Music Teacher

akintsucrooner

Today I received an incredibly thoughtful message from Joseph Daniel. He was one of my former music students at Clissold School in Chicago in the 1990s and is now a Chicago fireman. Thank you for your service🙏🏻 . He spoke appreciatively about all of the music he learned as a rambunctious youngster and shared the fun active video below of the do mi so mi do triad warmup I still do with the kids today. I can truthfully say teaching is harder than it has ever been. It does not resemble my first year of teaching in 1991. I adore sharing in the music growth of young musicians but all that comes along with in it in 2026 is not for the weary. Receiving a message like this from a former student and positive impact made means more than I can articulate. As a self proclaimed bozo on the bus in the circus of life, I am grateful for these special moments. #musiceducator #clissoldschool #Connection

Bonnet Time

akintsucrooner

Currently, I am trying on bonnets after breaking bread at the magical restaurant that is Clearfield Dutch Pantry; a zagat version of Cracker Barrel if you will imho.

There are no goth style bonnets sadly and I feel ridiculous wearing this snug hair covering on my generous dome.

However, I did get a senior discount on my kielbasa, sauerkraut, marble rye, and shoo fly pie for being over 55. Wheeee!!

#vacationmode #Pennsylvania #DutchPantry #shooflypie #gothbonnetanyone

Brunnhilde Coaching 7.9.2026

akintsucrooner

Grateful for a super helpful vocal coaching with Oleg Bellini on act 2 brunnhilde walkure aria and the act 2 duet with Siegmund. I especially appreciated his coaching from the podium perspective. I annotated some of the constructive and thoughtful session takeaways as I implement into my muscle memory:  

  1. Find the tempo framework without being only the tempo. 
  2. Sustain through the phrases sans rushing. 
  3. Match with the orchestra part; woodshed orchestra checkpoint and references. 
  4. Find the breadth and stretch of Brunnhilde phrases as juxtaposed with the heroically driven Siegmund Joseph ❤️
  5. Unpack specific iconic Wagner thematic moments so embedded in the score to find most efficient musical coherence. 
  6. Relax my war cry in the beast that is Brunnhilde’s act 2 aria and finding steady continuous circular movement especially with the coloratura written B5 and C6. 
  7. And as always my work in progress: taking time for the text as the meaning informs and connects musically. #singer #opera #coaching #walkure #wagner

Happy Pride Day 28

akintsucrooner

Day 28 Perryman closet free insight: Grief and processing has been a part of my coming out path especially as my discoveries came after my father had passed away. Tears first began emerging at my first NJ church job in Glen Ridge which I have been fortunate enough to sing periodically for the past 24 years. My father and I were very similar in temperament and intensity. When it really mattered, he was there for me. He just got it. My upbringing was fairly traditional however there were progressive glimmers of what was to come throughout my formative years including my Dad’s United Church of Christ church job; a church home where I would marry Elizabeth Honer in 2015. After my father’s sudden death at 63, tears were unpredictable and hard to come by. I never knew when feelings would come to the surface: reading a card, singing a hymn, missing a coaching, and/or watching a commercial. Despite the societal expectation in which I grew up, I believe my father would have accepted Elizabeth and perhaps would have been a huge ally by 2026. In any case, I believe his spirit was alive and well when my brother Neal wholeheartedly accepted Eliz and I on that St Louis Thanksgiving evening 17 years ago. As I become more and more myself, my grief continues to lift and my tears find joyful release. #pride #day28