Yes I sing Opera

That line was starting to sound hollow in my ears after a whole hell of a lot of school and whole heck of nothin' special in the performance world. Truth be told, I found myself passionate about the music, but hesitant to grab the bull by both horns and dive in. Not my style, really, so I was left wondering why I was so reticent.

After an eye opening lesson with Stephen King at Rice, who told me I sounded as though I had been singing Jazz in a bar for the past two years between Musical Theater gigs, (remember I was singing classical music for him!) I felt liberated. Well, actually, first I felt lost and stupid for my seemingly fruitless scholastic efforts. I wallowed in self pity and self deprecation, toyed with the idea of law school, getting my MBA, or moving to Colorado to join a Naturalist Colony. A LOT of soul searching and wrestling with my preconceived debilitating insecurities, and a little help from my friend the baker, and I was...STILL lost.

How does one just shift courses in mid-stride? As a few of you know, (Paul English, Brennan Nase, Ryan Ogrodowicz) I avoided singing jazz like the plague despite my natural affinity for the art form and my OBVIOUS strong connections with a particular Jazz musician in town...(THANKS for the great last name, Baby!) I had had a weird drunken snafu at Ruggles many years ago and was convinced that everyone in town thought I was a hack. (That is how egotistical I am! No one knew me from Adam, but I was SURE they didn't like me! HA!) I was also obsessed with having a separate artistic identity from Paul. I was terrified of the stigma associated with "riding his coattails" so to speak, worried sick that people who asked him if I would be singing anywhere soon(after the Eb5 jam I sang at) were just humoring him and being kind about his silly chick singer wife.

When I was honest with myself, I admitted that musical theater was my true love. I always had to explain to my family that all classical singers are crossover these days...yada yada...I always assumed I would be singing the Lullabies of Broadway more than opera and it never occurred to me that this MIGHT be a sign...

Well, thanks to Glen Ackerman, I was introduced to Ann Ostrow who instantly adopted me artistically speaking. I am looking forward to Stuart Ostrow's MT Workshop in the fall and his Audition class in the spring. I am singing music in my lessons that I LOVE and it feels so good!

Jazz, I feel, is a natural extension of Musical Theater. I am always amazed at how many instrumentalists (at least my age and younger!) have no idea that their favorite tunes in the Real Book came right out of a Broadway show! The beauty of the jazz idiom is that I can sing these beloved songs with my own personality infused instead of the directed and choreographed vision of a director (holding equal merit for me, but a tad limiting).

Also thanks to Glenious, I sang my first gig over Christmas. I was a nervous wreck and really expected the world to crumble around my ears, but no, it went well and the clients were very pleased. I have no idea why Glen trusted me enough to pull that off, but he has always been very encouraging and complimentary of my singing, and I am going to run with that for now!

A random appearance at a big charity function in November led to the next three gigs and suddenly I was making money doing what I love. WHAT A CONCEPT!

The plan is to put together a solo cabaret with Ms O in the next few months. I will let you all know when that will go up. In the meantime, I have been instructed by same to "sing everywhere." Easier said than sung, but ok. Here I go! So if you see me out at a jam, and you are willing to have me sit in, don't let me chicken out! Put a mic in my hands and remind me that the worst that could happen is relatively mild compared to the prospect of never sharing my soul with others through song!