Last week, I wrote about Why I Quit. When my husband read that title, he blanched, thinking that I was announcing that I was quitting teaching (without telling him first). Not quite. As I said last week, that wasn’t the intended focus when I sat down to write. What I wanted to talk about wasContinue reading “Why I Moved (I’m Not Done Yet)”
Author Archives: Mezzoid Voice Studio
Why I quit
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…….. It has been 9 months (almost) since my last confession blogpost. How appropriate that I used the penitential terminology of my upbringing, because in May, I quit my church job of 8 years at the Cathedral of Mary our Queen. (Note: This is not what I was going toContinue reading “Why I quit”
My Word for 2023 – Tessitura
I’ve given some thought about the guiding word for 2023 and I’ve come up with one. Tessitura. Here’s the definition of tessitura, via Wikipedia: In music, tessitura (Italian: [tessiˈtuːra], pl. tessiture, “texture”; English: /tɛsɪˈtjuːrə/) is the most acceptable and comfortable vocal range for a given singer or less frequently, musical instrument, the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding (or characteristic) timbre. This broad definition is often interpretedContinue reading “My Word for 2023 – Tessitura”
Help Someone Find Their Voice (or your own) in 2023
Have you always wanted to take voice lessons? Or do you have a child, sibling, or really close friend who has always wanted to try a voice lesson? This year, Mezzoid Voice Studio is offering a gift certificate that you can buy for a loved one (which also be yourself, because self-care is a goodContinue reading “Help Someone Find Their Voice (or your own) in 2023”
Make it RAIN
There was an article a while back on getting good quality sleep using a mindfulness tactic with the acronym RAIN. The steps involved make up the acronym. They are: RECOGNIZE Recognize the stress that’s coming up. ACCEPT/ALLOW Don’t try to push it away. INVESTIGATE Be curious. Ask: What is going on in my body right now? Do you feel tightnessContinue reading “Make it RAIN”
S’wonderful – Ira Gershwin
Today is the 126th anniversary of the birth of lyricist Ira Gershwin (12/6/1896-8/17/1983). While his brother George had the reputation as the celebrity composer beloved by movie stars and international classical composers alike (although less so by American ones of his era), Ira was the quiet, somewhat shy older brother. George was a notorious commitment-phobe;Continue reading “S’wonderful – Ira Gershwin”
Suspending the Breath – Why I Don’t Teach It
This is a reprint of an August 2017 blogpost – I recently had a rehearsal where a conductor asked us to do this and it’s something that just goes against me. Here’s why (things I’ve added are in bold and brackets): ****** This morning, the subject of my meditation app involved a lot of focusContinue reading “Suspending the Breath – Why I Don’t Teach It”
So that…
In improvisational comedy, actors are trained to use the prompt “yes, and” in order to accept what their scene partner has given them and expand upon it to take it further. It doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with your scene partner, it just means that you heard what they said. I think it’s somewhat relatedContinue reading “So that…”
Happy Thanksgiving!
Not much time to say a lot today – I should be downstairs putting out platters for our Thanksgiving “dinner” (who eats dinner at 2pm?). It’s been a rough year for me so far – healthwise and somewhat professionally (mostly related to the health issues). But I am thankful for my students, past, present, andContinue reading “Happy Thanksgiving!”
Rorem and Sondheim
I just wrote a tribute to Ned Rorem on his 99th birthday. And just a few weeks later, he died. I feel like this is my fault, somehow. Of course, it’s not, but it’s kind of like saying “Beetlejuice/Betelgeuse” 3x in reverse. Instead of him appearing, he… left. I have written a lot about StephenContinue reading “Rorem and Sondheim”