Now apply !

Part of the fun of taking Master Classes is applying what we've learned to our rehearsal times and discovering places where the techniques can be used...so if you were a fly on the wall in the choir rehearsal room today you would have heard us stopping and reminding each other of some of the tips that Dr White taught us in Master Class.

Its so interesting to see how the human mind works.  There are things I have been told by my friends for years and I just didn't hear it until one day when all of a sudden whatever it was made perfect sense.  That happened for some people with these classes. Oprah talks about the "aha moments", and that's exactly what they are....So, today we said "aha".

Thank you Dr Robert White.

Clear bloom

The difference in the human voice between good and great is amazing when in the hands of a master (well and a student who's willing). A change in a tongue position and suddenly the voice rings clear. It's like Christmas day when something you have taken to the practice room and addressed over and over becomes easy to fix with a suggestion. All the vocalists that have sung in this master class have had voices changed. Dr Robert White has energy and knowledge to spare. (with our choir of personalities that's a very good thing!)

Robert White

We've just started two days of master class with Dr White from NYC and his magic is already being heard as he works with individual singers! We are all at different levels of training and he's able to meet us where we are. To hear a voice open up with a different way of thinking, just one thought...amazing and brilliant.

Besides beauty, what is there?

I was driving somewhere listening to the local classical radio station and I was struck by the realization that I need more than beauty, I need contrasts of ugly and beauty, weakness and strength, black and white. Without these in my life I would not have the things that give my life interest. Music naturally has that. As a matter of fact if it was all the same, no one would have given it a second listen....

Desire

does anyone share the desire for beauty? This is the beauty that wraps around you and restores your soul, not the kind that's like candy- appeals to the eye, but never gets under your skin.  When I was small my parents took me to concerts, ballets, and shows in NYC.  I fell in love with dancing first.  My parents were somewhat surprised when I piped up in my little voice that I wanted to be a ballerina.  I remember the conversation well. 
Whatever they said worked.  While I never became a dancer (especially in public!) I always retained the desire for beauty.  The word beauty is the closest word I can find, Jon Bon Jovi calls it a moment of perfection.  Some people call it inspiration, but whatever the word, if you are at all distracted you will miss it.  To have moments like this are rare because of that or if the performer is distracted by either a technical mark they want to hit or a personal problem, you can walk away from a two hour performance and not feel a thing. Almost worse is a perfect moment that is only technical. Then you can lose someone from the art because they know it was good and felt...nothing.
Even though I am talking about dancing, the same applies to whatever Art form that is used. Music of any kind, dance, theater, even a marching band. This is what we aspire to.

New Endorsment

"I am an ardent fan of Gloriae Dei Cantores! The Chants of Mary, by the Gloriae Dei Cantores Men's Schola is a wonderful and faithful recording of ancient chants that still speak volumes today. Chant has a timeless and universal quality, though it was developed in a specific era of the western church. Likewise, a proper understanding of Mary's role in salvation history, and her modeling of life in the church is making her popular again among all Christians. This recording captures the best of this reality!"

    

John Michael Talbot

Founder, Minister General, and Spiritual Father

The Brothers and Sisters of Charity

Unsolved Mysteries

There is a mystery I have been trying to solve.  It seems uncanny how when a singer or performer has an intent in their heart the listener can frequently just "know".

Is this from when we are young and have to understand all the unspoken words when listening to the spoken? Or is it always there in us? Do we all have different levels of "knowing" when we listen, or is there a common knowledge of what is right to your ear?

I wrote in a previous posting about Savage Beauty, this is what caught my muse! What may be Savage to some could be innocent to others, or do we all share a grounding place, somehow knowing what should be and what isn't ?