Every year, World Voice Day seems to coincide with something that prevents me from celebrating it. Last year, it was during Holy Week. The year before, I was teaching all day at Howard Community College. And the year before that it was Easter Sunday. And this year, we have a pandemic. And all performances areContinue reading “World Voice Day in a Time of Silence”
Category Archives: General
Musicals I don’t like that everyone else does
There’s a thing going around Facebook where people are listing the things they don’t like that everyone else does. Some make sense to me – black licorice? EW. The Kardashians? EW EW. And some – well, I’ve lost all respect for some people. So I thought I’d make a list of the musicals I don’tContinue reading “Musicals I don’t like that everyone else does”
Online Lessons – Choices Abound!
In the last few weeks, as I’ve made the transition to online lessons, about 1/3 of my students have come along with me and scheduled lessons. They’ve either downloaded an accompaniment app or have a prerecorded track on their end. They’ve downloaded Zoom, made sure their audio set up is in place, and made appointmentsContinue reading “Online Lessons – Choices Abound!”
Musical Theater Mnemonics – Sightsinging Intervals
When you learn to read music, one of the most important elements is learning to read intervals on the staff. This is in reference to how close notes are to each other on the staff. The distance of a 2nd, 3rd, etc., refers to the proximity of the bottom note to the top, counting theContinue reading “Musical Theater Mnemonics – Sightsinging Intervals”
Feel the Grief and Do it Anyway
Back on March 4, I had a conversation with a friend on how overwhelmed I felt because I had taken on too many projects. In the upcoming weeks, my schedule included: Six more performances of Don Giovanni at the Kennedy Center in DC; The world premiere of a concert of music with texts by Irish poets,Continue reading “Feel the Grief and Do it Anyway”
Pieces I heard at NATS that you should sing (“you” being MT girls)
I found this list of songs for musical theater females that I jotted down when I was judging at the MDDC NATS auditions. It’s short because a lot of people sang the same things. But these stuck out. All are available on Musicnotes.com unless notated otherwise. Nothing short of wonderful – Dogfight – Benj Pasek &Continue reading “Pieces I heard at NATS that you should sing (“you” being MT girls)”
Keep Calm and Sing On – But Not This Week
A week ago, my intention for today had been to write that the studio was open every day but Thursday because of the opera. Then the opera was cancelled. Three days ago, my intention for today had been to write that the studio would be open for in-person lessons for anyone who wanted to comeContinue reading “Keep Calm and Sing On – But Not This Week”
Creating a Cabaret FAQ
From last night’s Curiously Stronger Performing workshop (in case you weren’t there): “What is a cabaret? How is it different than a recital? Or a musical?” “Cabaret is personal musical theater” (Amanda McBroom). Cabaret Traditional Recital Musical VENUE Place where people are seated at tables, eating or drinking (or both) Performance hall or church; audience is seatedContinue reading “Creating a Cabaret FAQ”
Mid-Atlantic NATS: And on to South Carolina!
Please join me in wishing the best to Mezzoid Voice Studio members Nicholas Johnson and Andrea Rudai as they prepare for the Mid-Atlantic regional auditions for the National Association of Teachers of Singers in Columbia, SC next weekend! On Saturday, February 22, at the MDDC District NATS auditions at Morgan State University, Nick won hisContinue reading “Mid-Atlantic NATS: And on to South Carolina!”
No Autotune Necessary
Going back looking at some old posts. Short but sweet.