Feeling disconnected from your fellow man? Then take in some art already!!!

I know that going to vocal recitals is a dead past time in our modern age of movies, tv, and tweets. Virtually everyone will also try to rebuttal my comment with "I go to concerts!". Here though I'm talking about a classical format recital with two people on a stage sharing stories in musical form, usually in a foreign language, and without subtitles. (Sometimes translations are provided.) I'm not referring to music student population either who are still trying to find their way as well. I mean the neighbour 4 doors down with a mortgage, a car on the verge of some major repair, kids in school, and the every day pressures of time.

The "Art of the Song Recital" for the lay person is a hard evening to promote. Give them a rock scream fest and people will go in droves. Promise them an entertaining evening of Opera stories and beautiful melodies and they can't find the time. Now a days people want flash, sparkle, fireworks, and have the attention span of no longer than 3 or 4 seconds. People seem to want a BIG bang for their buck. Offering entertained with our ears instead of eyes seems to never be a big draw.

Here is my most recent realization of how I know this to be true. I was having coffee with a friend across from a sports bar the other day and couldn't help but have my own eye caught to their TV broadcast. It was some sort of rodeo, cowboy, horse training type program. I do not even know for sure what the show was all about because I couldn't hear the program, only see it. I was taken with how there wasn't a single frame that lasted longer than 3 seconds. It wasn't an advertisement or commercial spot trying to get your attention for their product either... that was the visual format of the show. I waned in my conversation for about 15 minutes with my friend because I couldn't help but study and actually count out the seconds in disbelief. Every 2-3 seconds the picture changed. I thought that a bucking horse was pretty exciting with all that big motion and potential danger of being thrown afar and on a head for the cowboy, but scene still changed every 3 seconds. This type of editing that causes the eye to dart and pulse to quicken. What chance has a classical singer in this world where a soul searching expression takes 15 seconds to 4 minutes to express? It's such a beautiful journey and there is such a small audience few and far between who can handle it now a days. A group that this person hopes grows significantly over here life time.

So then I am talking about people going to a smaller theatre, or church sanctuary on a Friday night, to hear a stranger spill their soul out on the floor for roughly 1 and 1/2 hours, in real time, with out the aid of amplification or digital assistance. Family attendance at a a concert doesn't count either, as family members think the moon hangs from their kin's breath regardless if they were Florence Foster Jenkens. (Look her up if you don't know her. She was rich, a horrible singer and therefore her fame is terribly amusing.)

What then does this expressive art form have to offer then? I believe it is exactly the kind of activity that people are looking for now a days. In a world where we seek out Meditation Guru's, Yoga masters, Zen states of transcendence, self-help seminars to find inner peace, trying to get as many friends on FaceBook as possible to feel popular, and complain about the disconnected state of modern society, to those people I would recommend taking in a voice recital. To feel connected to humanity in ways you never thought possible listen to the passions expressed in the a composers of your great, great, great grandparents time and how that message still rings true and relevant today. If you want to have a deeper understanding of why we're all here and the potential darkness and beauty of our beings then explore the musical poetry conveyed by a singer and their collaborator. If you want moment of sheer beauty that takes your breath away, allow yourself to connect to the resonant transference of the performers in a live recital. Experience life in the energy of sound that you can literally feel in your chest from your seat in the audience. The true recital attendee gets 100 fold back for their ticket price than any one who goes to hear *pop singer X sing her latest strains. (Yes, I like "X" too but I get little out of pop music.)

The Classical Music recital is entertaining, gives light to darkness, and wisdom to knowledge. In this upcoming summer program season, people of the world, seek out these recitals. Classical recitals are an art form wit an intimate passionate transference from performer to audience, where the audience is part of the energy. It is such a rewarding experience for the audience that you'll wonder after why you had not gone more often.

Showing?

Update... No musical director for me. I wanted to be in the show so I auditioned instead. Apparently I am going to be teaching the ensemble women their music and helping the music director out as needed still, but not any primary figure. Great I don't have the time in my schedule to take on a directorship right now.
I'm excited about this musical though. I haven't done one for about 8 years. Such a long time ago. My voice doesn't sound very Musical Theatre now, too operatic, but it shouldn't stick out too much with the ensemble singing I'll have to do. The thing I am anticipating most about is not the music but the potential amount of dancing I'll get to do. As I've seen by youtube video's, I could potentially be doing lots of dancing. I have high hopes for our director, who is also a seasoned choreographer, with what he's shared for his vision of the show so far. How exciting.

It's just pickles... wow

Last Wednesday I was at bowling with some friends. I was eating one of the alley's delicious burgers because they are delicious and I needed dinner. I took the pickles off and put them on the side of the plate. Some guy noticed me take the pickles off and he asked why, so I told him.
I LOVED my grandma's pickles growing up. She made them from the cucumbers that grew in her back yard. They were so good that all other pickles I've tried just don't compare to hers. So instead of being constantly disappointed in something that I considered trivial I just don't bother to eat pickles anymore. He then called me a difficult and high maintenance woman.
I didn't realize having a pickle preference made me difficult and high maintenance. I wasn't whining or complaining about it, I just simply put them to the side of my burger while I was putting on mustard and mayo. I even offered them to him, and he ate them while I told him why I don't bother with pickles anymore.
It's just pickles... wow.

More than a case of the Mondays

I have no illusions about my dreams. I know I'll never see them fulfilled, but that doesn't mean I won't have them or try to attain them. I owe myself at least my best try.
It is just so entirely disappointing when I have done all I can do and my easiest goal should be attainable. Yet, by the sheer incompetence and ineptitude of people around me, it all catastrophically falls apart. That is when I learn that what I thought was my line, can and is crossed, I keep going.
I believe that people are the greatest resource one can have. In those unfortunate times when I have no choice in the people around me and have to work with whom I am given, deep breath, having patience with myself and my goals is the best thing I can do to keep myself still sane and moving forward.
I know my goals are lofty. That does not make them bad or unreasonable. I owe it to myself to not settle for mediocre. Some day I hope to see it all come to fruition. In the meantime, I have purpose.
Now, for a big cup of coffee.

Surprise!

In a couple of months from now there will be auditions for a musical based on a movie that I just LOVE. I had researched some of the music earlier this week and had full intentions of auditioning for it. Well, today I received an email asking me if I was interested in being the music director!
Huh! Think I'll say yes? Are you kidding me?! I would LOVE to! I really enjoyed being musical director in the past, and this is a show I care even more about.
I have not signed any agreements yet or even talked details but to be asked if I was interested is extremely great. Of course I said I was interested, and would love to open a dialogue about it.
EEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Excited much?

Those precious folds...

Call me a snob, or look at me with the disdain of the oldest tenured professor on the planet being asked for an extension on a paper, I don't care. I have no fascination with child prodigies and it frankly makes me physically sick to see their extortion. If you tell me that your 10 year old plays Rachmaninov, I may just smack you, AND the next person to ask my opinion about the X year old child phenomenon singing opera like a 30 year old, well I may just disembowel them.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think that children aren't capable of beautiful and amazing things. I have personally encouraged one child, with serious discussion with the parent, who was particularly gifted. Special concessions for lessons were made to foster her growth on her musical level, yet still appropriate to her age, for that one child already had years of keyboard appreciation behind her. Sadly for that one case, I've seen numerous other TV and youtube video's of children performing amazing things that a professional adult would sell their souls to a certain cloven hoofed individual to attain even a percentage of such fame. Why should a child ever sound like a 30 year old? What's wrong with the beauty of a child appropriate voice?

Who's in a hurry to grow these children up and have them perform adult appropriate repertoire? I might add to that some Operatic story lines are completely inappropriate for children as well. 'O mio babbino caro'? The character has a tantrum and tells her father that if he doesn't let her marry the man she loves then she will kill herself. Child appropriate repertoire? Hardly. I also strongly believe that it is inappropriate for young children to perform certain technical pyrotechnics, just cause they sound like they can. I base my opinion on what I know of my studies into the voice and my reasoning comes down to two factors.

Firstly, children are structurally built different than a 30year old. It is because of this physicality that it is dangerous and reckless for parents and teachers to allow that child to sing certain music, or require certain kinetics of their small frames. The bones and muscles of a child are not meant to take the strain of the technique required for big operatic music. The vocal action is so delicate and precise that even Adult Opera singers are cautious of strain. Even at the undergraduate level, students are encouraged to wait on particular arias till their bodies are ready for it.

Secondly, the psychological impact on these young singers is my concern. One gets used to singing a certain level of aria, and for children when their bodies change (eminent puberty happens) their physical proficiency and familiarity in performing those arias will most likely change. This relearning about their new body, or regression of difficulty level, while reworking technique is hard on the psyche of the most mature vocalist, let alone on the psychology of a child. It takes a monumental personal strength to change one's identity, and doing so in a public limelight is not the most nurturing of places for a young child. Just ask an singer who has been injured, or lost a significant amount of weight, how hard it was to reexamine their technique.

What I am saying is that a child should learn music that is appropriate to their level and not forced into something that in the long run will weaken their artistic gifts. If a child can play Liszt then their teachers and parents should keep in mind that how a child learns is different than how they will as an adult: imitation verses inspiration and wisdom. A child should never be forced to sing arias outside their appropriate maturity or technical level.

Children should learn about music, and it's fine to start even as early as 2 years old if the class is right. What a child should learn in those formative years is solid musical theory, musicianship, the beginnings of critical thinking, and a foundation of passion that they will carry with them forever.

Yes I am well aware of the few success stories of those child proteges who came out clean on the other side. I do not deny the few successful, but mourn the vast majority of lost souls. You are welcome to like what you like and in turn I will dislike what I dislike. I believe in fostering a passion for life, not a passion for now.

Best thing I did for myself to survive Christmas

It is surprising to me how something mundane can improve your whole day. The last time I needed socks I bought myself not just the standard basic every day socks that I usually wear, but the ones with the nice stitching on them. The ones that I actually wanted, that cost $2 more. There was nothing wrong with the socks that I usually buy, I just decided to get the stitched ones this time. Best $2 I ever spent. It was not an exciting or glamorous decision but it resulted in a pleasant surprise.

As a Canadian, I take my shoes off when I go inside someone's home, but I never really thought of how my socks then represented me. The various outings, house parties, and dinners this Christmas were no different than any other year but for my one slight difference. I liked my socks. I liked how my socks made me feel about my shoe-less feet. I felt better about my presentation of self.

Sock picking could easily be called the most mundane task of dressing. When I would reach for the 'nice socks' I would have a nicer day. It is silly I know, but if the small things add up in the whole then 'nice sock days' are better.

Now if I would pair this up with the good underwear day, I'd be unstoppable.