talent and artistry. It’s okay to trust your own musical instincts. Also: read about finances for the self-employed! 

Any funny performance stories you can share? 

Let’s see… I was singing Ottavia in L’Incoronazione di Poppea at Glyndebourne Opera in the UK years ago and we did a performance at the famous BBC Proms in London. It was an important debut for me. In one scene my character is coming in from outside to command my servant to murder my enemy. It is an intense scene and I was costumed in a sleek black business suit and overcoat, heels, gloves and hat. The scene was going well and then I looked down and realized I had forgotten to change into my costume shoes and was instead wearing the fluffy blue slippers provided for artists to wear around the backstage area. I got through the scene, but the fluffy blue slippers were surely a distraction and definitely not the look the director had in mind for this pivotal scene in the opera. Haha!

What would you tell your younger self? 

Buy some Amazon and Tesla stock.

Also, there are many ways to have a career in this business and you need to find the way that works for you. For some that means doing a lot of work in opera houses abroad or taking fest contracts [fest opera singing, from the German word “festvertrag,” refers to salaried contracts for opera singers] or doing more chamber music and concert work or spending more time teaching in addition to performing. There’s no magic formula. Just keep working on growing as a singer and an artist and do the projects that feel right to you. 

What are you most excited for in the future of classical music? 

I’m excited for the mix of tradition and innovation that companies are embracing to move classical music to new generations. I came to San Francisco directly from a production of act three of Wagner’s Die Walküre in which Director Yuval Sharon used green screen technology to blend onstage action with real-time [computer graphics] and animation. It was an exciting way to capture Wagner’s other-worldly vision that spoke to long-time opera fans as well as newcomers. I’m also happy anytime I see opera companies and orchestras engaging their communities through education.  I’ve sung many dress rehearsals to an invited audience of school-aged kids from the community.  They are the future classical music fans and stars and they’ve given the biggest ovations of all.

Learn more about studying voice at SFCM.