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Pressing Pause

I am in need of a well-deserved vacation.

On March 4, 2020, I had a chat in FB Messenger with a friend and she asked what I was up to. I told her I was a little overwhelmed because, at that point, I had the following on my plate:

  1. Five more performances of Don Giovanni with WNO at the KenCen;
  2. A world premiere performance of a song cycle I had commissioned Garth Baxter to compose for me, based on poems by Irish poets, to be done in a house concert by an area impresario;
  3. Writing a cabaret show for several of my students to be performed at Germano’s Piattini on March 29;
  4. Holy Week;
  5. Leaving for the UK to visit my best friend and her husband, who were stationed at the U.S. Embassy there.

She said, “Wow! That’s a lot! But it sounds like a fun lot!” and I agreed.

Well. I think you know what happened then.

So this is what became of that:

  • There were three more performances of DG before the KenCen closed (although AGMA negotiated for us to be paid for one of them, we lost payment for two);
  • The house concert was cancelled (although I am recording two of the songs in a project scheduled for June 3);
  • Germano’s has closed permanently (really upset about that);
  • No Holy Week services were held with singers (this cost me nearly $1000 in income);
  • No trip to the UK at that time

BUT

I’m going this weekend! My friends are there for another two months and then they’re returning back to the DC area, but we’re staying with them and, for two weeks, we get to explore London and Oxford and whatever else my husband has planned.

Because I just sat back and said, “You know what – plan whatever – I will go along gladly with whatever you want to do as long as I don’t have to make any decisions.” (Hopefully he hasn’t scheduled bungee jumping from the Tower of London or anything like that.)

There will be many decisions to make when I return. I will be in the throes of preparing for our June 5 studio showcase, for which I’ve already assigned music and created rehearsal tracks. I will be preparing for the recording of the two Irish songs. I will be organizing a program for two of my graduating seniors to be done in late July/early August. I may be hosting a house concert in August (artist TBD).

But for now, I’m going to press pause. For the next two weeks, I’ll be re-posting some things (which I may tweak over the weekend before I leave to go with more of the style and format that I’ve developed since moving to WordPress).

**************
I haven’t forgotten about the summer lesson offerings;
those will be dropped before I leave. If you’re interested, contact me at christine@mezzoidvoicestudio.com.
I will answer emails as time permits.

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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