Gijs Nijkamp, Bass
"I had the honour to study with James McCray and Prizrenka McCray.
With surprisingly simple but effective exercises, a superb vocal instinct, musicality and temperament they brought my singing
to a level I didn’t even dare to dream about. After already having finished the conservatory and somehow earning a living
singing in choirs I finally found what I was looking for all the time, the most important thing for a singer: the natural
colour of my VOICE, the quality in my VOICE to carry easily over the orchestra with the freedom to express every emotion with
my VOICE and to find this VOICE everyday in every piece.
Indeed: VOCE, VOCE, VOCE!
Although my development was surprising and impressive, in the McCray Studio I was just joining the others, since ‘Jim’
and ‘Ženya’ are producing miracles all the time.
The most important thing for a singer with a VOICE is: to find a job. Here Jim and Ženya know perfectly how to coach
singers, where so many others are a disgrace! They encouraged and coached me through many auditions, and shared their rich
experience and love with it until I found a job as a soloist in Halberstadt.
Now I share already four years my big successes with them as Rocco, Ferrando, Sarastro, Daland, Mephisto, Padre Guardiano
and many other roles with even better to come. I am happy to delight the audience, to receive a big applause or to read fantastic
reviews, but most of all I am happy with the most important thing: I feel always ‘at home’ with ...my VOICE."
