music-land

Hello friends,
(Okay, I have no idea how to start these blogs and that just feels a little creepy- "Mr. Rogers"-ish/"Bob Ross" -ish kind of greeting (can you tell I was a PBS kid?) Any suggestions?)

I realized I haven't actually given you an idea of "all this music I'm doing," and I thought I would.  I'm studying music at school - LOVE it.  In fact, I have a small recital on Friday October 19th for our "performance lab". I'm only singing two pieces, "When I am Laid In Earth" by Purcell from Dido and Aeneas (yes, I had to look up how to spell that...), which is a Mezzo operatic aria, and I'm singing Gia il sole dal Gange by Scarlatti.  I think I am the most nervous I've been in a long time for this mini-recital because this is the first time I'm performing as a "mezzo".

For years I had teachers telling me I was a soprano and then last winter, my new teacher confirmed my beliefs that I am a mezzo.  This may not seem like a big deal for most, but when you're constantly being told you are something that you know you are not is really hard. I couldn't sing soprano repertoire comfortably, and I didn't sound like other sopranos, and all that made me feel like I was just a bad singer and didn't try hard enough.  So, to have someone say, "No, you're not wrong, you're just not using your instrument to it's full potential" is pretty earth-shattering.  To me, it felt like I was trying to write with my left hand even though I'm right-handed.  I got the job done, but the struggle to get there and the end result was not anywhere near as beautiful as I wanted.  And the work to get it done meant I couldn't focus on what I was working on (if that makes sense).  So, anyway. Long story short - in less than a week I will be singing with a new instrument and I'm a little terrified.

Other music-y things I'm doing:
CHOIRS!
-Johnson State Chorale (which has nothing to do with horses, no matter what my sister says)
-First Baptist Church Choir
-Bella Voce
-Cantiamo (a division of Bella Voce)
Performances!
I don't have many performances on the radar right now.  the few I have are listed as follows:
-October TBA: Bella Voce will be singing in a joint concert with the Essex High School Kaleidoscope choir and I'm so happy to say that I got the solo in that concert!! I am so excited for this song (although there is rhythmic clapping....eek!) and it's GORGEOUS!
-December 1st and 2nd: "Rejoice and Sing" holiday concerts for Bella Voce and Cantiamo.  They will both be at First Baptist Church, Burlington at 8pm and 3pm respectively.
-December 16th (I think....) JSC Holiday Gala. This year the JSC choirs will be having a ticketed holiday gala concert event to raise money for the choirs and choir scholarships offered by the department.
...And that's it for this Winter, for now.

I will say, and some of you won't be surprised by this at all (I know my family wasn't), but after taking almost a year hiatus from jazz gigging/performing jazz, I've come to the conclusion that I can't live without it.  I love jazz and singing it gives me a creative outlet that I can't find anywhere else.   So, with that being said, if there are any musicians looking to gig, please get in touch with me.  I would like to get back in the swing of things sooner rather than later.  Also, if anyone knows of any good clubs that I should apply to, please let me know.

Well, I guess that's it for now.  I leave you all with butterflies in my stomach for tomorrow I conduct (in front of an audience, per-say) for the first time.  It's just a short song for the Benediction response in church, but it's quite exciting and nerve-wracking and  so many other emotions I can't describe.

I'll let y'all know how it goes I guess.

Think good thoughts for me tomorrow -
love, love!
~A

p.s.
Thank you ALL so, so much for reading this blog.  It means so much to me and makes my day when I hear someone has read it.  You're all wonderful.  Stay wonderful!