Daveed Buzaglo '19
MM Vocal Performance, Tenor

Why Stony Brook?
In 2014 I went to a summer training program in San Diego called “Opera NEO,” and studied voice with Braeden and Brenda Harris. Their teaching was so unique and the results so amazing that when it came time for graduate school, I had to study with Brenda at Stony Brook! She has been the most supportive, kind, knowledgeable, and effective teacher imaginable!

On the College of Arts and Sciences:
The College provides great resources and context for music students. In many conservatories it can feel very insular being around only musicians day after day, but CAS is wonderful because we are surrounded by all different kinds of students.

On his major:
I started singing as a boy soprano in the Philadelphia Boys Choir when I was seven years old. While I was with the choir, we went on world tours and sang at many of the world’s most formative venues. The choir really bestowed a lifelong passion for being a high level musician.

On his mentors:
Brenda Harris is my private voice teacher and is without a doubt my most important mentor, not only at Stony Brook, but in my career. First of all, the mastery of her own voice and her craft is second to none in the opera world, so I have a great role model to look up to. But most importantly, she is extremely gifted in sharing that knowledge in a practical way with all of her students. My favorite thing about Brenda is that during lessons, she will never give up on a phrase. We will experiment until we get it right, and through that process, you learn how to teach yourself. Outside of the classroom, she is so accessible: she always is interested in who you are as a person, what you’re interested in, and shares so much of herself with all of her students. Studying with Brenda has been the highlight of my nearly 20 years of singing.

On his favorite class:
I loved my history seminar with Steven Smith. We discussed Romanticism and Modernism in music. What I loved most was that the students were expected to lead the class. Professor Smith was there to moderate and direct conversation, but the class was focused on our ideas, and developing our sense of the concepts.

On his greatest achievement:
I think my greatest achievement was transitioning my voice type from Baritone to Tenor. Without getting into all the details, there was a point in my singing life when my voice was getting higher and it was time for me to start singing Tenor repertoire. With the amazing guidance of Brenda and Braeden Harris I was able to make a very difficult but full transition to a different voice type. A lot of singers who venture into this become confused and lose their sense of technique, but luckily the Harris’s were able to guide me through the transition each step of the way.

Goals?
After graduation, my goal is to take as many auditions as possible! While at school I wanted to focus on the tasks I had in front of me as opposed to spending my time defining my future endeavors. The tools I have amassed at Stony Brook put me in a great position to not only have successful auditions, but to be prepared for the full gigs as well!