Singing for my supper

The Cardinal's Nest I don't think it's just us mezzos who regularly face this, but a recent blog post I stumbled over has sure hit the nail on the head, almost word-for-word echoing my own experience and understanding! I won't even add comment here, since the author has said everything I would have myself. Enjoy!

It's been a fascinating month. My daughter was asked to join the chorus of a local light opera company, and watching her find her way through her first semi-professional appearance has been interesting and enlightening indeed. One curious thing is that everybody(myself and my husband included, I'm sorry to say!) has made an assumption of prior knowledge simply because she's our daughter: she already osmotically knows all those complicated staging processes, scheduling conventions and company protocols, right? Not necessarily....! For sure, she's had experience onstage in her childrens' groups and a great deal more exposure than many her age, but the specific nuts-and-bolts of mounting a full production in professional adult theatre.... she's never needed to know that before; in many ways, it's been a brand new situation and she has had to learn a lot. We've all had to remind ourselves that, like any other young person, she's needed certai...

Taken on Thanksgiving day, a chance capture when I spotted the frozen leaves while outside clipping herbs for the turkey. This piece of ice fell off its perch and shattered into smithereens seconds after the shutter was snapped. I am, to say the least, delighted by the outcome! First Place Winner, Dgrin Challenge #13 "Clarity or Diffused" Iced Foliage

I have decided that - this week at least- I am a diva-mommy rockstar. Following the 2008 New York-Every-Two-Days commuting marathon, we managed to host a Halloween party for 10 10-year olds. Granted, the long drives up and down highway 95 gave me lots of quiet time to come up with scavenger hunt clues, but even so - I always question my ability to "do it all" at times like this! (Happily, the auditions all went very well and for once the Travel Gods were on my side as the trains ran on time both into and in the city, which certainly decreased the stress factor!). Now, kids' parties aren't that hard, but they do take lots of planning. And plenty of space to do it in... which is where it proves tricky in our lives! We love our little house but it is, indeed "little". It is a 1920s cottage bungalow, and the rooms are small. Comfortable but.... small. So, it was with some trepidation that I anticipated keeping this thing humming along with that many girls. How...

I'm so pleased for a happy outcome. The missing camera was FOUND! (Ironically - and HOW often does this happen to any of us? - it was exactly on her desk where we all thought it SHOULD be, but hidden inside a bag where an envelope had become wrapped around it, thus masking it. Both envelope and camera are white, and it just disappeared into it) And to add to that good news, the temperatures have dropped 20 degrees following a huge thunderstorm last night and the predicted high is a full 10 degrees lower than yesterday (still hot, but 90 sure beats yesterday's 100+heat index!). School's out today, but no vacation for me: I'm working away at the music for my next gig, rehearsals starting next week. That said, I'm anticipating a lot of summer fun on this one since it's a somewhat silly role and I'll be among good friends. It's been a good season all round. Here's to the rest of the day continuing in the same vein!

ex·pec·ta·tion 1. the act or the state of expecting: to wait in expectation. 2. the act or state of looking forward or anticipating. 3. an expectant mental attitude: a high pitch of expectation. 4. something expected; a thing looked forward to. 5. Often, expectations. a prospect of future good or profit: to have great expectations. 6. the degree of probability that something will occur: There is little expectation that he will come. 7. Statistics . 8. the state of being expected: a large sum of money in expectation. I would add 9. The high level of consistent achievement assumed the minimum base line after a great opening and lavish reviews. Once the glow had worn off after Sunday afternoon , I realised that we were faced with an interesting challenge for our our second (and final) performance nearly a week later: how to recreate the magic which had happened, even though I think we all knew that the "something" which had made it so exceptional was one o...

Yesterday's concert was the kind of experience we all dream of having onstage: it was one of those occasions where everything just took off. The chemistry was there not only among the singers, but between stage and pit (in this case, stage and stage since it was an operatic concert performance with the orchestra behind the singers!), and between audience and stage too. It was an honour beyond measure to share the stage with colleagues - ARTISTS - such as these, and to know that I was part of the small moment of musical history being made. The minute-long ovation in the middle of the performance was indescribable - I feel like a rank n00bie all over again admitting being intoxicated by an audience reaction, but I think this was pretty special, and certainly like nothing I've ever experienced before! Cheering, screaming, stamping, thunderous applause.... Even our leading lady said she was taken slightly by surprise by the spontaneous passion the audience returned to us at tha...

Today was A's Children's Choir performance, and watching these children and young adults singing at a high standard with excellent choral technique, all I could think was: this is where I came from; this is how I started. I admit it, I sat through most of the concert crying my eyes out both moved and nostalgic. How could I have known in my choir days that performing would eventually become my LIFE (and for how many of them may this be the beginning of something bigger than they can currently imagine)? In high school, I was fortunate to work with prominent US choral conductor Linda Allen Anderson, quite possibly one of the most extraordinary musicians and people I have ever encountered. Demanding, dynamic, and passionately committed both to the music and her students, she seemed capable of creating musical excellence out of rawest materials and against all the administrative odds (looking back with adult eyes and knowing what challenges she faced I still wonder how on eart...