She used to sing during nap time. Now this Fort Worth ‘songbird’ is headed to Italy for opera
Madeline Ayala stands erect, head held high as clear, sweet notes flow from her throat. Even though it is only an impromptu performance outside Starbucks, she is focused and intense, at home with the music, as if it were part of her.
Ayala, a 14-year-old from Fort Worth, has sang in public since before she was in kindergarten. Now she’s headed to Vicenza, Italy, June 26 to study at the International Lyric Academy.
The International Lyric Academy is a summer training program for emerging classical musicians from all over the world. Applicants audition for a spot in the program, and alumni include opera singers Dominique Moralez and Mardi Byers.
Over the next three weeks she will take master classes, private voice lessons and perform in her first opera, “The Magic Flute” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Ayala admits she’s nervous about a few things, but overall she is looking forward to the experience.
“I’m really excited cause I’ll get to learn more things,” Ayala said. “You know, expand my horizons.”
Ayala’s voice coach, LK Fletcher, who is also an instructor for International Lyric Academy, encouraged her to try out for the program. Fletcher said Ayala is in for an intense experience.
“The students get immersed in three weeks in about as much rehearsal and content as most of them will get in graduate school,” Fletcher said.
Ayala’s mom, Elizabeth Ayala, said her daughter is not afraid of hard work.
“She has a strong work ethic,” Elizabeth Ayala said. “And when she finds something that she’s passionate about, she goes for it.”
The girl her mother calls “songbird” used to get in trouble at school for singing during nap time. Finally one Friday her teacher asked her to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” at a special event. The 4-year-old Ayala memorized the national anthem over the weekend and performed on Monday.
Next her grandfather’s friend asked her to sing at a basketball game. Ayala said opportunities kept coming her way.
She eventually added musical theater and dance to her repertoire. By second grade she was performing at Casa Mañana.
“Without having all those opportunities, even as a pre-K student, I don’t think I probably would be where I am and realize my love for musical theater,” Ayala said.
Ayala credits her parents for her success, but Elizabeth Ayala said her daughter does the work to make it happen. She practices hard and finds sponsors to help pay for classes.
Sometimes she auditions for a part but is turned down. When that happens, Elizabeth Ayala said her daughter gets feedback and tries to improve herself.
“You learn from struggles,” Elizabeth Ayala said. “You appreciate from struggle. You can’t always be on the high road every time and you have to learn how to be at the bottom and make your way up.”
Ayala doesn’t have much free time, but when she does she likes to walk or bike on the Trinity trail with her family. She also likes to read, but most of her activities center around her love for music.
Ayala attends Interlochen Arts Academy, a boarding school in Michigan that gives intensive training in the fine arts. Ayala has her sights set on Carnegie Mellon University for college and a musical theater career in New York.
Fletcher said the training program in Italy will put Ayala in a good position for a musical career, just like athletes have to go through the minors and attend camps and special programs so they can make it to the big leagues.
“[It’s] a big step up,” Fletcher said. “And because she’s so precocious and she’s just got such an enormous amount of work already accomplished and competitions she’s already won, she’s placing herself with the college kids to do what she’s doing.”
Ayala said she will “continue to train” when she returns home.
“There’s always so much more to learn,” Ayala said.
