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Ready to fly

David Ripley and Kathleen O'Boyle '07

KATHLEEN O'BOYLE ARRIVES at her voice lesson knowing exactly what she wants to work on-a piece from the opera "Romeo et Juliette," specifically the timing in one part.

"Anything in three-four time is all about push and pull, give and take," Professor David Ripley tells her. He helps her with what he calls a "subtle hemiola"-how the notes are best grouped in a particular phrase-and soon he is asking her to "give more attention to grace notes; they have to do with the playful character of the piece ... Make sure the short notes speak. I want you to put makeup on them."

She listens intently, makes notations on her music and sings the same stanzas over and over, always with a full, round, soaring soprano voice. They've been working on this piece since last summer. She could easily be working on it for the next few years.

"It's like a fine piece of wood," says Ripley, whose enthusiasm for similes is well known. "You sand it and then get a finer grit and sand it again, and an even finer grit and sand again, and again. Then there's the varnish and polish and then, finally, every week, the polishing of the polish."

O'Boyle started singing on stage in first grade when she earned the lead role in "Alice in Wonderland" and was so nervous she tried to trade roles with the Cheshire Cat. She sang her way through Goffstown (N.H.) High School, including the national anthem at sporting events. She played piano, trombone, flute and French horn. But she never had voice lessons until she arrived at UNH. "I really didn't have a good grasp on what classical music was all about. I didn't know what it meant to concentrate my voice, and I probably had bad intonation, along with a definite lack of confidence."

Ripley helped her to slowly release her tension, calm her nerves and understand her voice. "David is just such a caring, kind, genuine person," says O'Boyle. "He has never pushed me, just guided me. He's like a second father."

Last winter she studied in Vienna, immersed in a city where cobblestone streets still echo with the footsteps of Beethoven, where opera is everywhere. She returned home with increased confidence in her voice and a deep desire to change her major from music education to performance. It was not an easy decision. She went to talk to Ripley. "I didn't tell her what to do," he says, "but the choice had already been made; she just had to have the courage to act on it."

O'Boyle chose to follow her heart. "She's confirmed her persona as a singer; she has her feathers and is getting ready to fly," says Ripley. But flight will entail many more years of study and strategically selected performances in an extremely competitive field. Her voice won't even reach its full maturity physically for another 10 years.

The lesson is over. O'Boyle gathers up her music. The next student waits in the hall. Ripley can't help but add parting advice: "Just relax. You're getting it. Use a metronome; borrow mine. It's OK to take time in this piece. You just need to have a sound musical reason, and convey clearly what it is."

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