After a very wonderful Christmas, I'm sitting in front of the television, thinking *very seriously* about packing. ;-)
For singers, and all working musicians, I think the holidays are difficult because one cannot start relaxing at work nor put all of their energies towards making sure presents are bought and wrapped because the holidays are actually the most hectic time for us professionally. But the craziness that compounds itself over the normal holiday stress, it can actually be wonderful. I have been a part of Christmas services at many different churches, with different traditions and belief systems, but all have the aspect of joy and community in common. People come together and soften towards each other, and no matter whether its a Congregationalist church, Methodist, Catholic... singing Silent Night in the darkness with only candle light illuminating our faces, the true meaning of Christmas (not the Bible version, but the "Peace to all Mankind" version) itself becomes illuminated. I feel blessed to be a musician and actually get paid to participate in something so beautiful and so joyful.
Despite a cold and cough, I was pleased with how the Bach cantata went. I had the pleasure of singing with some lovely singers as both soloists and choir members. And our alto section, though depleted to only three of us, made up for our lack of quantity with quality! ;-)
I am now off to pack for the next three weeks in Iowa, and then to help mom out with some cleaning before confining myself in my room to memorize the chorus part for Madame Butterfly. Ok, maybe after I watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix....
Friday, December 26, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
This is my real "first entry" that I did on another blog connected to my website, but since my website isn't up and running yet, I'm using this as an alternative. Anyway, here's what I wrote... I feel like it was a better starter.
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I would like to begin this "blog" by stating its purpose, not only for the potential readers, but also for myself. I am about to embark upon a few months of traveling and singing away from my beloved city of Chicago. I am leaving friends, an apartment I love filled with roommates I love more, my teachers and my last semester of graduate school to go test the waters of being a opera singer, which I have learned is somewhat defined by living out of a suitcase. But that isn't all that defines it, obviously. Over the next few months I will have the oppotunity to sing in the public schools of Cedar Rapids, IA in an outreach production entitled Little Red's Most Unusual Day where I will be playing the role of Granny. I love outreach and performing for children, so this will be a treat. I will also sing in the chorus of Madame Butterfly. After being in Iowa for most of January, I will leave for Santa Barbara, CA to be a Young Artist with Opera Santa Barbara. I will officially cover the role of Mercedes and perform Carmen's arias and a scene in their pre-festival concert series. So though this time period comes with some sacrifices, I am so grateful for the opportunity.
This blog will serve two main purposes. First, it will serve as my "journal" for Graduate Seminar, the one course I will still be enrolled in next semester at CCPA. For that it will include reflections on the rehearsal and performance process and my observations about my experiences. I will continue to write about any auditions I might do, how I felt they went, what I sang and how that felt, auditioners' "reactions" (though I know you aren't supposed to read their reactions, but I mean, how can you not??), etc. Secondly, I hope this will find its way to friends and family who might be curious what I'm up to. And in case I'm super busy, no one can get mad if I forget to call.
Anyway, this is an experiment. I also would like to spend time reflecting on bigger, artistic ideas. I've been mulling over Dr. Brown's comment on the last day in class that most of my classmates disliked (I could easily use a stronger word there) COT's production of Don Giovanni last spring. I have felt a little guilty saying so, but I LOVED it? Perhaps that says something about my mind being a little sick and twisted, or perhaps just that I like a bit of innovation and the idea of Opera as ART and not a museum. I'm also not a Mozart expert and don't know all of the plot ideosyncracies that many of my fellow singers do, and therefore don't mind if a plot is melded a little to fit an idea that might enliven it for a new generation. I would like to write a longer post on this, but I did have one thought cross my mind that seemed relavant in arguing against the opinion of the "masses". That is that Mozart's operas in his time were DEFINITELY pushing the envelope... Figaro features buffoon-like aristocracy and brilliant servants, the most brilliant of which is a woman! Wouldn't Mozart have approved of opera continuing to push the envelope? I think that he might have preferred COT's production to an antiquated one set in 18th century Spain that needed to have the cobwebs dusted off before it could be performed! If COT had done that production, I can guarantee people wouldn't still be talking about it in December of the next year.
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More to come...
Merry Christmas!
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I would like to begin this "blog" by stating its purpose, not only for the potential readers, but also for myself. I am about to embark upon a few months of traveling and singing away from my beloved city of Chicago. I am leaving friends, an apartment I love filled with roommates I love more, my teachers and my last semester of graduate school to go test the waters of being a opera singer, which I have learned is somewhat defined by living out of a suitcase. But that isn't all that defines it, obviously. Over the next few months I will have the oppotunity to sing in the public schools of Cedar Rapids, IA in an outreach production entitled Little Red's Most Unusual Day where I will be playing the role of Granny. I love outreach and performing for children, so this will be a treat. I will also sing in the chorus of Madame Butterfly. After being in Iowa for most of January, I will leave for Santa Barbara, CA to be a Young Artist with Opera Santa Barbara. I will officially cover the role of Mercedes and perform Carmen's arias and a scene in their pre-festival concert series. So though this time period comes with some sacrifices, I am so grateful for the opportunity.
This blog will serve two main purposes. First, it will serve as my "journal" for Graduate Seminar, the one course I will still be enrolled in next semester at CCPA. For that it will include reflections on the rehearsal and performance process and my observations about my experiences. I will continue to write about any auditions I might do, how I felt they went, what I sang and how that felt, auditioners' "reactions" (though I know you aren't supposed to read their reactions, but I mean, how can you not??), etc. Secondly, I hope this will find its way to friends and family who might be curious what I'm up to. And in case I'm super busy, no one can get mad if I forget to call.
Anyway, this is an experiment. I also would like to spend time reflecting on bigger, artistic ideas. I've been mulling over Dr. Brown's comment on the last day in class that most of my classmates disliked (I could easily use a stronger word there) COT's production of Don Giovanni last spring. I have felt a little guilty saying so, but I LOVED it? Perhaps that says something about my mind being a little sick and twisted, or perhaps just that I like a bit of innovation and the idea of Opera as ART and not a museum. I'm also not a Mozart expert and don't know all of the plot ideosyncracies that many of my fellow singers do, and therefore don't mind if a plot is melded a little to fit an idea that might enliven it for a new generation. I would like to write a longer post on this, but I did have one thought cross my mind that seemed relavant in arguing against the opinion of the "masses". That is that Mozart's operas in his time were DEFINITELY pushing the envelope... Figaro features buffoon-like aristocracy and brilliant servants, the most brilliant of which is a woman! Wouldn't Mozart have approved of opera continuing to push the envelope? I think that he might have preferred COT's production to an antiquated one set in 18th century Spain that needed to have the cobwebs dusted off before it could be performed! If COT had done that production, I can guarantee people wouldn't still be talking about it in December of the next year.
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More to come...
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Rehearsals and performances and colds...
I'm excited about having this new blog, so I'm writing twice in one day.
I feel like I must address my issue with the rehearsal process and how my suspicions (or knowledge) about how people think of me affects my performance. I feel like I've grown very much as a singer this year, but in my church choir performances, you're really never know. It's like a revert to the singer I was, because my director (who shall remain nameless) makes me nervous. I'm not even sure whether or not his feelings towards me as a singer/person are real or of my own invention, but my nerves surround how he thinks of my performance inevitably will sabotage how I sing. I must focus on a couple of things surrounding this issue: First, I must release the anxiety about how others feel about me/think about me. Hard to do as a performer! But I must center myself in the music and music making, and perform to my own standards (which are high) and not to others'. Secondly, I must learn to control my nerves. I found in my jury that an aria that I LOVE singing became less fun and probably less good because of how I thought the faculty would receive it. I need to return to having FUN on stage, to being reverent on stage, to being passionate and therefore musical on stage. Caring about what other people think will pretty much guarantee that my larynx will find it's way up my nose!
I will give myself credit for how well I sang today with a cold and how I recovered from a rough start of the rehearsal. I must also focus on the positive!
I look forward to singing lots of Christmas Carols tomorrow and being done with all solo duties as of 9:45. Then I can sit back and relax until midnight, enjoy the music and a beautiful church with lovely choir members.
NEXT time I write will be a detailed list of what this blog will cover, but if my enthusiasm continues with it, I expect it will cover everything from my thoughts on learning Carmen to what I need to buy at the grocery store! You can all blame Julia Cameron for my verbosity.
I feel like I must address my issue with the rehearsal process and how my suspicions (or knowledge) about how people think of me affects my performance. I feel like I've grown very much as a singer this year, but in my church choir performances, you're really never know. It's like a revert to the singer I was, because my director (who shall remain nameless) makes me nervous. I'm not even sure whether or not his feelings towards me as a singer/person are real or of my own invention, but my nerves surround how he thinks of my performance inevitably will sabotage how I sing. I must focus on a couple of things surrounding this issue: First, I must release the anxiety about how others feel about me/think about me. Hard to do as a performer! But I must center myself in the music and music making, and perform to my own standards (which are high) and not to others'. Secondly, I must learn to control my nerves. I found in my jury that an aria that I LOVE singing became less fun and probably less good because of how I thought the faculty would receive it. I need to return to having FUN on stage, to being reverent on stage, to being passionate and therefore musical on stage. Caring about what other people think will pretty much guarantee that my larynx will find it's way up my nose!
I will give myself credit for how well I sang today with a cold and how I recovered from a rough start of the rehearsal. I must also focus on the positive!
I look forward to singing lots of Christmas Carols tomorrow and being done with all solo duties as of 9:45. Then I can sit back and relax until midnight, enjoy the music and a beautiful church with lovely choir members.
NEXT time I write will be a detailed list of what this blog will cover, but if my enthusiasm continues with it, I expect it will cover everything from my thoughts on learning Carmen to what I need to buy at the grocery store! You can all blame Julia Cameron for my verbosity.
First Entry
Dear Readers...
I am creating this blog as an "alternative" to my class participation in Graduate Seminar for the first half of the semester. In class we are asked to write every week about our experiences with the classes which focus on many topics that are aimed to prep us for a career as a classical singer. So this blog will serve as my journal where I will write about my experiences over the course of the semester as they pertain to the subjects covered in this course. I also hope that this will help my friends and family know how I'm doing and what I'm doing. And I hope this will also be an outlet for me to talk about my experiences and process them. So perhaps this "blog" (I never thought I'd be a blogger, even though I've been an avid journaler for years) will be beneficial in many ways.
This situation has come about because I have been offered an apprenticeship with Opera Santa Barbara. I will have the opportunity to perform in pre-festival concerts singing Carmen's arias as well as the final duet in Act IV. I will officially cover the role of Mercedes and perform as a Grisette in The Merry Widow. I am so thrilled to have these opportunities and found it to be a justifiable reason to take a semester off of school. Ok, and I'm also really excited to leave Chicago for the months of February and March. ;-) I've spent pretty much every winter of my life here, so I think I've earned it!
Before leaving for California, I will be performing with Cedar Rapids Opera Theater's outreach production of Little Red's Most Unusual Day, where I will play Granny, as well as singing in the chorus of Madame Butterfly. I was fortunate enough to be in their production of Aida this past summer, which despite the massive flooding that happened in Iowa during the month of June, was an amazing experience. Getting to observe the singers singing the lead roles, including Hope Briggs as Aida, was so inspirational and educational for me. And the fact that the show went on despite a great natural disaster (though in a high school auditorium rather than Theater Cedar Rapids, which was damaged in the flood), symbolized hope for the community. I'm so happy to get to work with this company again, and I hope that this will also provide to time for me to study my music for OSB and practice alot.
Anyway, today I am sick with a cold and am letting my voice and body rest before Christmas Eve services tomorrow and alot of practicing before I leave for Iowa. I'm sure that much of this blog will be reflecting on the lifestyle of this career, living in home stays and out of suitcases... It will be a challenge, I'm sure, but this is a part of what this career is about. It is part of making the music and theater that I love, so I hope to find all of the possible elements of joy in it. In Iowa I will be lucky enough to reconnect with friends from the summer. I already know that there will be lovely people who are also apprenticing with Opera Santa Barbara, and I hope to meet more wonderful people as I have in many places I have sung before.
I have always written in journals, so please forgive me if my blogs are somewhat stream-of-conscious. I know I had a difficult time getting through the writings of James Joyce, so I'll try to be concise.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you... May the New Year bring a revitalization of all our hopes and dreams.
Caitlin
I am creating this blog as an "alternative" to my class participation in Graduate Seminar for the first half of the semester. In class we are asked to write every week about our experiences with the classes which focus on many topics that are aimed to prep us for a career as a classical singer. So this blog will serve as my journal where I will write about my experiences over the course of the semester as they pertain to the subjects covered in this course. I also hope that this will help my friends and family know how I'm doing and what I'm doing. And I hope this will also be an outlet for me to talk about my experiences and process them. So perhaps this "blog" (I never thought I'd be a blogger, even though I've been an avid journaler for years) will be beneficial in many ways.
This situation has come about because I have been offered an apprenticeship with Opera Santa Barbara. I will have the opportunity to perform in pre-festival concerts singing Carmen's arias as well as the final duet in Act IV. I will officially cover the role of Mercedes and perform as a Grisette in The Merry Widow. I am so thrilled to have these opportunities and found it to be a justifiable reason to take a semester off of school. Ok, and I'm also really excited to leave Chicago for the months of February and March. ;-) I've spent pretty much every winter of my life here, so I think I've earned it!
Before leaving for California, I will be performing with Cedar Rapids Opera Theater's outreach production of Little Red's Most Unusual Day, where I will play Granny, as well as singing in the chorus of Madame Butterfly. I was fortunate enough to be in their production of Aida this past summer, which despite the massive flooding that happened in Iowa during the month of June, was an amazing experience. Getting to observe the singers singing the lead roles, including Hope Briggs as Aida, was so inspirational and educational for me. And the fact that the show went on despite a great natural disaster (though in a high school auditorium rather than Theater Cedar Rapids, which was damaged in the flood), symbolized hope for the community. I'm so happy to get to work with this company again, and I hope that this will also provide to time for me to study my music for OSB and practice alot.
Anyway, today I am sick with a cold and am letting my voice and body rest before Christmas Eve services tomorrow and alot of practicing before I leave for Iowa. I'm sure that much of this blog will be reflecting on the lifestyle of this career, living in home stays and out of suitcases... It will be a challenge, I'm sure, but this is a part of what this career is about. It is part of making the music and theater that I love, so I hope to find all of the possible elements of joy in it. In Iowa I will be lucky enough to reconnect with friends from the summer. I already know that there will be lovely people who are also apprenticing with Opera Santa Barbara, and I hope to meet more wonderful people as I have in many places I have sung before.
I have always written in journals, so please forgive me if my blogs are somewhat stream-of-conscious. I know I had a difficult time getting through the writings of James Joyce, so I'll try to be concise.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you... May the New Year bring a revitalization of all our hopes and dreams.
Caitlin
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