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Jenna Ziccardi is a private voice teacher and vocal coach at Moon High School’s drama department. I interviewed her on January 18th and we discussed different topics of her career. Here are a few highlights from our conversation.
Avonews: Ok, so we’ll start with- what college or colleges did you go to?
Jenna: Ok, I went to the University of Tennessee – Knoxville for my undergrad, and then I went to West Virginia University for my grad school, both in vocal performance.
Avonews: Yes, and what degrees did you get at each school?
J: Yeah, Bachelor’s of Music in Voice and then Master’s of Music in Voice.
Avonews: Ok. And then, why did you choose vocal performance?
J: Oh geez, I think I just always loved to sing, so for my undergrad I really didn’t have anything else that I wanted to go to school for. Well, I take that back. I thought about going for Missions at one point in my life in high school, but I really always just loved singing opera, and so I think — I had a couple opportunities when I was younger to be in the Knoxville Opera shows as a kid, and so that was — those experiences, I think, really contributed to why I wanted to go into opera because I loved being on stage and I loved — you know, I was in the children’s chorus but I also got to be one of the spirits in The Magic Flute and that was kind of a big deal for a middle schooler to be able to have a small part — an actual part in a big show with a company like that, so I think it just — yeah, it just helped with the spark that was already kind of in me from when I was little. So, that’s — yeah, that’s mainly why I went, I guess, into voice.
Avonews: Do you remember what originally sparked your love for singing?
J: I do not. All I know is that I always — I was always singing. Like, I annoyed my siblings in the car when I was, like — my mom tells me a story of when I was two years old — my mom or my grandma — we were going somewhere and my siblings were like, Jenna, stop singing! And so, I just always sang, I guess. Like, I, yeah — I really don’t remember any one reason. I think I just kind of like came out of the womb liking it, I guess.
Avonews: And then your goal going into college was to be an opera singer, right?
J: Yes. Yeah.
Avonews: And then did that change throughout your, like, college education?
J: Yes, it did. I actually — this might be a long story, Harmony. I hope that’s ok.
Avonews: That’s ok!
J: So, my junior year, I think it was — or maybe junior going into senior year. Can’t remember, but I had — I think it was junior going into senior year. I was dating a guy, and he broke up with me, and I had already been, like, writing songs. I would accompany myself on, like, guitar and piano and, like, I really enjoyed doing that and so I started writing songs again a lot more after he broke up with me, and it was right before I was going back to school after the summer, and I was talking to one of my other guy friends and he was, like, well, why don’t you play me one of your songs just to, like, see how it is, And he told me later — he was, like, yeah, I didn’t think it was gonna be very good at all. I was just being nice. But he actually really liked what I wrote, and so he was, like, “Oh, Jenna, this is really good. Like, we should — we should, like, I don’t know, try to put some other instruments to this and –”
And then a stinkbug was flying in my room.
Avonews: Ah! Sorry.
J: Are you ok?
Avonews: There’s a stink bug in my room!
J: Oh, no!
Avonews: Nooooo! Oh, my God! What the heck?
J: Are you ok?
Avonews: Yeah
J: Do you need to get it?
Avonews: Um, wait.
J: Go ahead.
Avonews: Gotta go get it. I’ll be right back.
J: You’re good.
(Long pause)
Avonews: It’s on my flower.
(Long pause)
Avonews: Die! Oh, my gosh. What the heck? Ah! Oh, my goodness. Ok.
Logan: It’s dead.
Avonews: Ok. It can stay there for now. Ok. We got it.
J: Yaayy! That’s funny.
Avonews: Anyway.
Back to the interview
J: Anyway…So, I — yeah, anyway, so we ended up meeting up with another one of our — one of his friends. I didn’t actually know him yet. His name’s David, and he played guitar and so we played him this song, and he was like, ”Oh, yeah, that’s really good. Like, maybe we could –.” And he also wrote music, too. So, we were — we all kind of got together and started this little band, the three of us, and then we pulled in another friend of ours named Gideon who’s, like, a master of all instruments. He played the cello, but he was, like, he played the bass. He played piano, He played, like, all — like, everything you wanted him to play, he could play. So, he would help arrange the songs. So, and then eventually we ended up adding our friend Cole who played the drums. And so, we started this band. It’s called Maplehurst. You can actually find it still, I think at Spotify or something. Maplehurst was the neighborhood that we — one of the — a couple of the guys lived in, so we just named it after this little neighborhood. It was a super cute area, so I think that’s why. It just kind of inspired us and — yeah, so we — we started this band, so I thought, well, maybe I’ll just go do this. I did end up, you know, actually going to some auditions for grad school at senior year, but then I — I got into WVU and I deferred it. I was planning on going there, and I deferred going and I didn’t fully know why because I was, like, well, I kind of wanted to see what happened with the band. And then I ended up meeting this other guy named Gavin and he — we started out as friends and then we started to date. And so, we — we kind of — I was kind of a part of the band and dating him and then that following August that we had been together, he actually ended up getting in an accident and passing away. And so, that really affected, you know, what I was then going to do because we actually had a big show that we were supposed to do with the band, and we ended up canceling. It was for this — we were gonna play music at this big, like — big, like, college church event thing that we were doing. It was in the — what’s the theater called? The big amphitheater in Knoxville, and there were, like, lots of colleges were gonna be there and it was just kind of a thing they were wanting to do to, like, bring us — I ended up — you know, we obviously ended up canceling that because we were supposed to play, I think, that following — that week that he — that he passed away. And we — yeah, we just — we never got back together. It was hard for me. I — it was — we were at the point where we were actually gonna get engaged and it was — so, it was — so, it was more than just — he had become more than just my boyfriend at the time, which is still difficult no matter what type of relationship you’re in with somebody. It could just be your friend and — but, so I ended up taking that year to just grieve and get through, and I thought, you know, what am I — what am I gonna do now? I didn’t want to — I didn’t really want to go back to the band, and I was, like, well, the only — literally, the only thing that I knew how to do was sing. And I was, like, well, I guess I’ll go to school and I’ll go back and get my master’s degree and I’ll go to WVU, and so that’s what I did the following year. So, I took two years off between undergrad and master’s, and went back, met some really great people at WVU. It was the place I needed to be because it was — it wasn’t like I was in a conservatory where I felt super pressured to, like, you know, these high stakes. I think that was — that would be a great place for me now or, like, four years after everything happened, but it was definitely, like, the place that I needed to be. I was able to kind of heal and grow and then obviously I met Mr. Z — Ronnie — there and, you know — and I don’t even know if I’m answering your question anymore, Harmony. Whatever the question was, that’s basically the answer. Yeah. Oh, yeah, because you asked if I was gonna continue — or what was the question?
Avonews: It was, did your goals change throughout college.
J: Yes, ok. Yeah. So, I guess, yeah, that’s a roundabout way of saying they did, and then they kind of wrapped themselves back around.
Avonews: Do you have any favorite shows or roles that you’ve done?
J: That I have done. What would be my favorite? Usually I — you know, usually — usually, I try to fall in love with the role that I’m working on, like, next. Like, that’s generally — and I usually do unless I really, really don’t like it. But some of my favorites have been the one I most recently did. I was Jenny in The Doctor and the Devils. It’s a newer opera. That one was really cool. And then one that would be more well known but not — well, yeah, two of them — both operettas, I guess. Pirates of Penzance, I was Mabel in that and then I played, in Ruddigore — I was — what was her name? Now I can’t even remember her name. That’s great. I was the lead in that. I can’t remember her name to save my life right now. Those would probably be some of my favorites that I’ve done. I like newer operas, though. I’ve been in — I’ve gotten to do a lot of newer operas, and those have been — those have been some of my favorites. Yeah. I don’t know, Does that answer the question? It’s not really —
Avonews: Yes.
J: Rose Maybud. That was her name. I could not remember it for the life of me. But yeah, that was definitely one of my favorites now that I think about it. Yeah.
Avonews: And then do you also have a role or a show that, like, really stuck with you or, like, taught you something about music or life or-?
J: That I — that I did or maybe, like, from one that I did or maybe from an aria that I worked on?
Avonews: That’s fine, too. Either one.
J: Is that fine? Okay.
Avonews: Yeah.
J: Yeah, I worked on Ophelia’s Mad Scene aria which — I worked on that after Gavin died, and so that was, like — that aria was a healing aria for me in a way. I still love it today, and it’s easier for me to sing today now just because of — it’s really sat in my voice. But that — that song really, I guess — is this answering your question?
Avonews: Yeah.
J: Okay, okay. So, that — that song really helped me. And then another one is actually a musical theatre song. It’s “I’ll Be Here”. I don’t know. Do you know that one? It goes, (singing) “I’ll be here.”
Avonews: I think I’ve heard of that one.
J: That — that — that one also — you’ll have to go listen to that one. That one was also a really healing aria, and funny enough, the — the character that she’s talking about — she’s talking about losing her husband. He — I think it — I think it has to do with 9/11, actually, and he had gone into one — to the tower and they were supposed — he was supposed to be off that day and something happened or he was getting off early that day. They were gonna go do something, and he ends up dying. But he ends up also — like, towards the end of the song — she kind of takes you through, like, how they met and then them getting married and then him — him — you know, what happened kind of when she got the call and then — it also then talks about how she is talking to his man who’s wanting her to be his — be her — wait, sorry, she’s talking to this person who wants — he’s proposing to her, and it’s basically, like, kind of saying that him — him kind of going, like, yes, yes, I want you to be with this man. Like, you know — so, it’s kind of like this sweet little — this — I don’t know. It was really healing. It was a really hard song for me to get through. And funny enough the — the guy’s name in the song is John, and that was actually Gavin’s first name, which is even more of a, like — sorry, I’m probably gonna tear up a little bit.
Avonews: Yeah.
J: Just — the — the guy she’s — the guy she is now going to be with — his name’s not Ronnie, but that would’ve been, like, completely, you know —
Avonews: Haha yeah.
J: Wild and crazy, but it was still — that song in particular is really special to me and has really helped me heal. I haven’t sung it for a very long time. I’ve wanted to pull it out recently, but yeah — so those would be the top two, I think, of — yeah, music that’s really helped me along my journey, so.
Avonews: What is your training? Like, what did you do, like, going into college to prepare for that?
J: Before I went into college?
Avonews: Yeah.
J: Ok. I started taking lessons when I was 11 with a teacher — she was — she was actually my — she was the director of the Knoxville Children’s Choir at the time. She kind of pulled my mom aside and was, like, “Hey, she probably needs to be put into lessons.” Basically, I was starting to try to sing like an adult, and I was 11 years old and I needed to sound like a child. So, she had already noticed something that, like, you know, the potential that I had, and so I started training with her when I was 11. She kind of listened and had me go to an ear, nose, throat doctor and they found I had nodes. I had nodules. So, I didn’t talk for, like, six weeks when I was 12, I think, to try to let those nodules heal and go away.
Avonews: Mm-hmm.
J: Those calluses. That’s a better way of putting it, I think. People hear — vocalists hear nodules, and they’re like, oh, my goodness. Ohhhh. But they can heal. They’re calluses. It’s not great to have them, but they do go away. So, I — I — after that, I continued to train with her and worked with her all the way up until my senior year and yeah. And I would go to competitions, too. That was one of the things — I would be in the opera, the Knoxville Children’s Choir, and I would — I didn’t do Knoxville Children’s Choir all the way through high school. I did it a couple — I can’t remember. I think I only did it when I was in middle school. And then I — I did travel with my dad’s tour choir. He teaches at a college, and I was able to be a part of their choir in high school a little bit because I was home-schooled. So, I was able to travel with them. And then I took college classes, music theory classes, and ear training to kind of prepare for that. And that did help me kind of get a leg up in that stuff before I went. And then I would do the — the NATS competition — National Association of Teachers of Singing — competition. They have a high school division — or at the time they had a high school classical division for — separated in men and women and so I got to do that which was really good. Sometimes you would get good feedback. Sometimes you would get, like — somebody told me once that, like, I should wear hose when I sing. Yeah, it was like — it was like things that people don’t really say anymore now. It was, like, an old-school thought. “You should really wear hose when you sing.” It’s like, did you hear me sing? Like, was I — did you have a comment on my voice? I remember, like, when — I remember just being like, ok, and I’ve worn hose ever since then because I didn’t want anybody to be, like, “you should wear pantyhose.” But, yeah, all of those things were what I did in order to kind of, like, I guess train. I did take piano, too, a little bit but I was just still very bad at piano.
Avonews: And then finally, do you have advice for people who want to go into music — music school or just, like, going out?
J: Yeah. You, you know — you have to do the work. You can only — people who are talented, that’s great. You have a leg up, but that doesn’t mean anything. If you do not do the work, you will not get through. Like, you won’t, you know — you have to practice. You have to go to your classes. You have to try to apply yourself. You have to — you have to work harder than the next guy because we’re all replaceable and, so, you know, that’s, I think, just hard work — hard work can override talent. If you’re not hardworking and you’re talented, that’s great but you’re probably not gonna be able to ride on that talent forever. If you’re — you know, if you’re hardworking and you’re not as talented, then you really might actually surpass that person that is just talented and not hardworking. So, I’ve seen it happen before. And so, I — you know, I think that’s — that would probably be my main advice. You know, it’s hard out there. If you don’t make it, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad musician, though. That doesn’t mean that you are not worth something. And so, that’s the other piece that, you know, to that. You also might work really hard and you may never get that thing that you wanted, and that doesn’t mean anything either, you know. So, sometimes not being a musician is easier than being a musician. Like, you know, when it comes to getting gigs and stuff like that. Sometimes that’s just all in who you know at times. So, yeah. I don’t know. That’s kind of — this is, like a two-sided coin here, but.
Avonews: Yeah.
J: Um, yeah. That would be my advice. Hard work overrides talent.
Avonews: Great. Well, I think that’s all my questions.
J: Great. Awesome.
This was very interesting. I enjoyed reading about her career and her advice to students interested in persuing music.
I love this interview. The stinkbug interaction is so funny and I love how Jenna Ziccardi reacts to it.
I thought the stink bug part was so funny. Jenna was super interesting to read about and I enjoyed everything she said
This is a really in-depth article! I liked reading about how Jenna’s career got where it is and the challenges and successes she had along the way.