Andrew Lovato didn’t expect to be a classical vocalist. He first picked up cello in fourth grade and got a little more serious about it in high school “because it was fun,” he said.During high school he was involved with his school choir, but, said Lovato, “I had no career aspirations to be a singer, and I certainly practiced cello much more than singing.”
After abandoning cello his freshman year of college, the 21-year-old Waukesha tenor now finds himself in his senior year as a vocal performance major.
With a hefty list of accomplishments, including first place at the Nation Association of Teachers of Singing competition, he hopes to sing opera.
“I have no idea where, no idea when, but somehow!” he said.
In addition to practicing, Lovato has found listening essential to his growth as an artist. “Sometimes it boils down to imitation, and finding my own interpretation off of that,” he said.
He also encouraged a personal involvement with the material. “I find it most beneficial if you can find a way to relate to the text you are singing.”
His heroes include vocalists Jussi Bjrling, who has “the most beautiful voice,” as Lovato put it, and Franco Corelli, whose voice, Lovato said, sounds “virile, epic, and masculine.”
His artistic endeavors have taken an interesting twist as of late. Inspired by all the cello performances on campus, Andrew has resumed the cello and has become involved in LSO.
“I wasn’t done with the cello, and I saw this as my last opportunity to play in an orchestra. Playing in an orchestra is just the coolest thing.”
Lovato’s cello playing hasn’t been fruitless for his singing either: “The movement of the bow can influence the perception of legato,” he said.
Lovato will join the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra for a concert Friday, Oct. 19, and he is planning on singing at NATS again this year. He will sing in the opera second term, and be sure to catch his senior recital third term.