What to do when I get home

Top 10 Things I will be doing once I get home, in no particular order:

1) Getting a deluxe pedicure. All of that walking has wrecked my feet!

2) Eating a burrito. I miss my Mexican food!

3) Sleeping in my own bed - probably for days.

4) Eating sushi. What I would give for unagi right now...

5) Driving my car! Ah, the small luxuries.

6) Working overtime to pay for the cool things I saw and did while over here.

7) Working out at the gym to lose that gelato weight. All worth it - but it needs to come off.

8) Creating a book with all of the photos from my trip.

9) Seeing a movie in the theater.

10) Planning my next concert! I'd love to have a concert to show my friends and family how I've grown over the summer, as well as talk in depth about my experiences in Austria.

Last Week at AIMS - Photos!

My fabulous voice teacher, Evangelina

My awesome voice coach, Darryl

Dirndl shopping with the little lady

Meistersinger Competition - winner is in white

All gussied up with my daughter for the Meistersinger Competition

Austrians make the best open-faced sandwiches!

Masterclass with Maestro Edoardo Muller!

Last Week of AIMS - Thursday

Thursday was another big day, as I had my last coaching with Darryl, another agent audition, and our very last AIMS concert - the Meistersinger Competition - to attend in the evening with my family. I had a great session with Darryl and then we said adieu. I will definitely keep in touch with both him and Sra. Colon. They have been absolutely wonderful to work with, and I will miss them. My second agent audition was for another European agent, and that one went almost as well as the first one on Tuesday. I introduced myself to him and again sang "Caro Nome" as my first piece. He then chose "Depuis le jour" as my second aria, and it felt better than before the summer but not quite as legato and full as I had done in my lessons and coachings earlier. Good but not fabulous. Afterwards, the agent asked me what my plans were and I told him my intentions to audition and apply for young artist programs if I didn't get any job offers. He didn't offer any more feedback than that, so I thanked him for his time and walked out of the room. After I spoke with some of the other students that auditioned for the agents, sometimes they offered very specific feedback on what the singers needed to work on and sometimes they said nothing. I have sent the agents a follow-up email and am hoping they will respond with their feedback on my auditions so that I can get their perspective. The audition training seminar instructors both said they thought I did a great job; that I had come a long way on my arias over the past several weeks. Hoorah!!! Thursday evening was the last AIMS concert - the Meistersinger Competition. While I didn't advance to the second round, I feel good about how I did while acknowledging that nerves had an impact on my performance that day. Anyway...the 8 finalists and 2 alternates each performed an aria with the orchestra. The top 3 winners received prizes, and most likely contracts with agents. It was a fabulous concert and a great way to end the summer at AIMS. One of my favorite AIMS people - Siobhan Stagg - was the winner and she was just stunning. She and I sang some of the same arias over the summer, and she won singing "O quante volte." She will definitely have a great career, and I look forward to cheering her on with her success.

Last Week of AIMS - Wednesday

Okay, so Wednesday was less exciting than the previous two days. Instead of attending the Bo Skovhus lieder masterclass, I chose to spend time with my daughter and parents. I've missed my girl so much. In the afternoon, she came with me for my last coaching studio class with Darryl. As most of the other students were at the masterclass, it was just me and two other women in the room. I sang "Quando men vo" and after Darryl had me make a few changes and sing through it a second time he asked the other people in the room for feedback. My daughter piped up with "Mommy, that was better than the first time." We all had a chuckle over the honesty of my little critic, and I think Darryl became enamored with her very professional opinions of my singing. :) My girl has a good ear, and as most children are, she's very honest about what she likes and doesn't like. Darryl suggested I start paying her as a coach... :)

Last Week of AIMS - Tuesday

Tuesday was yet another busy day, thanks to an agent audition in the afternoon and a Spanish concert in the evening. Oh yes, you heard me right, an AGENT AUDITION!!!!! I received permission from my instructors to audition for a European agent on Tuesday (each student that signed up for an audition had to be deemed ready). After my morning classes, I changed into my audition clothes, had a final coaching with Darryl, took a deep breath and walked into that room with an intention to project confidence and bring that energy to every moment of my arias. There were two agents in the room as well as my audition training seminar class instructors. I presented my resume and headshot, handed the music over to the accompanist, announced my name and my first aria "Caro Nome." I worked really hard on that aria all summer and am really happy with how I sang it during the audition. I focused on really being Gilda, with all of her first-love emotions and colors and excitement. I didn't even feel nervous - a really great moment of success for me. Instead, I felt excited to sing and so alive and proud that I have something great to offer the world. After the aria was over, the agent asked what other arias I had prepared. I listed "Depuis le jour," "Ach, ich fuhl's" and "O quante volte." She asked me to sing Pamina, so "Ach, ich fuhl's" it was. I nailed that aria - nailed it! I wasn't trying to be Pamina; I WAS Pamina and I was singing to Tamino with his back to me, begging him to turn around and prove that he still loved me. After I was done, the agent asked me in German if I spoke German, and I answered "ich kann ein bissien Deutsch sprechen" (I can speak a little German) and both she and the other agent said that my German was, and I quote: "very good." :) And then she said "sehr schon, sehr schon" (very pretty, very pretty). I thanked her and the other agent, and then walked out of the room. While I didn't get a job offer from her or the other agent (yet), I am really happy with what I offered. Again, a fabulous moment where I realized "I'm in Austria, auditioning for agents and I'm holding my own!!!!!"

Later that evening I performed in a Spanish concert which was held at a retirement home. I sang "Del cabello mas sutil" and "Al Amor" by Obradors; two beautiful songs that I have sung many times. Thank goodness I didn't have to worry about memorizing them; I was able to just relax and enjoy making music. I really love Spanish songs, and was given a great compliment by one of the Puerto Rican students when he said that he could understand every single word I sang. What a glorious day!

Last week at AIMS - Monday

So today was my very last day in Graz, Austria and I am now sitting in a Pension in Salzburg trying to process everything that happened over the summer. I'm not yet ready to post my all-up summary of the summer and AIMS program, but at the very least I can write about that last crazy week.

On Monday I was honored to have been one of eight singers chosen to do an aria read-out with Maestro Edoardo Muller and the orchestra!!! I was one of three women selected to sing the same aria - "O quante volte" - and be given some professional instruction by the Maestro. Maestro Muller has an incredible resume and has conducted at almost every major opera house in the world and worked with the best voices out there. Needless to say, I felt incredibly honored to sing in front of him and receive his critique. I was warned prior to the masterclass that Maestro Muller can be very blunt and has been known to tell singers they will have no career! :( I tried not to worry about that, but instead focus on doing my very best with where I'm at right now and try to take as much out of his critique as possible in a positive way. In his intro speech, Maestro said that if he didn't remember us after 3 hours that meant we weren't going to have a career; that being a successful singer is more about personality than the voice. I took a big gulp, and tried to calm my nerves. So the first girl went up to sing "O quante volte" and after she got through it, Maestro told her she had too much vibrato and a few other things that made me cringe a bit. I made eye contact with the girl that was supposed to sing after me, and we had a moment of "oh crap - what is he going to say to us." When it was my turn, I took a big breath, and made it through the aria, trying to focus on each word and its meaning and the emotion, while trying to enjoy the fact that I was singing one of my favorite arias with an orchestra and a world-class conductor! I thought I did reasonably well - not amazing, but decent. Maestro then turned to me and said that I didn't have enough vibrato. What I was doing was holding my tone at the beginning of each note and then releasing my breath which allowed the vibrato to come through. It's a bad habit I've accumulated over the years of singing early music and choral music - and it's unfortunately what I revert to when I'm not focused on the right things or am tired. Awilda, Evangelina and Darryl have all called me on it, and of course, Maestro Muller identified it right away. It is so frustrating that I can't seem to conquer that bad habit just yet. Breath is so incredibly fundamental to singing; it is life - and it's annoying that I am still holding it. I know in my head that I will always have more breath if I release, but somehow my body doesn't trust that just yet. It is something I have to specifically think about while I'm singing (along with the other gazillion things that are in my head). Until I nail that breath issue, I will always come up short because holding it makes the energy flat and my tone sound dead. Good, consistent, energized breath allows the tone to ring with overtones and sound "alive." It's also what helps a voice carry over an orchestra. While some of Maestro Muller's comments were a bit blunt, I know exactly what he was talking about and am grateful for his good intentions to help me fix something that is holding me back. I had the opportunity to sing through some passages of the aria while specifically focusing on the vibrato/breath issue and the Maestro congratulated me on the progress and told me to keep it up. It was incredibly intimidating to get picked apart in front of an entire orchestra, a world-class conductor and all of the other people (about 30) watching the masterclass, but wow, what a great experience! While I was singing, I couldn't help but think "I am so incredibly lucky to be here right now in this moment. I am in Austria, singing one of my favorite arias while being accompanied by a full orchestra." It was extra special to have my mother in the audience.

Week 5 Photos

At the top of the Schlossberg with my little lady

Operetta Orchestra Concert #1 at the Kasematten at the top of the Schlossberg (I'm in the middle in purple)

Operetta Orchestra Concert #1 close-up

Operetta Piano Concert #1 at the Casino

With Hans Stolz after Operetta Orchestra Concert #2 in Weiz

Barbara Bonney!!!

AIMS Recital, singing "Depuis le jour"

She's Here!!!!

The long six weeks have finally passed...and my beautiful daughter is HERE! My parents and daughter arrived in Graz last night, and I was able to touch, hug and kiss my little girl after six long weeks away from her. It is so good to be with her again. Although she looks a bit taller than last time I saw her, she is still the spunky, funny, sweet girl I know so well. It is a little surreal to have her and my parents here in Austria. Life is a little crazy some times. I showed them my tiny cell - I mean dorm room - and then we had a nice dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Fontana. Today I took them up to the top of the Schlossberg, where we had lunch and wandered around. This evening was my very last operetta concert with orchestra, and I am so incredibly grateful that my parents were able to attend and see me perform!!! It almost didin't happen, as the concert was supposed to take place outside in the open air in front of a church in this beautiful down called Frohnleiten, and the weather forecast was calling for serious rain and thunderstorms. The clouds looked ugly all afternoon as we went through sound check. The word was that if a single drop fell down, the conductor would stop the concert, since any sort of rain would damage the instruments in the orchestra and all of the sound equipment. So...we all waited patiently, and the concert started, and halfway through the very first number some drops started falling. So the orchestra rushed inside and put away their instruments, and I was praying for the rain to stop so that my family could see the concert. Fortunately, the bigwigs in charge decided to move the concert inside the church. After a 30-minute break to allow the stage crew to rearrange everything inside, the show went on! Us singers sat in the back of the church and walked up the aisle when it was our turn to go. My duet went well with my partner, and the ensemble numbers went well too. I had so much fun! And the audience loved us!!! One of my favorite moments was when the 80+ year old woman in the pew next to me started singing along. Fabulous experience. I asked my daughter what part she liked best and she said "the part when you sang, mommy." I have her trained well. :) I'm so glad my parents and daughter were able to see the show. Tonight I realized how wonderful all of this operetta has been for me. I've struggled with being animated on stage in a sincere way prior to Austria, but operetta has required me to be very animated and over-the-top. Singing operetta makes it easy to have fun on stage - and I love it! I wasn't nervous at all tonight, and had a really good time.

Wow, what a day!

Today was a crazy day! This morning I had my first rehearsal for the operetta concerts with orchestra. We received our ensemble music *yesterday*, so nobody had really looked at it before our rehearsal, and yes, we are supposed to have it all memorized by Thursday. Gaaah! The entire vocal cast for the concert got together to learn the music from 10-12:30pm today. And - surprise! - I have been given a solo part in one of the ensemble pieces. Woohoo!!! So I have three ensemble pieces plus my duet for the orchestra concert. I'm telling you, it's a LOT of music to memorize in 3 days. Time to get very focused and just brute-force those words into my memory. After the 2 1/2 hr rehearsal, we rehearsed with our conductor from 3-4pm, and then had a private coaching with him for 30 minutes from 4:30-5pm. Oh - and I also found out at breakfast that I was to sing in tonight's recital at 7pm. But I wasn't done after that - I had another operetta rehearsal from 8-9:30pm. Phew!

The conductor for the operetta concerts is from the Volksoper in Vienna, and he's been great to work with. After the private coaching with my duet partner, he complimented me on my solo singing from our earlier rehearsal. He also said he was interested in hearing me sing "Depuis le jour" at the recital!!! Very cool. Even though I was exhausted by the time the recital came around, I had to dig deep to find the energy to perform to the best of my ability - especially with a conductor in the audience that was there specifically for me. While it certainly wasn't the best I've ever sung that aria, I do feel like I made improvements on my stage presence and connection to the emotion of the character. I felt in control on stage, and my guestures felt so much more natural than in the past. During the intermission, my stage artistry instructor came up and told me how proud she was of me and gave me a big hug. Yay!!! After the concert, the conductor asked me how I felt I did. I told him that I didn't feel like I had enough energy to keep the forward momentum of those long legato phrases. He agreed and said that he could tell I had more sound to offer and that he thought I was holding back vocally. I honestly think that I could've done a lot better had my voice, body and mind not been so tired. I've got to be careful about pacing myself and resting enough so that I don't burn out. It's great that he showed an interest in me and got to hear me sing one of my favorite arias, and I'll continue to work hard this week and next to show him what I've got. No holding back! And with that...it's time for bed.