A Tribute from Penelope Bitzas

As singers we all have many people who have mentored and taught us and we owe so many of them for their nurture, wisdom and joy of music and singing. My private voice teacher and later my grad school voice teacher, Susan Clickner (where she rescued me from the lack of vocal development in my undergraduate study) passed away last evening. Yes, she had a big personality and a speaking voice you could hear ten miles away - but she was a dedicated teacher to so many. I always had a love of vocal repertoire as a high school singer and she took that and developed it into a lifelong love of vocal repertoire. My students now sometimes say they can’t tell what kind of music I like the most - that’s because of Susan. I continue to have a wide and varied musical palate and try to instill that in my students despite the age of everyone wanting to be an opera singer. Rest in peace Susan … Love always.