Monday, May 30
Memorial Day!
We didn't start rehearsals until 1. In the words of Misty Bermudez, “You tell a Seraphic Fire member that they have to sing before noon and I guarantee you that they will rebel.” So we started at 1. We arrived and we were seated AMONG THE SERAPHIC FIRE SINGERS! AAAAAH! It was terrifying to sit with them.
I sat by Emily Marvosh. May I just say, I knew that Seraphic Fire sounded stupendous...but then we sat WITH them and I could hear people’s voice individually. Emily has the most incredible voice. I was feeling pretty confident about singing and being in the choir and then I heard HER singing. Yeah, my voice just shut off. I couldn’t sing next to her. I was embarrassed for her to hear me. But I finally got up enough courage to sing a little. I was holding WAY back. She was very kind. She gave me some nice tips and things. One of the tips that she had to give me was to sing with more core. CORE. ME. Since when have I ever lacked core when singing ALTO? Oh my gosh, it was so silly. That just goes to show how truly scared I was to sing by her! She helped me so much in those few hours of rehearsal. She helped me with my diction, helped me with some placement, helped me sing with more breath support. We rehearsed for six hours as usual with a break in between. So we finished rehearsal at 9.
In between the rehearsals, Taliah and I went to Mel’s Hot Dogs with some of the USF kids. It was a completely classic place. Loved it. Apparently Dr. Bass worked there at some point. So there was a picture of him on the wall. It was vastly entertaining. Have I mentioned that Dr. Bass is the man? He is an INCREDIBLE conductor. He knows exactly how to pull the best sounds out of us as a choir. He has a remarkable ear. I don't know how he does it, but he does it every day.
He loves the Requiem even more than me. How is that possible? Thank you for the music, Brahms. It’s beautiful.
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Professional Choral Institute: Day 8
Sunday, May 29
NOTE: I love Taliah. She is the best. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad that she is here with me and we are becoming such good friends. Oh man. She is awesome.
Taliah and I found a church to go to! We woke up early and walked to church that started at 9. It was a family ward really close to campus. We found a singles ward that met in the same building but they were meeting at 1 and that was when we began rehearsal. So we went to the family ward. SO interesting.
The world is a big place. California people and Florida people are very different. I can't really explain it to you. In sacrament meeting hey spoke on being prepared for hurricanes. I found this funny because in California we talk about emergency preparedness in regards to earthquakes. It’s not funny...but it kind is. Then we had Sunday School with this crazy man...if he wasn’t LDS, I would assume that he had way too many cups of coffee. Relief Society was taught by the awkward elders and there were crazy ladies everywhere. I love family wards. They are an endless source of entertainment.
It was absolutely hilarious. Taliah and I had quite a fascinating time. It was good to kind of get grounded in something totally familiar. To ground our spirit in the middle of the week. It was much needed.
Today was our first day that we got to meet Seraphic Fire! After church we got to go and observe the Seraphic Fire rehearsal of the Requiem. We observed from 1-4. Holy cow, Seraphic Fire is an incredible group. They sing so well together, you almost don't believe that it's possible. That’s what the singing in heaven is going to sound like. I just watched them sing in absolute awe. I also started gearing ourselves up for the fact that WE were going to have to rehearse with THEM in a number of hours. AAAAAH.
And this Requiem is so beautiful. I know I have said that a million times (and will say it a million more times). Altogether, I have sung this piece for 36 hours. So much time. And then I've worked on it and listened to it individually for even longer than that.
It's a spectacular piece. I am going to miss it so much after it's over. I am probably going to end up listening to it on the way home. Just you wait.
Please, World, Please let this recording be all that we are working for. We have worked so hard on becoming a choir. We have worked so hard on this piece. We have all worked so hard to make MUSIC together.
Music really does uplift people. Music speaks to people. Music is one of the things that makes us human. It speaks to our very soul. Our spirits.
I feel the spirit while singing this piece and even just talking about it. My heart kind of swells up with this inexplicable happiness.
It's incredible. I wish you all could be here.
NOTE: I love Taliah. She is the best. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad that she is here with me and we are becoming such good friends. Oh man. She is awesome.
Taliah and I found a church to go to! We woke up early and walked to church that started at 9. It was a family ward really close to campus. We found a singles ward that met in the same building but they were meeting at 1 and that was when we began rehearsal. So we went to the family ward. SO interesting.
The world is a big place. California people and Florida people are very different. I can't really explain it to you. In sacrament meeting hey spoke on being prepared for hurricanes. I found this funny because in California we talk about emergency preparedness in regards to earthquakes. It’s not funny...but it kind is. Then we had Sunday School with this crazy man...if he wasn’t LDS, I would assume that he had way too many cups of coffee. Relief Society was taught by the awkward elders and there were crazy ladies everywhere. I love family wards. They are an endless source of entertainment.
It was absolutely hilarious. Taliah and I had quite a fascinating time. It was good to kind of get grounded in something totally familiar. To ground our spirit in the middle of the week. It was much needed.
Today was our first day that we got to meet Seraphic Fire! After church we got to go and observe the Seraphic Fire rehearsal of the Requiem. We observed from 1-4. Holy cow, Seraphic Fire is an incredible group. They sing so well together, you almost don't believe that it's possible. That’s what the singing in heaven is going to sound like. I just watched them sing in absolute awe. I also started gearing ourselves up for the fact that WE were going to have to rehearse with THEM in a number of hours. AAAAAH.
And this Requiem is so beautiful. I know I have said that a million times (and will say it a million more times). Altogether, I have sung this piece for 36 hours. So much time. And then I've worked on it and listened to it individually for even longer than that.
It's a spectacular piece. I am going to miss it so much after it's over. I am probably going to end up listening to it on the way home. Just you wait.
Please, World, Please let this recording be all that we are working for. We have worked so hard on becoming a choir. We have worked so hard on this piece. We have all worked so hard to make MUSIC together.
Music really does uplift people. Music speaks to people. Music is one of the things that makes us human. It speaks to our very soul. Our spirits.
I feel the spirit while singing this piece and even just talking about it. My heart kind of swells up with this inexplicable happiness.
It's incredible. I wish you all could be here.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
The Professional Choral Institute: Day 7
Saturday, May 28
We had a free day today! Everyone had plans to go out and explore Florida. A bunch of us all planned to head down to St. Petersburg to have some fun for the day. We wanted to see more of Florida and some more of the area. So Liz Anderson and Alex Solomon (both are USF students) drove us down where we met up with Brett Bailey, David Evans, Sarah Quick, and Shayna Isaacson.
It was absolutely beautiful. The city is right on the water and so there were sailboats everywhere and all of these neat little shops around. We walked on the pier and took some pictures and fun things.
Then we met up with some other kids and went to the Chihuly exhibit. It was absolutely incredible. I love it. The blown glass was incredible and it was so fun to walk around and see all of it. I have a new obsession with Chihuly glass. If I were supremely rich, my whole ceiling would be a Chihuly glass display. Just sayin'.
After we went to the exhibit we went to a hot shop and watched a local artist blow glass. Then we walked around some of the cute streets and we took the trolley around. We got gelato and then we drove to Alex's dad's house. His Dad lives in a penthouse apartment RIGHT on the water. On a little island actually called Treasure Island. So Jealous.
Taliah had only been to the beach once. So we ran out so that she could touch the water.
Then we went back to Tampa and most of the PCI people went out to a place called The Lodge. They served all of these different kinds of food. Things that don't usually go on a menu together. Sushi, burgers, salads, stir fry, cajun......it was SO weird. But the food was so good. I am now addicted to sweet potato fries.
I love this place. I love that we are all singing together and making this music together. It's an amazing thing.
We had a free day today! Everyone had plans to go out and explore Florida. A bunch of us all planned to head down to St. Petersburg to have some fun for the day. We wanted to see more of Florida and some more of the area. So Liz Anderson and Alex Solomon (both are USF students) drove us down where we met up with Brett Bailey, David Evans, Sarah Quick, and Shayna Isaacson.
It was absolutely beautiful. The city is right on the water and so there were sailboats everywhere and all of these neat little shops around. We walked on the pier and took some pictures and fun things.
Then we met up with some other kids and went to the Chihuly exhibit. It was absolutely incredible. I love it. The blown glass was incredible and it was so fun to walk around and see all of it. I have a new obsession with Chihuly glass. If I were supremely rich, my whole ceiling would be a Chihuly glass display. Just sayin'.
After we went to the exhibit we went to a hot shop and watched a local artist blow glass. Then we walked around some of the cute streets and we took the trolley around. We got gelato and then we drove to Alex's dad's house. His Dad lives in a penthouse apartment RIGHT on the water. On a little island actually called Treasure Island. So Jealous.
Taliah had only been to the beach once. So we ran out so that she could touch the water.
Then we went back to Tampa and most of the PCI people went out to a place called The Lodge. They served all of these different kinds of food. Things that don't usually go on a menu together. Sushi, burgers, salads, stir fry, cajun......it was SO weird. But the food was so good. I am now addicted to sweet potato fries.
I love this place. I love that we are all singing together and making this music together. It's an amazing thing.
The Professional Choral Institute: Day 6
So I couldn't do the first five days all individually, but now I am going to try to write about what happened each day. So much is happening, there's no way I could fit it all in with one post!
Friday, May 27
We had three hours of rehearsal from 10-1. It was GREAT, so productive, and the piece grew SO much! I feel like we all really connected with each other today. We really found that place where all of our voices fit together. AWESOME.
We had a two hour break in between the three hours rehearsal for lunch. Taliah and I went with a bunch of the kids from USF to a Vietnamese place for lunch. It was SO good. I had never had Vietnamese food before. They just kind of give you this big bowl of...stuff. It had little noodles, lettuce, bean sprouts, pieces of egg roll, curried chicken, eel sauce, fish sauce and...just...stuff. It was so good. It was so fun to hang out with the kids from USF. We got to hear a lot more about their school and their professors and what they liked to do for fun.
We went back to another 3 hour rehearsal from 3-6. We had a sectional and talked through some stuff with Misty, we got together as a group. Another good rehearsal. I will never tire of rehearsing this piece. Because I could just sing it over and over and over again.
Misty, by the way, is our Seraphic Fire section leader. She is awesome. She has this HUGE voice. Wow. If I can sing half as well as Misty when I grow up, I will be happy.
We got out of rehearsal a little early because we had a Liederabend tonight.
The Liederabend is this thing where we all kind of performed for each other. It was like a Student Recital type thing but with all of the PCI singers. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
So a bunch of us prepared some things to sing. Taliah and I both prepared something and we didn't even chicken out. We had many opportunities to change our minds and back out...but we were determined. We said to ourselves, "If we can sing in this....then we can do anything."
So we went home and got ready (dressed up, did our hair, and other girly things). We went back and warmed up and tried to settle our nerves. Everyone did really well. You could tell that all of our voices were tired but it didn't detract from how well everyone did. It was really neat to hear everyone--it just made me like everyone even more! Everyone was really supportive of each other. I received some of the best compliments ever which was surprising! It gave me hope for my future.
After it was over we all went to dinner at this German place in celebration. German food is TASTY and we had a lot of fun! Everyone was on this high from the day and from the Liederabend. Then Steve Cox came over to our table and invited us to his apartment afterward to hang out.
So after we got back, Taliah, Brett Bailey, David Evans, and I walked across the hall and hung out with Stephanie Beinlich, Tyler Schoen, Molly Young, Kyle Stevens, Adam Devries, and Steve Cox. We talked and played some games and it was a lot of fun. We were all hyped up on the day and so there was a lot of laughing and joking and fun.
Then Taliah and I left and came home and went to bed.
What a sucessful and fun day. I love this place.
Friday, May 27
We had three hours of rehearsal from 10-1. It was GREAT, so productive, and the piece grew SO much! I feel like we all really connected with each other today. We really found that place where all of our voices fit together. AWESOME.
We had a two hour break in between the three hours rehearsal for lunch. Taliah and I went with a bunch of the kids from USF to a Vietnamese place for lunch. It was SO good. I had never had Vietnamese food before. They just kind of give you this big bowl of...stuff. It had little noodles, lettuce, bean sprouts, pieces of egg roll, curried chicken, eel sauce, fish sauce and...just...stuff. It was so good. It was so fun to hang out with the kids from USF. We got to hear a lot more about their school and their professors and what they liked to do for fun.
We went back to another 3 hour rehearsal from 3-6. We had a sectional and talked through some stuff with Misty, we got together as a group. Another good rehearsal. I will never tire of rehearsing this piece. Because I could just sing it over and over and over again.
Misty, by the way, is our Seraphic Fire section leader. She is awesome. She has this HUGE voice. Wow. If I can sing half as well as Misty when I grow up, I will be happy.
We got out of rehearsal a little early because we had a Liederabend tonight.
The Liederabend is this thing where we all kind of performed for each other. It was like a Student Recital type thing but with all of the PCI singers. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
So a bunch of us prepared some things to sing. Taliah and I both prepared something and we didn't even chicken out. We had many opportunities to change our minds and back out...but we were determined. We said to ourselves, "If we can sing in this....then we can do anything."
So we went home and got ready (dressed up, did our hair, and other girly things). We went back and warmed up and tried to settle our nerves. Everyone did really well. You could tell that all of our voices were tired but it didn't detract from how well everyone did. It was really neat to hear everyone--it just made me like everyone even more! Everyone was really supportive of each other. I received some of the best compliments ever which was surprising! It gave me hope for my future.
After it was over we all went to dinner at this German place in celebration. German food is TASTY and we had a lot of fun! Everyone was on this high from the day and from the Liederabend. Then Steve Cox came over to our table and invited us to his apartment afterward to hang out.
So after we got back, Taliah, Brett Bailey, David Evans, and I walked across the hall and hung out with Stephanie Beinlich, Tyler Schoen, Molly Young, Kyle Stevens, Adam Devries, and Steve Cox. We talked and played some games and it was a lot of fun. We were all hyped up on the day and so there was a lot of laughing and joking and fun.
Then Taliah and I left and came home and went to bed.
What a sucessful and fun day. I love this place.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Professional Choral Institute: Days 1-5
Here I am! YAHOO!
I have been here for 5 days already. 5. How is that even possible? I arrived by plane to Tampa, Florida on Sunday evening and now it's Thursday. It's already been 5 days.
The days have flown by so quickly and I have already learned so much about being a person and being a singer. But even more than that, I am learning what it's like to truly be a musician.
There are 28 people in the choir. 28. That's it. Most of them are graduate students. They have come from everywhere. Illinois, Washington, California, Michigan, Maryland, Florida, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Utah, and New York. They have all come and payed a great deal of money to have THIS experience. To be in THIS choir.
Here is me--little Geneil from Southern Utah University who looks pretty suck-tastic next to all of these hot shots. But I am slowly learning that it's okay that I am not one of the hot shots. I am really learning. I'm not taking this experience for granted. Not one bit.
I have learned:
--Some musicians think they know more than they actually do. Yeah. For real. I am guilty of this, too. I've gotta stop that. It's irritating.
--Be nice all of the time. Not just sometimes. All of the time.
--Don't try to compete with the other singers around you. It's pointless. And nobody wins.
--Be supportive. I don't care if you HATE that tenor that sings out of tune all of the time....be nice to him and support him in what he's trying to do. No one likes a jerk.
--Fugues are HARD.
--Getting enough sleep really does help your singing voice.
--Nobody wants to listen to the complainer.
--You can learn something from everyone. You can be the best musician that there is....and you could learn something from that kid in the back row who started taking voice lessons four months ago.
--You will probably see the people you sing with again. You never know.
--All of the little details matter. Where each "t" goes, how each vowel sounds, taking quiet breaths, phrasing...it all matters.
I have learned so much more than that. But it's already a long post.
More to come, friends.
I love Florida. I love singing. I love music. Gosh, I love this.
The days have flown by so quickly and I have already learned so much about being a person and being a singer. But even more than that, I am learning what it's like to truly be a musician.
There are 28 people in the choir. 28. That's it. Most of them are graduate students. They have come from everywhere. Illinois, Washington, California, Michigan, Maryland, Florida, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Utah, and New York. They have all come and payed a great deal of money to have THIS experience. To be in THIS choir.
Here is me--little Geneil from Southern Utah University who looks pretty suck-tastic next to all of these hot shots. But I am slowly learning that it's okay that I am not one of the hot shots. I am really learning. I'm not taking this experience for granted. Not one bit.
I have learned:
--Some musicians think they know more than they actually do. Yeah. For real. I am guilty of this, too. I've gotta stop that. It's irritating.
--Be nice all of the time. Not just sometimes. All of the time.
--Don't try to compete with the other singers around you. It's pointless. And nobody wins.
--Be supportive. I don't care if you HATE that tenor that sings out of tune all of the time....be nice to him and support him in what he's trying to do. No one likes a jerk.
--Fugues are HARD.
--Getting enough sleep really does help your singing voice.
--Nobody wants to listen to the complainer.
--You can learn something from everyone. You can be the best musician that there is....and you could learn something from that kid in the back row who started taking voice lessons four months ago.
--You will probably see the people you sing with again. You never know.
--All of the little details matter. Where each "t" goes, how each vowel sounds, taking quiet breaths, phrasing...it all matters.
I have learned so much more than that. But it's already a long post.
More to come, friends.
I love Florida. I love singing. I love music. Gosh, I love this.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The end.
The end.
Junior year is over.
I took all of my finals.
I sang a recital.
I went to NATS.
I worked.
I directed opera scenes, performed in opera scenes, and performed in two other shows.
I went to class (most of the time).
I played.
I practiced. A LOT.
I slept (such a difference compared to last year).
I ate (also such a difference compared to last year).
I lived. Bam.
A bittersweet ending. I only have one year left. One year. And then what? Grad School? I don't know. Who knows anything.
A well deserved break, Perkins.
Next year is going to be so different. People are leaving, people are coming back, new people are coming in....Wow.
Bring it on, Summer.
Me and Shaye in The Mikado:
Me and my friends in Vegas on Opus tour:
Me and my friend TaraKay after my recital:
Junior year is over.
I took all of my finals.
I sang a recital.
I went to NATS.
I worked.
I directed opera scenes, performed in opera scenes, and performed in two other shows.
I went to class (most of the time).
I played.
I practiced. A LOT.
I slept (such a difference compared to last year).
I ate (also such a difference compared to last year).
I lived. Bam.
A bittersweet ending. I only have one year left. One year. And then what? Grad School? I don't know. Who knows anything.
A well deserved break, Perkins.
Next year is going to be so different. People are leaving, people are coming back, new people are coming in....Wow.
Bring it on, Summer.
Me and Shaye in The Mikado:
Me and my friends in Vegas on Opus tour:
Me and my friend TaraKay after my recital:
Monday, April 25, 2011
FLORIDA!
That's right! I am going to Florida!
My voice teacher told me about this opportunity in Florida-- the Professional Choral Institute that was going to happen for two weeks in the summer. It was being based at the University of South Florida and it was with Seraphic Fire--a highly esteemed professional choir.
So I went ahead and applied for it.....and I GOT ACCEPTED!!
Yeah. Buddy. Oh, and so did my friend Taliah Johnson! It is going to be so fun!
The most exciting part of PCI is that we will work with Seraphic Fire to record Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. Seraphic Fire Media will release the new disc in August 2011 which makes the recording eligible for the 2012 GRAMMY awards! This is pretty exciting, considering Seraphic Fire’s last partnership with the Western Michigan University Chorale yielded an album entitled Monteverdi’s Vespers of the Blessed Virgin 1610 that rose to No. 1 on the iTunes Classical chart!
Isn't that the most amazing thing ever?! I couldn't be more excited!
I am worried about finding the funding to go....but I am totally going to make this work. Somehow. Some way. This will work.
My voice teacher told me about this opportunity in Florida-- the Professional Choral Institute that was going to happen for two weeks in the summer. It was being based at the University of South Florida and it was with Seraphic Fire--a highly esteemed professional choir.
So I went ahead and applied for it.....and I GOT ACCEPTED!!
Yeah. Buddy. Oh, and so did my friend Taliah Johnson! It is going to be so fun!
The most exciting part of PCI is that we will work with Seraphic Fire to record Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. Seraphic Fire Media will release the new disc in August 2011 which makes the recording eligible for the 2012 GRAMMY awards! This is pretty exciting, considering Seraphic Fire’s last partnership with the Western Michigan University Chorale yielded an album entitled Monteverdi’s Vespers of the Blessed Virgin 1610 that rose to No. 1 on the iTunes Classical chart!
Isn't that the most amazing thing ever?! I couldn't be more excited!
I am worried about finding the funding to go....but I am totally going to make this work. Somehow. Some way. This will work.
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