The Painted Tape Logs

The best people in the world....

Dear Readers & Singers,

If you want to live in a place that has the best people in the world, you need to come to Alaska.  I don't know if I've ever lived anywhere else that the sense of community and "hell, we're all in this together" spirit is so alive and thriving.  Sure, I've heard it said it's because we have to look out for each other in this harsh environment, but....maybe all this looking out for each other has evolved into really being wonderful people in general.  So yes, I'd advise you all to move to a place where you could get buried in a snowdrift and freeze to death before anyone found you!

OK, I'm just joking, but here are a few people that need the 1st Annual Awesome Alaskan Awards:

Janet Stotts -- if you have never been to an Alaska Childrens Choir performance...YOU SHOULD.  Period.  I was so honored to narrate their winter concerts this past weekend and let me tell you, their conductor Janet Stotts has really done something amazing with these "kids".  I say "kids" because in fact they range from 5-18 and would hate to have all those 18 year olds mad at me for calling them kids. :)  Anyone looking over their handbook can see the level of commitment and professionalism required to be a member of the Choir...they are just fantastic and so inspiring!!!!

Alaska Children's Choir

Jenna Hensley -- So sweet!!!  Jenna is a returnee to Alaska and just opened up her voice studio in the same building as my studio.  It's so nice, first of all, to have fellow singers in the building, and secondly, to have such a nice one!  Anyways, Jenna wrote a super sweet post on her own blog about my dress rehearsal for the Anchorage Civic Orchestra.  It's people like Jenna that help me to remember the important things.  Oh, and if you need voice lessons, go see her!!!

Jenna's Blog

Stephanie Long -- A great and wonderful friend.  I just want to include her because of the great "review" she gave me.  You know, the "critics" aka "experts" may think they know what's what, but just once....JUST ONCE...I wish that they would take some audience opinions.  Sometimes their collars are so tight that they can't see the joy and happiness on the faces around them.  Yeah...maybe my German wasn't perfect...and yeah, maybe I botched that scale...and yeah, maybe I missed an entrance or the strings were out of tune or whatever!  WHO GIVES A FLYING FART IN SPACE!?!?!?! 

I prefer to go by this review (hope you don't mind Steph!):

Hi Bean,

You were great last night. I always enjoy hearing you perform, and last night was very fun! You looked amazing (as always), I was thinking, I bet Steve is thinking to himself how blessed he is to be with you.

I'm not exactly savvy in what is supposed to sound which way, etc., but I liked the song with the choir the best - especially the amens at the end, and I have heard you perform the German song before (with the laughing) and I LOVE it every time I hear it.

Anyway, that's my review! I know you'll cut it out and paste it alongside the ones you get from the ADN! :) BTW, I saw you in the paper yesterday AGAIN. WTH?? You're always in the paper! :)

Love,
Steph

So there you have it.  A great bunch of Awesome Alaskans.  Honorable Mention definetely goes to Beth Balen for successfully conducting her first performance of Handel's Messiah last weekend.  I had to mention her because I will never forget -- cross my heart I will not ever forget -- her expression at the end of the performance.  It was like, "Holy shitake mushrooms I can't believe that actually worked!  Now what do I do?".  I thought we would have to help her down from the podium and give her mouth-to-mouth...it was so great.  But Beth, did you really doubt that it would all be ok?!?!?! :)  You were fantastic and a super nice conductor (especially with the likes of Diva Keene around) and we believed in you whole-heartedly!!!  Congratulations on achieving your lifelong dream!

Here is a link to some pics from this performance: Messiah Pics

Wonderfully accurate...

I stole this video from  my baritone...ahem...sorry...I guess he's a tenor now (help they are taking over the world!!!!!)....anyways I stole it from his Facebook page. 

It is SOOOOOO ridiculously accurate how a conversation goes when speaking with people who have heard me sing.  I am sorry to make fun, especially since most of my readers here are non-singers....sorry, sorry, sorry...but this really is how it goes in the life of a singer.  This video is my whole blog summed up in 4 minutes!!

 

In other news....I hope to have some recordings of my recent performances up on here.  Including a recording of my first ever performance of singing "Rejoice Greatly" for the sing-a-long Messiah performance up here. 

Happy Holidays!

Hittin the big time!

I am prodigiously proud to say that in the past week two videos of my singing have been added to YouTube!!  Of course, I'm no star like my mezzo friend who made it to the "Asian celebrities" website with her version of Strauss' "Allerseelen", but I'll take what I can get.

Here is the performance from the Anchorage Opera fall concert this past October.

 

This is a video from the concert I just recently sang with the Anchorage Civic Orchestra.

 

ACO &...ME! :)

 
Well it's clear that I am just no good at blogging...I mean, seriously? When have I ever finished or stuck with a project permanently?? 

So...as a nice cop out...I'll just post my poster for my upcoming concert this Saturday night and say I am extremely excited about this concert and the Anchorage Civic Orchestra sounds just great!!! :)

The Great Zen Test

It's here. Again.  That feeling of overwhelming frustration and negativity that inevitably accompanies almost every production I'm in.  I don't know where it comes from.  It's like a big ugly monster that rears its head as soon as I walk into the rehearsal space.  The only thing I can figure...maybe I'm bipolar!

Naaaaahhhh...but I would, nonetheless, like to know just what provokes said ugly monster.  Is it a smell?  The smell of fear and intimidation and superiority of mind and intellect that exudes from my colleagues that drives me insane?  Yes, I think that's definitely an option, but not one that I don't encounter on a daily basis anyway.  Is it my own feelings of superiority that gets smacked down when my singing or acting gets challenged?  Oh yes...most probably!!! 

Well, I'll keep thinking about this...but here is the thing.  This show will be the official testing of my newfound zen mantras and Eapen Lubner-esque attitudes!!!!

I literally get up in the morning with this saying:

"I am going to have kind thoughts towards others,
I'm not going to get angry or think badly about others,
I am going to benefit others as much as I can."

Breathe in, breathe out....repeat mantra.

It has already been greatly put to test.  After a somewhat frustrating coaching for me on Sunday, I didn't (for once) spend the whole day ranting about it! Yeehaw!!!  I walked out and said, "Well...that's just two hours out of my hopefully 657,000 hours on this earth.  That is a miniscule percentage so, really? Not worth the effort of being angry all day!"  WOW!  That attitude surprised me!

Or course, sometimes it works.  Sometimes not. But I guess that's part of zen living too -- it's not always going to work.  I won't lie.  I have struggled with this bad attitude of mine for many years now!!!  Here's hoping that this time I can get things under control.  In the words of Mark Darcy I SHALL CONQUER THIS!  I SHALL!

Here's a nice blog that I've been reading to help me stay simple and zen-like!  A MUST for every artist going insane from this business!

http://zenhabits.net/

Also on a side note: Happiness.  Just a gentle reminder to myself and us all, that true happiness does not come from another person or an opera company or food or music or any other tangible thing.  True happiness and contentment lies within yourself -- within your ability to live in the "now".  So find a few moments to just sit quietly, quiet your thoughts, and find the happiness in the present!

Season 2010-2011: Happy Anniversary!!!!

Almost exactly 10 years ago, in the Fall of 2000, I walked into Sherri Weiler's office at the University of Alaska to sing for her and gain a spot in her studio.  A lot of people ask me how I started singing opera...well...here's the story for posterity.

I had taken two years off after high school because, like most creative, intelligent 18 year olds, I didn't know what to do with my life.  Up until my senior year of high school I had always wanted to be a veterinarian and I worked hard in school to take all the right classes and get the good grades.  Then we moved from Alaska to Idaho. 
This was an important move for several reasons, but most of all, they didn't have a skating rink in Idaho - what did that mean? I didn't spend all my afterschool hours at the rink!

My senior year I really started getting involved in music and theatre and loved it!

"Fiddler on the Roof" 1998, I was Motel's mother :)  
 
I realized (also after failing my first pre-calculus test because I didn't keep up on the homework), that I was not a scientifically, left-brained being.  It's very important to realize your limitations.  After high school I went to Russia for 6 months, dabbled in music courses at U of Idaho, and (not many people know this about me) went to the Assembly of God's Far North Bible School for a year.

Then my parents came to Alaska for a visit in August of 2000.  Now, still being a teenager, of course I didn't want to listen to their advice or opinions.  Dad said, "God told me something to tell you." (at which point, yes, I did roll my eyes, come on Dad - you ALWAYS use that line!) and I paraphrase and take liberty..."God gave you a talent, and it's your job to train that talent so it can turn into what it's really supposed to be." Damn. Maybe God really DID speak to him this time.

The very same week I went to the UAA music department and signed up. 
Penny, the administrator, asked me what degree I wanted to go for: Music Education or Performance?  Well, I certainly didn't want to teach, so I chose Performance (much to the chagrin of many people!).  She asked me which voice teacher I wanted to study with...I said, "Who's the best?" :)  Yes, even before I knew it, I was a soprano in both voice and mind.

So that led me to Sherri Weiler.  Her studio was full at the time, but after hearing me and meeting her, I think I can safely say we both wanted to work with each other -- so she made it happen.  During one of my first lessons she put Mozart's aria "Deh vieni non tardar" from the Marriage of Figaro in front of me.  

Me: "What's this?"

Sherri: "It's an aria from an opera."

Me: "I'm not singing opera."

Sherri: "Oh yes you are."

LOL. Even remembering that moment makes me laugh.

 
Sherri and I @ Opera Fairbanks "Don Giovanni" 2010 

So here we are, 10 years later, singing still haunting me despite repeated attempts to give it up and follow a more "econimically viable" career path -- but in a season this year where I get to sing so much music that I love, I don't think that will happen!

The Eeyore syndrome...self-diagnosed

Yes, ok, so after last lovely post about being positive and blah, blah, blah I find myself decidedly negative and hateful and angry this week.  What am I angry about? That is a darn good question...if you know, by all means, please...share!

I heart this pic.  It is how I feel about my life most days. 

Also, I feel like this girl a lot (yeah, the one with the scowl)

um....and sometimes I'd like to do this like Tonya Harding...

And certain things make me go...

and then, there was Eeyore...

  
Dude, I can definitely relate.

Yeah, so readers, do as I say, not as I do -- or you might find yourself like I am right now:

Recommended reading and other fancy stuff

Was just on the chat line with my BFF and the phrase came up - from me - "Stupid negative WORLD"...well, it is, isn't it? A very negative world. BFF says, "like life is hard enough without always focusing on the bad stuff and making it way worse than it needs to be." Um...dingdingding...hit the nail on the head with that one.

She continues:

"like when i scratched up my car, i could have cried and screamed and pouted, but instead i thought well, this will cost me some money, then went in the pool. and it was nice."

Have I ever said how much I love that girl?  Someday I am writing a book on us.

Anyways, so negative world. I was trying to think of being positive and thought of one of my favorite books:

  The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander.  

He's a conductor dude so he's working with us negative, hard on ourselves musicians all the time.  His philosophy is, hey, why not start out by giving everything an A instead of an F?  Got a tough audition? Why not say, hey, this audition is going to be great and I have all the tools necessary to sing a great audition!  Instead of, oh man, this audition is going to be so hard and I'm gonna suck.

It's like, you've already got a 100% - all you have to do is keep it there.  Waaaaaaayyyyy easier than taking a 50% and trying to make it a 100%.  Or, another example I use with my voice students all the time - it's way easier to sing a high note if you are not trying to raise 50 lbs with your voice to get UP to it.  I mean, right? Downhills are way easier than uphills, right?!

The other book I like, although not strictly about positive thinking, is:

"The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle  

Pretty interesting study on talent pools and what makes people turn into true proficients.  Turns out, according to Coyle, it's about productive practice.  Fifteen minutes of focused, productive practice can take the place of 3 hours of unfocused practice and hey, I'm always about being more efficient and spending less time in the practice room...shhh...look at the eyes, the eyes, the eyes, don't look around and...you're under...I did not say I hate the practice room...when I count to three you will act as if I did not say that...1..2..3...you're back in the room.

And so, I watched the last half of the MET HD's "Carmen" on PBS the other night.  I was very excited to see Keith Miller, the Don Giovanni that little old me got to sing with in Fairbanks, on national television!!!!  Sooooooo cool - but not the point of my story here.  My point is about Barbara Frittoli's performance.  Ok, I mean, everyone knows she's a fantastic soprano...but...WHY?  Is it just the voice?  For my part, I think not.  What struck me more about her performance was that she was giving it 100%.  She was totally engaged and sucked me right in.  I started thinking about other great performers and you know, I think that is really what does it for me - the 100% thing.  I think about Richard Bernstein as our Leporello in Fairbanks and how everyone loved him - again, fantastic voice, but also 100% totally engaged in the music and drama.  Let this be a lesson to us all in singing and in life!

Here's Barbara:

NEWS: I am finally updating the blog with more pictures from recent performances as well as links, new performances, and all kinds of other stuff.  So check it out!

Following Me!! NEW!

Some of my dedicated readers have had trouble following my blog or subscribing to it.  Well, good news, this technologically disadvantaged opera singer found the linky dingy thingy to allow you to follow easily.

When you view the blog, there should now be a box over there somewhere (see arrow)

 

and it should have a button that says: "Follow"

From there you can sign in using a myriad of different accounts (Facebook, yahoo, google, hotmail) and you should be able to get instant, lightning fast updates on my rather interesting and varied, extremely exciting life! Yes, I am now going to attempt to update the blog-go at least once a week.

p.s. Disclaimer: if it doesn't work and you just absolutely HAVE to follow me, let me know :)

Upcoming Engagements

Anchorage Civic Orchestra
Soloist: Bachianas Brasileiras, No 5; "Voi che sapete"; "Mein Herr Marquis"; Mozart's "Laudate Dominum" with UAA University Singers
Sydney Laurence Hall (Anchorage Performing Arts Center)
November 6, 2010 @ 7:30pm
ACO Brochure

French Connections

Sister Constance (from Dialogue of the Carmelites)
Anchorage Opera
October 9, 2010 @ 8pm

Don Giovanni
Zerlina
Opera Fairbanks
July 9, 11, 2010

Marriage of Figaro
Cherubino
Juneau Lyric Opera
Spring 2010

Suor Angelica (Sister Genevieve)
November 2009
Anchorage Opera
Anchorage, Alaska

Recital and Masterclass
Juneau, Alaska
July TBA

Adventures In Italy
An intimate evening of Italian music with Elizabeth Moran, soprano, and Juliana Osinchuk, piano
June 24, 2009

Classical Singer Convention
Chicago, Illinois
May 29-30, 2009