Sunday, March 3, 2013
I have decided to take a break from practicing. The Richardson Chamber Players concert two weeks ago was a big success.Yet, as I wooped up to the high C at the end of Bachianas Brasilieras, I realized how much pressure I had been feeling leading up to this concert, and how relieved I was that I had gotten through it. Continue reading
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Dragon Mother with Princeton University Orchestra, Amsterdam
I have spent the past week mostly in bed, recovering from the stomach flu. Little did I know when I sat with Kendra on the bus ride from Cologne to Amsterdam and told her the story of my trip to Mongolia, (see Diva in the Desert on the writing page) complete with food poisoning and a memorably revolting bathroom at the last concert venue, that there would be a repeat performance on this trip. Continue reading
Thursday, December 27, 2012
I finally have some time to write about Dragon Mother. The whirlwind of the Fall semester has settled a bit over the holiday break and I can look back on the whole process of bringing this project to life. It started almost two years ago in the interval between semesters when I felt restless without enough to do. I decided to ask various composers to write pieces for me in the coming years. Continue reading
Friday, September 28, 2012
Heading to Kansas to sing High Holy Days again, I decided to go out there a day early and visit the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. I had seen an article about it in the National Parks magazine and it looked incredibly beautiful. About an hour and a half north east of Wichita, in the Flint Hills, it was a bit too far to go back and forth in one day. Continue reading
Thursday, August 30, 2012
I have seen David five more times since the beginning of May. It has worked out to about 3 or 4 weeks between lessons, with various non-singing vacation/retreat weeks in there as well. Each time, he gave me new and different exercises. Usually I had just about gotten used to the previous set of exercises when it was time to learn others. Continue reading
Thursday, July 26, 2012
There I am, sunning on some rocks, somewhere in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, writing in my travel journal as my wet clothes dry, watching the Middle Fork of the Salmon River flow by and by. Michael and I flew to Boise, and drove three hours into the mountains to arrive in the tiny town of Stanley, Idaho, nestled at the foot of the magnificent Sawtooth Mountain range. Continue reading
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I had two more voice lessons with David back in February, after I got home from Barre. He was very positive and supportive. Each time I was there with him, I felt relaxed and comfortable and my voice felt good. Each time, he gave me new and different exercises, and I diligently practiced them at home, looking in the mirror to keep my throat muscles relaxed and expanded and the back of my neck long. Yikes, I tell my students the very same things, but it is so hard to be objective with your own mechanism! Continue reading
Sunday, February 12, 2012
I drove up to Barre on Sunday, Feb. 5, and cried the whole way. The night before, Lenore and I did our French concert at Stonebridge and it was a disaster. Ok, it probably wasn’t as bad as I thought, and I’m sure they enjoyed it, but when I warmed up before the concert, on my own with the new exercises, I could tell that things did not feel quite right. Continue reading
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
It was great to be able to see David again so soon. I had listened to the CD of our first lesson, and transcribed all the vocalizes. I had been practicing the new exercises, and while they felt a bit strange to me on my own, when I was with David, miraculously, they felt good. This reminded me of what it felt like to work with George McKinley. When ever I was there with him, it was like magic, and my voice felt wonderful. Continue reading
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
After much anticipation, I finally had my first lesson with a new voice teacher, David Jones. Ever since I officially crossed over into the new chemical landscape of my “older body” my voice has felt like a stranger. It started last spring, around the time I was working on a French Baroque concert for RCP. Continue reading