Michael Silverman

Student

“My audition piece was ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.’ So I got into the Opera Workshop on the shoulders of Elton John.”

“This is my first semester,” says Michael Silverman, “and it’s been an incredible experience for me. I was playing in a band—writing my own songs—and we broke up. I’d always wanted to try opera,” he continues, “because I thought I had the voice for it. I met a member of the San Francisco Opera who had worked at SMC. She told me that the college would be a great place to start.”

Hat in hand, Michael showed up to audition. “Everybody was singing these incredibly complicated arias,” he remembers. “All I had was Elton John, because I didn’t know what else to do. But it really went great.” Michael became part of the Workshop and landed his first role in the SMC production of “The Magic Flute.”

“Now I’m planning to become a full-time classical music student,” says Michael. “You can use that kind of education in whatever else you do: rock, pop or country. Because once you know opera, you can do anything.”

SMC has been an open field for Michael to play in with his new musical passion. “Where else could you go and find the acceptance you get here?” he asks. “Sue Ann Pinner deserves a lot of credit for that. She has a gift for encouraging people.”

Michael plans to continue with the Workshop, performing soon in “La Boheme.” “Then I hope to go on with the company to Vienna next spring to study with some European teachers,” he says. “This has all been an incredible experience for me, as a performer. But there’s one thing I know for sure: if you think you’ve got talent, there is no better place to discover it than SMC.”

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