How a faculty member’s positive influence jump-started Lauren Paul’s success
For Lauren Paul, UW-Green Bay was the first place where she discovered that her lifelong passion – music – offered a myriad of different career choices post-grad.
“The department that I worked with when I was an undergrad from 2014-2019 was really pivotal in allowing me to learn that there is a career in music, outside of just being a band or choir teacher,” she said.
Paul, who graduated from UW-Green Bay in 2019 with a degree in vocal performance, said she entered college with the intention of becoming a band director – a dream she and her late father shared.
While both Paul and her father shared an interest in opera, she said her dad was more interested in her continuing to play the clarinet.
“I was super into it, too,” she said. “(Again,) I thought I was going to be a band director. We were super gung-ho about it.”
Unfortunately, two months into Paul’s freshman year at UWGB, her father passed away.
“At that point in time, I started to realize I needed to start living my life for me,” she said. “But I also wanted to honor my dad.”
Paul continued to feel a draw toward opera, and said she felt vocal music was where she could “come alive” as a performer, while also continuing to honor her father.
And, as if the stars aligned for Paul, she said she was approached by Dr. Courtney Sherman about vocal performance.
“Dr. Sherman actually heard me in her ear training class and said, ‘do you want to come take voice lessons?’” she said.
It was in that moment Paul said she realized, “yeah, I actually do (want to).”
By the end of her sophomore year, Paul said she knew she wanted to earn her degree in vocal performance.
“With (Dr. Sherman) encouraging me and fostering me to learn more about voice – specifically in an environment where vocal science was at the forefront of her teaching methods – it really helped me to learn how to use my instrument in a healthy way,” she said, “which is already helping my career immensely.”
Grad school and beyond
After graduating from UW-Green Bay, Paul went on to earn her master’s degree in music from the University of South Dakota, which she received in 2023.
This year, Paul received recognition as one of the 30 Under 30 at the university.
“I was really flattered and honored when they invited me to join the class for this year,” she said. “In this industry, 30 is kind of one of those markers for, ‘are you going to make it or are you not going to make it?’ I’m accomplishing really good things in the opera field, and it’s nice to see that recognition from other areas that aren’t just the industry itself.”
And accomplishing great things in the world of opera, she is.
Since graduating with her master’s, Paul went on to spend two months as a Gerdine Young Artist with the Opera Theater of St. Louis, where she was responsible for learning two roles for shows to cover at the theater’s annual summer festival. She also performed in Lo Bohème with the theater.
The process to become a Young Artist, she said, can be quite intense.
“These (Young Artist) programs are super competitive,” she said. “There’s a website you join called yaptracker.com… Every day, they send you notifications of who’s audition, what they’re auditioning for, age limits, etc.”
Once someone such as Paul has submitted the necessary information and vocal resume, she said the programs then go on “audition tours.”
In the instance someone is selected, Paul said it’s most likely they will need to travel to places such as New York, Houston, and San Francisco to do their audition.
“You go in, you sing an audition for a panel of people who are usually artistic administrators for these programs,” she said. “They listen to about 300 singers or so in person, and then they pick about 10% of those singers to come in and do the program.”
While Paul said it’s extremely difficult to get into one of these programs, “when you do – it’s big”
“It opens the door,” she said. “I learned so much in my time at Opera Theater of St. Louis… I know a lot more about how this industry works… It’s a program that takes you from the academic mindset into more of the professional mindset.”
What does the future hold?
With her 30 Under 30 designation and her time at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis under her belt, Paul said she is just getting started.
“I’m currently preparing to go down and sing a couple of roles with Sarasota Opera as a studio artist starting in January,” she said. “I will also be making my debut with Opera Omaha in June of 2025 as Rita the rat in Fantastic Mr. Fox.”
As Paul grows in her career, she said she wants to continue to “champion the field of opera” as a singer from the Midwest.
“I find within the industry, there’s this notion of, ‘you need to go to this big school, you need to know these people… and you have to be in New York or Los Angeles in order to do things,’” she said. “But there’s talent here in the Midwest, and I want to champion the Midwest artists. I want all of us to blossom, grow, and to show that there’s an artistic community out here. We’re just as worth of recognition as everybody on the coasts.”
To learn more about Paul, visit laurenpaulmezzo.net/.