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Why do singers think they’re more broke than any OTHER artist??

I count myself in that subject line. Or at least I used to. I came from a mindset of poverty – do without, you can’t afford that, you can buy something cheaper instead, even if it’s not as good.

You get what you pay for. You need to invest in your craft, have the supplies you need.

These are the requirements for a Concordia University (WI) art class, “Drawing for Art Majors.”

Nearly $70 in very specific supplies for one class.  Of stuff that will be used up and have to be replaced with more stuff at the same price.

I’m asking that my students buy books. At least one, maybe two books. Books that will cost $20 each  at the most. Books that can be used for more than just one semester, books that won’t wear out or get used up.

Photocopies rip off so many people.

1. The composer/arranger
2. The performer (if it’s a different person)
3. The printers
4. The office staff
5. The warehouse
6. The music store and all their assorted personnel

So I’m asking people to bite the bullet and buy some music next semester. Yes, we might still use copies, if I think of a song that’s not in your book that I think would really suit you. But if you’re a music major, or a musical theater major, you need to own music. You need to have a library of music that you can draw upon.

So if someone says, “What do you want for Christmas, dear?”

Music.

Not new socks.

Not new underwear.

But music.

You need these supplies to hone your craft, just like you’d need good brushes or canvas. I’m not saying spend a fortune. Go to Half Price Books. Buy things on sale at Amazon. Come to the MacDowell Club’s used music sale on April 29 (more info on that later).

This is what you need. 

Published by Mezzoid Voice Studio

Christine Thomas-O'Meally, a mezzo soprano and voice teacher currently based in the Baltimore-DC area, has performed everything from the motets of J.S. Bach to the melodies of Irving Berlin to the minimalism of Philip Glass. As an opera singer and actress, she has appeared with companies such as Charm City Players, Spotlighters Theatre, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Theater of Northern Virginia, Opera North, the Washington Savoyards, In Tandem Theatre, Windfall Theater, The Young Victorian Theater of Baltimore, and Skylight Opera Theatre. She created the role of The Woman in Red in Dominick Argento’s Dream of Valentino in its world premiere with the Washington Opera and Mary Pickersgill in O'er the Ramparts at its world premiere during the Bicentennial of Battle of Baltimore at the Community College of Baltimore County. Other roles include Mrs. Paroo in Music Man, Mother Abbess in Sound of Music, Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, both Hansel and the Witch in Hansel & Gretel, and many roles in Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. Her performance as the Housekeeper in Man of La Mancha was honored with a WATCH award nomination. Ms. Thomas-O'Meally received an M.M. in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. She regularly attends master classes and workshops in both performance and vocal pedagogy, and is certified in all three Levels of Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method. Her students have performed on national and international tours of Broadway productions, at prestigious conservatories, and in regional theater throughout the country.

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