Today I attended a masterclass hosted by Susan Hanlon, a voice teacher in Dallas, and Izzie Baumann, a voice teacher and performance coach in Mainz, Germany. The clinician was Christian Borle, Broadway star and Tony award winner (Peter and the Starcatcher, Something Rotten). He worked with six singers from the US to Germany. He wasContinue reading “Make a Fool of Yourself!”
Tag Archives: truth
An Artist’s Impression of Art
An artist’s impression is defined as the representation of an object or a scene created by an artist when no other accurate representation is available (Wikipedia). The above graphic has quotes by 17 different artists about what art means/meant to them. My favorite artist is Gustav Klimt. I have several prints of his in myContinue reading “An Artist’s Impression of Art”
Takeaways from Friday’s masterclass
On Friday, I hosted a masterclass featuring conductor Richard Carsey, who worked with 7 singers on musical theater repertoire. Some students were pre-professionals who want to pursue musical theater. One was an avocational performer in her local community theater companies. Two more were professionals, one experienced in musical theater, the other making a decision toContinue reading “Takeaways from Friday’s masterclass”
What is curiously strong singing?
For the last two years, I’ve used “Curiously Strong Singing” as my tagline. In the past year, I’ve established a performance coaching series called “Curiously Strong Performing.” The content on my website and in other places reflects the use of that phrase. But other than the relationship between mezzoid and altoids, which is what triggeredContinue reading “What is curiously strong singing?”
What the Actual…
The word fach sounds like a bad word. It is a German word meaning “compartment” and is used in opera to describe particular voice types, often in incredibly specific detail. There’s: soubrette lyric soprano light lyric soprano full lyric soprano lyric coloratura soprano lyrico-spinto soprano dramatic soprano drammatico-spinto soprano helden soprano heldensoubrette (okay, that one wasContinue reading “What the Actual…”
Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 3: Songs That Overshare (on purpose)
This is the last (for now) in this series of three blogposts about the difference between vulnerability and oversharing. Sometimes there are songs that do give a little more information than might seem necessary. Some of the ones that come to mind are: I’m not wearing underwear today, Avenue Q (well, probably 2/3 of the show qualifiesContinue reading “Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 3: Songs That Overshare (on purpose)”
Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I talked about oversharing being the projection your emotions onto someone as opposed to being vulnerable and having those emotions resonate with them. This brings me to the topic of projection. People often ask me to teach them how to project (i.e., be louder), and I usually counter thatContinue reading “Vulnerability vs. Oversharing, Part 2”
World Voice Day in a Time of Silence
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”
Making a list … and checking it …
No, I’m not writing a blog to the tune of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.” (But don’t tempt me.) Last weekend I judged the MDDC NATS auditions and saw some people sing with little or no expression in their eyes. Their eyes were fixed on a spot slightly above the judges’ heads, and itContinue reading “Making a list … and checking it …”
Rules of the Studio
Okay, full disclosure – I stole this graphic from a political candidate who I admire. I’ve removed any of their identifying information to keep this blog non-partisan, but the text transcends politics and pretty much summarizes how I feel about my obligation to my students (and there’s to me and to themselves) and the roleContinue reading “Rules of the Studio”