Today we’d like to introduce you to Will Upham.
Hi Will, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My hometown is Franklin, Indiana, a town just south of Indianapolis. At age nine, my family relocated from there to Bedford, a small town in Southern Indiana. I am extremely blessed to have a musical family who nurtured my love for music. However, my aspirations to be a vocalist were unique. My family sang, but they never pursued opera.
I was blessed to be a part of a K-12 school choral program that truly was a diamond in the rough. I wasn’t passionate about music for most of my childhood. It was all around me, but I took interest in sports instead. My mom was my middle school choir director. She had to force me to audition for high school choir. I reluctantly did it and joined the next fall. Regardless of my reluctance, I fell in love with choir. For four years, I poured my heart and soul into concert choir, jazz choir, musicals, and later show choir. I also took voice lessons from two wonderful graduate students from Indiana University. Regardless of my efforts, my high school choir experience was lacking. There was so much drama caused by my fellow choir members and even our director. I felt like my time was being wasted. I was desperate for a better place to make music. Initially, I didn’t want to pursue it at the collegiate level. I wanted to work toward a career in something that would use my academic skills. In other words, I wanted a normal career. However, my high school voice teacher at the time encouraged me to audition for collegiate vocal programs. The temptation was unavoidable and I followed his advice. I ended up accepting a full-ride scholarship to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.
DePauw was certainly a better place to refine my craft than my high school. A tiny university of a little more than two thousand students, it was a step up without being too intimidating. My undergraduate experience had many ups and downs. For the first two years, I was behind. Laziness had shown its nasty head, and I became frustrated. Thank God my voice teacher didn’t let it take hold. Finding my voice was a process of self-discovery that deepened my passion for music and gave me motivation to make significant vocal progress. I knew music was what I wanted to commit my life to. I owed it to myself to pick up the slack. With my voice teacher’s help, I ended up doing just that. My DePauw experience then became extremely rewarding. The school gave me opportunities that helped me discover my love for opera and deepened my passion for performing on stage. I was hooked.
The Covid-19 pandemic cut my time at DePauw short. I was forced to head home in March of my senior year, sparking a new loss of motivation that I think most of us experienced. This was only the first change of many. I found my next destination shortly after the outbreak. Southern Methodist University was one of the schools I auditioned for just prior to the pandemic. I was blessed to receive a full-ride scholarship to attend and pursue my Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance. It was once again time to move to a better place to refine my craft.
I moved to Dallas in August 2020 and started school at SMU that same month. This was the start of a mostly uneventful year. Due to Covid, singing was abnormal and mostly nonexistent. My voice studio mates and I were very disappointed, but our voice teacher took it upon himself to make the most of our time. Covid was an opportunity for me to get better, and I took it. After some time, I started to see results from my vocal improvement. I was selected to participate in a competitive opera young artist program during summer 2021, started a new local church job, was hired to teach voice lessons part-time, and was hired as an Education Artist at the Dallas Opera. I was seeing the fruits of my labor, but that didn’t mean my work was finished. In fact, it has only begun. This last school year tested my ability to be a career opera singer. I was forced to balance so many things, but in the end, I think it made me a better singer, performer, and person. I graduated from SMU with my Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance in May and just moved back to Indiana. Dallas has treated me well, but I feel called to be home with my loved ones. While there, I will be pursuing my Performer Diploma in Voice and working as an Adjunct Voice Instructor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington. Dallas might not be my home base anymore, but it will certainly be a part of my future.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. When I was a child, my family went through some significant struggles that are still affecting me today. As I got into high school and started to take music seriously, I started to experience personal struggles with belonging. Music is very competitive, especially among vocalists. Unfortunately, there were a few cases where those who posed as my friends would often stab me in the back. When all the people you hang out with are musicians, it’s hard to find true friendship. My undergraduate experience at DePauw University was not only grueling and frustrating but also cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic. That speaks for itself. Moving to Dallas, being a student at SMU, and working as a musician and teacher has probably been the smoothest part of my road. However, I wonder if a smooth road is a good road. After all, the bumps have taught me a lot.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
There are many titles for what I do, but I prefer singing actor. I would say that I’m mostly known for my operatic singing, but I feel that I’ve made an impact in the musical theatre and sacred music worlds as well. I’ve also found success as a voice teacher. I pride myself in my ability to survive in an array of musical situations. I wouldn’t be the best heavy metal singer, but I can survive in anything related to healthy singing. I feel what sets me apart from others is my work ethic. I want to have a career in music so badly that I will work as hard as I possibly can to achieve it. I also feel that my field needs more positive people to create a more positive work environment. That sentiment motivates me to bring good energy to every job I do.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is unique to everyone. To me, it’s doing what you love and getting paid for it. Beyond that, it’s finding a healthy balance between all aspects of life. My balance is finding time to improve my singing, perform, and teach while also maintaining healthy relationships with God, myself, my girlfriend, and my family.
Many people have asked me if I need to become a famous singer to consider myself a success. I don’t think this is true at all. I’d rather focus on success as starting a family, spreading love, and teaching aspiring singers what I’ve learned.
Pricing:
- $60.00 per hour voice lesson fee
- Prices vary for performances based on location, rehearsals, travel, and performance length.
- Performance inquiries accepted via email at wilsonupham@gmail.com.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: w_upham
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/will.upham.9/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWIPUvxKzRRtEVLqETxq5cg
Image Credits
Rachel Querreveld
Adam Cantor
Craig Wallace
Elizabeth Cohen
Tivoli Treloar
Alexander Harrelson
Sam Keeler
Raúl Canosa
Amanda Hopson
Anna Zuckerman-Vdovenko
The College Light Opera Company
DePauw University
Robert Breault
La Musica Lirica
The Dallas Opera
Karen Fugate
DeVera Edwards Bowles
