Sorry, this pic is a little blurry... me singing a scene from Rigoletto....


This is a pic with an AMAZING tenor - Rafael Moras. Not only is he the most gifted tenor I have heard, at the young age of 20, he is also a wonderful person! His humility is as obvious as his talent. I am so blessed to have met him! I can't wait to hear him at the Met in 5-10 years!


My roommate for the workshop - Amy Alvarado. Another VERY talented singer. She is a gorgeous mezzo. Also, a very promising singer! Below is a pic of my friend Allan Chan, an old student of mine when I taught Middle School Chorus - Tina Boosahda (man, what a small world!), Laura from Florida and .... Oh! I canNOT remember her name. I promise to add it later.


Wow.... I guess it's been a while since I last wrote. Well, here's the latest. My college auditions went well, but I didn't get accepted anywhere. Yes, you said it. Getting into school for an advanced degree in Opera Performance is pretty harsh competition. You really gotta be good, or just know someone.

I'm gonna try again this year, and since auditions in January, I've made some connections that will hopefully help me for the future.

I just finished participating in the Crittenden Summer Opera Workshop. It lasts for two weeks and is an intensive program that focuses mostly on stage performance. We learned a TON about everything from attitude to moving on stage. They assigned us all 3 scenes to perform. Then we spend the time in coachings and staging rehearsals. During those rehearsals, we learn techniques for staging and gesturing and basically making ourselves look great on stage. I was assigned the scene from Massanet's Manon where Manon first meets Dex Grieux and they decide to run off to Paris together. I also worked on and performed the scene from Rigoletto where Gilda had just been seduced by the Duke and she runs to her father, Rigoletto to tell him about it.

The 3rd scene I was assigned is from a one-act opera that was just released by a conductor at Boston U, and the librettist lives in Maryland. It's about Tony Caruso's son and how he never was a famous opera singer, but he had a radio show for 27 years and it got bought out. So the opera takes place during his last broadcast, and he has all these dreams about people in his life. One of them is about Maria Callas - she appears to him and basically makes him feel like trash for not becoming a singer. It was very fun. The opera ends really nicely... I won't spoil it for you in case you ever see it.

I learned sooo much valuable information!! I also learned that I have a lot of work to do to look goood on stage. You don't just stand up and sing and look good... you have to work at it and do certain things. There's certain rules to follow for staging. Most directors will not give you all the details, so these kinds of workshops are invaluable. This one is especially good because it teaches so much for a very inexpensive fee. I'm so glad I took the time to do it! Attached are pics from the workshop...

As for my goals: to continue studying staging and working on getting this new information into my muscle memory, and to apply again for grad schools. I'll keep you updated....

Hello! I thought I would give an update on my singing career. Once back from Austria, I spent some time finding employment - just a day job to help pay the bills. I found one that is close to home and it allows me to take long lunches and work on my music. Plus, since my commute time is 1.5 hours less than it used to be, I can use that time to sing.... which I do.

I took a couple of trips up to NY to audition and have some coachings. Both were good experiences. I spent the next couple of months learning the role of Suzanna from "Le Nozze di Figaro" for a concert/studio performance. I LOVE that role and can't wait to be able to do it again!

Shortly after that, I decided to apply to grad school for a Masters in Opera Performance. So I worked to make a recording to send to grad schools and went through the whole application process for 5 different schools. Boy, that is a LONG and arduous process, but worth the time. I applied to Oberlin College, Yale, Boston University, University of Maryland and University of Colorado. All good schools, but my number 1 choice, after doing some research is U of Maryland. I love living in this area and would like to stay here.

I was granted a live audition with them - U of MD, last Friday - Jan. 19th, and it went fairly well. I was sooo impressed with the faculty. They were so welcoming and kind. It made the audition more than bareable. It was a very good experience. If the education experience is anything like the audition, I would be so grateful! They make final decisions by March 1st.

I have an audition with Oberlin College next week, as well as a couple of other auditions with local opera companies for spring and summer productions. I haven't heard from Boston or Yale yet, and probably won't until March or April. Univ. of CO is out of the picture. They asked me to travel there to audition, but I could not go. Mostly timing and money issues. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to live in CO, however, so I'm not sad about missing that audition.

In the meantime, I'm loving singing and life is good! More to come as results are revealed!

Bye for now.