Alas for those that never sing,
But die with all their music in them!
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Welcome!
Whether you come to Singers Forum to take lessons or classes, rent space or join Open Mic, we'd love to hear what you think! Bring on the comments!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Delivery Girls at Feinstein's: 20% Off!
One of our students and one of our good friends have teamed up with two other talented ladies and director Eric Michael Gillett to create a different kind of musical act than you usually see these days.
The Delivery Girls is a trio of singers (Mary Carey, Amie Carey and April Henry) and musical director Tracy Stark. They apply tight harmonies to fun pop numbers, like a latter day version of The Crystals or The Ronnettes. I know all this for two reasons: one, I am readng the postacrd about their show, and two, I am lucky enough to hear them rehearse here in our studio.
My office is right across the hall from the Andy Anselmo Studio, so when the Delivery Girls are around, I know it. Their smooth sound and recognizable music is a welcome break from what is sometimes a cacophany of vocalizing students. I've seen Mary around school for a few years now, and Tracy and I have even worked together on a New Year's Eve gig I had last year. But even if I didn't know these ladies, I could recommend the show from the sound of their rehearsals alone.
Mary was nice enough to offer a discount to Singers Forum folks, so if you use code DG09 when reserving tickets, you'll get 20% off.
The show is at Feinstein's at The Regency on Wednesday, November 4 at 8:30 pm. I recommend calling 212.339.4095 to reserve tickets, as the online method adds nearly $10 to the total. You can also see more at www.feinsteinsattheregency.com.
The Delivery Girls is a trio of singers (Mary Carey, Amie Carey and April Henry) and musical director Tracy Stark. They apply tight harmonies to fun pop numbers, like a latter day version of The Crystals or The Ronnettes. I know all this for two reasons: one, I am readng the postacrd about their show, and two, I am lucky enough to hear them rehearse here in our studio.
My office is right across the hall from the Andy Anselmo Studio, so when the Delivery Girls are around, I know it. Their smooth sound and recognizable music is a welcome break from what is sometimes a cacophany of vocalizing students. I've seen Mary around school for a few years now, and Tracy and I have even worked together on a New Year's Eve gig I had last year. But even if I didn't know these ladies, I could recommend the show from the sound of their rehearsals alone.
Mary was nice enough to offer a discount to Singers Forum folks, so if you use code DG09 when reserving tickets, you'll get 20% off.
The show is at Feinstein's at The Regency on Wednesday, November 4 at 8:30 pm. I recommend calling 212.339.4095 to reserve tickets, as the online method adds nearly $10 to the total. You can also see more at www.feinsteinsattheregency.com.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Mother, My Valve!
If you have read "A Confederacy of Dunces" (which you should) this quote will have particular salience. If not, it's still something to think about, especially post-MTV generation.
I find that I tend to gravitate toward the former and avoid the latter, but there is a relentless trend toward music that degrades us, and we tend to become desensitized to it rather rapidly. Who among us would say that the music of Elvis Presley is the "music of the devil" in the 21st century, especially compared to the spectacles of Marilyn Manson, rap music about crime, and Lady Gaga? (OK, I like Lady Gaga, I can't help it.)
That was my first thought when I read this quote; what about you?
"Music is a part of us, and either ennobles or degrades our behaviour." - Boethius
I find that I tend to gravitate toward the former and avoid the latter, but there is a relentless trend toward music that degrades us, and we tend to become desensitized to it rather rapidly. Who among us would say that the music of Elvis Presley is the "music of the devil" in the 21st century, especially compared to the spectacles of Marilyn Manson, rap music about crime, and Lady Gaga? (OK, I like Lady Gaga, I can't help it.)
That was my first thought when I read this quote; what about you?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thought for the Day
Life is a symphony, and the action of every person in this life is the playing of his particular part in the music.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Building a Music Library
We were lucky enough to get a generous donation from one of our former students in the form of several boxes of music books to add to our collection. Although we had a lot of traditional musical theater, classical, and pop standards in our extant collection, we were light on the contemporary. I'm glad we seemed to have filled that niche now. Of course, our lending library is still fairly small, but I think it offers a lot of options to our students and renters. We like to think of it as a little perk of working at Singers Forum!
The Singers Anthology books are helpful, especially because they are published by voice part. I also like vocal selections from musicals for a good way to find obscure material. Now we also have a lot of books of songs written and/or performed by a specific pop artist. I find them to be great resources for new songs to play on my uke!
What would be your ideal books in your music library? Do you like jazz standards, or would you love to have more contemporary musical theater books? And have you mastered the art of copying songs from these books without losing your bass clef or chord symbols? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The Singers Anthology books are helpful, especially because they are published by voice part. I also like vocal selections from musicals for a good way to find obscure material. Now we also have a lot of books of songs written and/or performed by a specific pop artist. I find them to be great resources for new songs to play on my uke!
What would be your ideal books in your music library? Do you like jazz standards, or would you love to have more contemporary musical theater books? And have you mastered the art of copying songs from these books without losing your bass clef or chord symbols? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Quandary of Work/Study
A very funny graphic from The Onion lists the "Least Popular Work-Study Jobs." It gives 19% (of what, I don't know) to "Work-study program administrator." This graphic hangs on the cork board in front of my desk, so I can muse at it every day. That's me, "work-study program administrator."
It's hard to run a work/study program when there is a limited amount and specific type of work to do. Back when we ran the evening front desk with Work/Study students, there were more students participating, but we had too much inconsistency in a vital area, so we switched to one paid employee. Let's face it, most people who want to do Work/Study are struggling performers who may get a tour at a moment's notice, or get interested in another kind of class they have to focus on. So, I'm used to seeing people come and go. Unfortunately, I'm at a kind of "go" moment right now.
We have Open House this week, and we usually staff it with about 10 Work/Study students. This year, I have 2. Basically, the students who are trained to do Work/Study aren't taking classes right now, so they don't need to earn credit. Thus, they don't respond to my requests for staff. I miss them!
I love having students help to run our events, as they are a huge part of the school. We let Work/Study students do the hours they want and apply the credit to anything they want. Many schools only offer a program like work 6 hours in one week and get one class. That's not very flexible. So, I think we've got a good deal! Plus, I always offer the opportunity to go around town distributing postcards at studios and bookstores (just dropping off, no handing out), with a report-your-own-hours policy, but I don't get many takers.
I'm just at a loss as to what to do. Do we institute a more rigid policy, like, you have to work three events a semester to stay on the roster? How can I incentivize the program to make it more desirable? Is this a signal that the whole structure of the program must change? What do you think? I'd love to hear your ideas!
It's hard to run a work/study program when there is a limited amount and specific type of work to do. Back when we ran the evening front desk with Work/Study students, there were more students participating, but we had too much inconsistency in a vital area, so we switched to one paid employee. Let's face it, most people who want to do Work/Study are struggling performers who may get a tour at a moment's notice, or get interested in another kind of class they have to focus on. So, I'm used to seeing people come and go. Unfortunately, I'm at a kind of "go" moment right now.
We have Open House this week, and we usually staff it with about 10 Work/Study students. This year, I have 2. Basically, the students who are trained to do Work/Study aren't taking classes right now, so they don't need to earn credit. Thus, they don't respond to my requests for staff. I miss them!
I love having students help to run our events, as they are a huge part of the school. We let Work/Study students do the hours they want and apply the credit to anything they want. Many schools only offer a program like work 6 hours in one week and get one class. That's not very flexible. So, I think we've got a good deal! Plus, I always offer the opportunity to go around town distributing postcards at studios and bookstores (just dropping off, no handing out), with a report-your-own-hours policy, but I don't get many takers.
I'm just at a loss as to what to do. Do we institute a more rigid policy, like, you have to work three events a semester to stay on the roster? How can I incentivize the program to make it more desirable? Is this a signal that the whole structure of the program must change? What do you think? I'd love to hear your ideas!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Voice Choices
Looks like longtime Back Stage writer David Finkle is doing a bit of work for the Village Voice. (He could have been writing for them as long as or longer than Back Stage, I'm just noticing it now!)
Anyhoo, his list of articles is a veritable who's who of folks who have connections to Singers Forum. To wit:
MetroStar Challenge was emceed by Lennie Watts, one of the judges was Eric Michael Gillett, SF students Melissa Heche and Joe D'Alessandro competed, and SF teacher Wendy Russell made it to the Top Ten.
The ubiquitous Eric Michael Gillett brings his show "Widescreen" to Feinstein's.
Also appearing at Feinstein's (last week) were "the Nick and Nora of cabaret", SF teachers Barbara Fasano & Eric Comstock.
We also count KT Sullivan among our friends, and were thrilled to have her present at our fundraiser in 2007.
Now, if we can just get him to include the locations...
Anyhoo, his list of articles is a veritable who's who of folks who have connections to Singers Forum. To wit:
MetroStar Challenge was emceed by Lennie Watts, one of the judges was Eric Michael Gillett, SF students Melissa Heche and Joe D'Alessandro competed, and SF teacher Wendy Russell made it to the Top Ten.
The ubiquitous Eric Michael Gillett brings his show "Widescreen" to Feinstein's.
Also appearing at Feinstein's (last week) were "the Nick and Nora of cabaret", SF teachers Barbara Fasano & Eric Comstock.
We also count KT Sullivan among our friends, and were thrilled to have her present at our fundraiser in 2007.
Now, if we can just get him to include the locations...
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