The phrase, “I learned something today,” is one that is associated with the incredibly and self-consciously earnest sitcoms of the 1990s where there were always very special episodes. As soon as you heard that there was going to be a very special episode of a TV show, you knew that someone was about to learn a valuable lesson.Continue reading “I learned something today…”
Tag Archives: musical theater
July 17 Master Class with Lissa deGuzman
I am so excited to announce the first of which I hope will be many masterclasses featuring former students of mine who have gone on to thrive as working artists. Our first artist/clinician is Lissa deGuzman, who can both belt her face off and soar to the heights of soprano-land. When she studied with meContinue reading “July 17 Master Class with Lissa deGuzman”
NATS 56 – Virtually Fantastic!
Right now, I am the student learning on Zoom, instead of the teacher. I’ve been consumed with the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) 56th National Conference since Thursday. The conference was supposed to be in Knoxville, TN, but Corona…. The conferences are always things I look forward to – I’ve only missed 2Continue reading “NATS 56 – Virtually Fantastic!”
Listening Party #2: The People Called it “Ragtime!”
My second favorite musical is Lynn Ahrens’ and Stephen Flaherty’s Ragtime, which premiered on Broadway in 1998. On Friday, May 8 at 3pm, we’ll be listening to the original cast recording, which features some of my favorite singers: Judy Kaye – Emma Goldman Lea Michele – Little Girl Marin Mazzie (RIP) – Mother Brian StokesContinue reading “Listening Party #2: The People Called it “Ragtime!””
May Musical Challenge!
Awhile back there was a Facebook group called, “There’s more to musical theater than just Wicked, Phantom, and Les Mis.” That was about ten years ago. I think nowadays it’d be “… Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson, and … still Phantom.” There’s a lot more out there. A lot. So – since we’re all sitting at home,Continue reading “May Musical Challenge!”
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”
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”
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)”
Who takes voice lessons?
My mother never understood how I had so many students. She would say, “So many people want to be professional singers?” and I’d say, “No, mom, some want to be professional performers, but some just want to get into the musical at school, or into a special ensemble in choir, or some just want toContinue reading “Who takes voice lessons?”
Why I don’t teach pop – usually
I was reading a FB post on a teacher group where someone had mentioned that their student was recording some repertoire that was wildly age-inappropriate, both lyrically and vocally. This was repertoire that the parent had chosen but that they wanted help on from the teacher. I don’t teach pop. It’s not that I feelContinue reading “Why I don’t teach pop – usually”