akintsucrooner

4 quarters of the ancestry pie I am not…..

A. Maternal Grandma-German

B. Maternal Grandpa-1st generation Sicilian

C. Paternal Grandpa-English

D. Paternal Grandma-Danish

According to my 23 and me test, I had a few intrigues in my results. 4 equal quarters of the ancestry pie I am not.

1. My biggest portion is 27% Italian. I thought I’d have less. There is another 6% here of Southern Europe unidentified. My Italian coach had convinced me I’m not Italian perhaps due to my singing diphthongs and occasional faux pas in Italian grammar.

2. My 2nd biggest portion at 18% is British and Irish. Didn’t expect any Irish.

3. My 3rd biggest portion is Scandinavian with 10%. Thought I’d have more here.

4. French and German were slightly less at 9%. There’s another 18% of unidentified northern Europe here.

5. 4% is mixed with Arab, North African, and Western Asia. The rest is unidentified. Not likely Neanderthal.

Cool.

“TO TEACH IS TO LEARN TWICE OVER.”—JOSEPH JOUBERT

A singer’s path along the yellow brick road…#youngsingergeneration

By E. Perryman

11.2.19

#thaierphotobomb

Legato, vowels, breath, and position, not something that nature gave me automatically as a young singer.

Love, drive, tenacity, and spirit were innate for me. It took a singing village over the years to bring the technique online for me. This work isn’t finite either. I continue to work on implementing the rudiments of singing as I age, should I be so granted longevity.

I feel fortunate to get to work with beginning singers as an elementary music teacher. The kids are fearless and adaptable. I demonstrate senza vibrato and the kids respond. We sing up through the 2nd passagio. They children don’t realize the difficulty and I definitely don’t tell them. They modify on octave leaps and gather their vowels on the upper pitches (things that can send a voice major to a psychiatrist,) and have no clue that it is hard to do.

My former student Deyana always had a lovely warm tone and large range. She has exuded joy for music and theater since I met her as a first grade student. I remember now beautifully Deyana sang the melody of the Hansel and Gretel evening prayer in 3rd grade.

As an elementary music teacher, I mainly work with the youngsters on round tone, head voice, and easy production. Legato, vowels, breath, and position are not a focus. If something we are working on requires attention to these areas, I find civilian ways to demonstrate and share.

So Rutgers prep 14 year old Deyana came for a lesson today. She now towers over 5’5 moi. I listened with admiration as she sang with a lovely timbre, smooth legato, and tall vowels. I was very impressed with her training the past few years. Her tone is healthy with a free legato and her joyful musical spirit is present. I hear an exciting young mezzo soprano in her sound. Like I did as a young singer, she sings alto in her high school choir with the size of her voice and wide range.

I’m excited to see where her voice takes her and inspired to get a chance to share what I’ve learned along the way.

#akintsucrooner

Ok Bachelor fans, if you found yourself hating “Luke P” on Hannah’s season, please listen to this podcast. Anymore, I watch for pure entertainment knowing the show deeply edits the footage to create the most sensational characters and a storyline. What we see is cobbled together by the well paid writers. Amazingly, some real stuff comes out of it. It’s fun to guess the real story. Living in a disconnected TV bubble with persuasive producers, tense energy, and big personalities must be quite the entertainment breeding ground. I know the actors sign up for it the show but the social media backlash goes way overboard. It is far beyond constructive and isn’t deserving or usually accurate. Food for thought. #bachelorette #manysidestothestory

Podcast #152 – Interview with Luke Parker & “Temptation Island’s” Casey Starchak

“The greatest respect an artist can pay to music is to give it life.” Pablo Casals

I had the privilege to work talented musician, Jackie Burd, the past several months. She came to me to complete 20 hours of applied voice as she completed her masters degree in music education. During our lessons, we had the meeting of the musical minds as fellow music educators. She indulged my theatrical side as I used various props to demonstrate physical singing concepts. It has been fascinating to view vocal study though the lens of a clarinet player. Jackie laughed when I would remark on her high level of lesson preparation and quick technical application (singers and instrumentalists have different habits in this respect.) We explored the differences in how we move breath, use our embouchure, and deliver expression as an vocalist vs. instrumentalist. Tonight, Jackie completed her lessons by presenting a casual voice jury at my home to fellow accomplished singers. She sang in different styles and languages. I was especially proud of her progress as I know how hard it is to sing in public. Your voice is you. There is no hiding. She did a terrific job and should be proud. Her music students are lucky to have her.

By E. Perryman

10.21.19

#akintsucrooner

1. The bright, high, and vibrato free tone I need to sing sop 1 in Biebl’s big choir continues to induce a temporary forehead headache. This is a northerly cavity of my mask that I don’t often use in my travels with my big girl musical britches. 

2. Twas amazing to find more sob sigh and deeper resonance while still having a commanding high C in Turandot, thanks to voice whisperer @delgiudice.andrea. 

3. My synthetic 80s and church camp soul was soothed by the musical mash up of Michael W. Smith Agnus Dei and How Great Thou Art. Oh to hear the Decatur Park Singers perform this epic anthem….

#bieblavemaria

#renaissancemotetthroatfor200

#centurionicequeenblood

#michaelwsmithagnusdei

#howgreatthouartchickensoulforthehappyspintosoul

The matte queen suntan hose in an egg that I used to wear is passe.

My control top sheer black reinforced toe nylons are at the bottom of my sock hat box.

Sometimes I still fight gravity and pull those bad boys up.

Sometimes I redistribute and smooth out the remnants of my carb habit for a happy aesthetic.

But in general, I have gone the au naturale route and decided to forgo panty hose to the chagrin of my 1950s high school graduate mother. WWGS (what would grandmother say.) Hey, at least I’m wearing a rain hat!

Well, pantyhose ain’t working for the melanin challenged like myself anymore.

GOSH DARN IT, I’m feeling spanx invade the opera page these days.

These days, I sing the big beefy music like I ate it for breakfast. Gimme some thick Wagner, robust Verdi, and fat Puccini before noon. I’m all good.

Give me opera arias that I used to sing on the periphery of my voice type; just an inch too high with close interval approaches……

Fugeddaboudit.

I’m singing the Gilda part of the famous Rigoletto quartet for a concert next weekend. For some reason, this isn’t hard for me.

So I thought, why don’t I try something else a little lighter than my usual fare as my aria.

I can hear the “you lose” price is right musical motive as we speak.

My hare brained self attempt to float “Doretta’s Aria” from La Rondine was an epic fail. WTF.

The first page was fine.

The second page even with the high c was pretty good.

Page 3 devoured me.

I felt like a freshman undergraduate voice major trying to sing “Apres Un Reve” for late April voice seminar during allergy season.

By the end, I was wearing my larynx like a tiara.

I told my coach. Enough. I don’t have to sing this. Let’s sing some easy Chenier shall we?

So we did. I mamma morta-ed and circled back to my neighborhood.

My spanx death hold released and my voice filled back in.

La Mamma Morta; a picnic it is not for most singers. But it is where I live now. While other vocal fachs wish to sing the big meaty tunes, I wistfully listen the caro nomes and sempre liberas and wish I could golden trill my way through arias.

But it shan’t be and I’m not complaining. I love the heroic music that suits me. I am lucky and will continue to work on my craft until I’m on the other side of the ground.

I remember bringing in the glorious Ruhe Sanft to my vocal guru Patricia O’Neill at LSU. After I finished squeezing my square throat through the round Mozart peg, she said “what were we thinking? Were we smoking crack?”

Spanx are ok I guess.

Singing various styles is needed as a professional singer.

But coming home, spanx-less and fancy free is a great treat.

Thank you opera masters for writing music for gals like me.

#gratefulwagnerwench

#akintsucrooner

By E. Perryman

9.27.19

Forget the beer before liquor business….

I present a big throat singer’s version of the above phrase:

“Vibrato before straight, it ain’t great.

Bright before bellow, I’m a happy fellow.”

In the span of 6 days, I have been around the block.

To be clear, my voice has worn many hats.

For those who are still confused, allow me:

SUNDAY: I sang in a pop studio style and a bright, straight, and blended cathedral style.

DURING THE WEEK: I sang the hand jive, high belt tunes for the classroom, and if you’re happy and you know it.

TUESDAY: I got to let “Bessie The Throat” out to sing some loud and high Elijah; my expertise. When following this piece with a bright and straight choral gem, my head hurt from the springy, head-voice, vowel whiplash.

THURSDAY: I got to sing some cool mezzo-ish social justice tunes.

TGIF: Today, I chillaxed with some movie musical anthems.

I ain’t complaining. I love the experiences. I am tres grateful for the monetos. I am also glad for the variety of gigs along the way and the vocal pedagogues who have helped me navigate the diversity in singing that comes with being a professional singer.

I also got an all too common wake up call this week. Two wonderful people, Debra Rehling and Francisco Chahin, who had much more they could have done on this earth, passed away.

Some days I can’t wait to face the day.

Some days I wake up tired and empty.

Being blessed to be able to share my muse in a multitude of ways is deeply noted.

And so it goes.

#akintsucrooner

My newest aria is “Suicidio” from “La Gioconda.” Tis 19th century Grand Opera at the hilt. Nope, it’s not a light story but gripping like a delicious and robust main course.

La Gioconda means “happy woman.” The character is described as a ballad singer. She seems rather more tormented than happy. Perhaps the title is librettist’s Boito’s use of irony.

A talented fellow singer recently gave me a very nice compliment after I sang “Amelia” with Amore Opera last May. She told me I sang like a gangster.

After reading the story of La Gioconda, I would use this word to describe this opera. This is quite the gangster libretto.

My initial impressions:

1. It’s from a prose play by Les Mis Victor Hugo. Ole boy was dark. Jeez.

2. It has a principal role for the six voice types: soprano, mezzo, contralto, tenor, baritone, and bass. Well done, Ponchielli; no alto and tenor trifling like Mozart.

3. The soprano singer is obsessed with the tenor and adores her mom. Sounds about right.

4. If you get a rosary from a blind old woman, you shall have protection.

5. I like seeing girl code with sopranos and mezzos.

6. There’s a lot of premature stabbing in this opera. Just breathe and use your words, people.

7. Getting the last word doesn’t make you a good or right human. For more info, see life of beelzebub baritone, Barnaba.

8. Don’t piss off the baritone in heat. It won’t end well.

9. I love that each act has a creative title. None of this boring act 1-4 stuff. Gay approved.

10. What does the lion’s mouth look like? Google images has disappointed my curiosity.

11. Was Lisa del Gioconda actually happy and did Leonardo di Vinci inspire this opera?

#akintucrooner

Today was Day 1 of Year 15 at Judd Elementary. Time truly has flown. I first visited North Brunswick, NJ on a spring afternoon in 2005. For my teaching interview, I wore my bedazzled periwinkle top and brought my music note decorated suitcase (my dad’s luggage from the 70s.) I was ready to meet some rambunctious 1st graders with my traveling rhythm sticks and maracas. I love me some props. I am so glad Mrs. Gibbons gave this Chicago transplant a chance. It is an understatement to say that I have learned a lot in North Brunswick. There has been many growing pains with always more to learn but I am very grateful for the gig; a day in the life of a garden state teacher is never boring, indeed. #firstdayofschool20192020