Update
I haven't posted in a while but it hasn't been for lack of things to post about: 1) Half Marathon 2) Working 3) Coachings 4) Candide Rehearsals.
Half Marathon: I ran my second half marathon, America's Finest City (AFC) on Sunday. I had been planning on training and entering to run a full marathon in mid-January but 6 miles into the AFC my exact thought was, "I was thinking of running a marathon?, F*#$ NO!". The first part of the AFC was beautiful. I started in the 2:00:00 finish group. I was running well, feeling good despite having shin and hip issues the previous two weeks. The first 4 or so miles were rolling hills and then down hill. I know my pace was pretty fast on this section but my strategy was to let gravity help me down because the last three miles of the race were up hill. My hip began to hurt and 6 miles in I threw up for the second time from the pain. If I was simply out for a jog I would have stopped and walked home, but I was running for a goal and with a large group of people and the energy was high. I continued running but stopped three times to stretch out my hip and once more to throw up again. I am so happy I continued running because I don't remember ever fighting through that kind of physical pain and it was a great feeling when it was over to know I ran through the pain to sprint to the finish - my version of sprinting at least. It must be because as humans we tend to forget the severity of our pain over time, but I am once again considering training for the marathon. It will be more like my first half-marathon I believe. I will be aiming to finish and not to better my time. *I did drop 14 minutes from last year's half! I finished just under 2:00:00 with a time of 1:59:15. I feel ridiculously proud of myself. Mood:Accomplished.
Working: Looking back, I don't know how I ever thought I could work a 40hr/week job and fully dedicate myself to pursuing a career in opera. Well, I do know; I didn't fully comprehend the amount of energy that goes into a 40hr work week and the time and energy it takes to pursue my chosen career. There are so many things I have been getting done these last few months not to mention what I accomplished while singing for the Colorado program.
Since July (Opera Related):
website set just waiting on designer
designed 2 business cards
audition applications filled out and sent = 6, 20 waiting for recordings
made 2 recordings, learned to use cubase software
studying for third recording next week
studying two roles
adding to audition rep
learned ensemble music for Candide
started salsa dancing
set up to record for a composer
made contact and worked church job
practiced 1-2 hours a day
read Candide
reading Beaumarchais trilogy
Coaching/Lessons: I feel so lucky to have found such an amazing teacher and vocal coach. I feel strong technically and grow more confident day by day. I am finding it more rewarding to dive into the depths of a piece of music; character, phrasing, musicality. There are things I can do with my voice now and things I know are possible to learn that make it more enjoyable. It is like going from trying to paint a sunset with 3 magic markers to being given a whole pallet of paints. I feel more at home in my voice and the music which is a good thing because I believe my life will be one filled with many different homes, as it has been already. In my coachings I again feel like I am more able to take advantage of the wisdom and information that is being passed to me. I am finally allowing myself to outwardly express the music in the way that I feel it. It has always been a struggle against my desire for perfection and the need to follow the rules but in opera one of the rules is to bring expression and life to what is on the page. This means going outside of my comfort zone and communicating what the music says to me; feeling confident enough to share it with others. There were some pivotal moments this past winter/spring that I can point to that have lead me in this direction. I discovered inspiration (a song/role/people/a person), I gained confidence through good old fashioned experience (being in the trenches), I made a decision that none of this is worth it if I don't go at it full force.
Candide Rehearsals: The ensemble for the Lyric Opera San Diego's run of Candide is a small one but everyone is on top of their game and the sound is very lovely. I have been excited to go to rehearsals and learn. We had our first staging rehearsal last night and it looks to be a pretty cool production. As an ensemble we will be performing the roles of many various people and groups one of which is portrayed by hand held puppet like masks. Evidently there are many puppets in this show which I think is pretty darned cool since I've just finished watching season 3 of the Muppet Show and am working my way through the special features. On a personal note regarding rehearsals, I am feeling more open and "me" when I initially meet people - still working away at this.
Half Marathon: I ran my second half marathon, America's Finest City (AFC) on Sunday. I had been planning on training and entering to run a full marathon in mid-January but 6 miles into the AFC my exact thought was, "I was thinking of running a marathon?, F*#$ NO!". The first part of the AFC was beautiful. I started in the 2:00:00 finish group. I was running well, feeling good despite having shin and hip issues the previous two weeks. The first 4 or so miles were rolling hills and then down hill. I know my pace was pretty fast on this section but my strategy was to let gravity help me down because the last three miles of the race were up hill. My hip began to hurt and 6 miles in I threw up for the second time from the pain. If I was simply out for a jog I would have stopped and walked home, but I was running for a goal and with a large group of people and the energy was high. I continued running but stopped three times to stretch out my hip and once more to throw up again. I am so happy I continued running because I don't remember ever fighting through that kind of physical pain and it was a great feeling when it was over to know I ran through the pain to sprint to the finish - my version of sprinting at least. It must be because as humans we tend to forget the severity of our pain over time, but I am once again considering training for the marathon. It will be more like my first half-marathon I believe. I will be aiming to finish and not to better my time. *I did drop 14 minutes from last year's half! I finished just under 2:00:00 with a time of 1:59:15. I feel ridiculously proud of myself. Mood:Accomplished.
Working: Looking back, I don't know how I ever thought I could work a 40hr/week job and fully dedicate myself to pursuing a career in opera. Well, I do know; I didn't fully comprehend the amount of energy that goes into a 40hr work week and the time and energy it takes to pursue my chosen career. There are so many things I have been getting done these last few months not to mention what I accomplished while singing for the Colorado program.
Since July (Opera Related):
website set just waiting on designer
designed 2 business cards
audition applications filled out and sent = 6, 20 waiting for recordings
made 2 recordings, learned to use cubase software
studying for third recording next week
studying two roles
adding to audition rep
learned ensemble music for Candide
started salsa dancing
set up to record for a composer
made contact and worked church job
practiced 1-2 hours a day
read Candide
reading Beaumarchais trilogy
Coaching/Lessons: I feel so lucky to have found such an amazing teacher and vocal coach. I feel strong technically and grow more confident day by day. I am finding it more rewarding to dive into the depths of a piece of music; character, phrasing, musicality. There are things I can do with my voice now and things I know are possible to learn that make it more enjoyable. It is like going from trying to paint a sunset with 3 magic markers to being given a whole pallet of paints. I feel more at home in my voice and the music which is a good thing because I believe my life will be one filled with many different homes, as it has been already. In my coachings I again feel like I am more able to take advantage of the wisdom and information that is being passed to me. I am finally allowing myself to outwardly express the music in the way that I feel it. It has always been a struggle against my desire for perfection and the need to follow the rules but in opera one of the rules is to bring expression and life to what is on the page. This means going outside of my comfort zone and communicating what the music says to me; feeling confident enough to share it with others. There were some pivotal moments this past winter/spring that I can point to that have lead me in this direction. I discovered inspiration (a song/role/people/a person), I gained confidence through good old fashioned experience (being in the trenches), I made a decision that none of this is worth it if I don't go at it full force.
Candide Rehearsals: The ensemble for the Lyric Opera San Diego's run of Candide is a small one but everyone is on top of their game and the sound is very lovely. I have been excited to go to rehearsals and learn. We had our first staging rehearsal last night and it looks to be a pretty cool production. As an ensemble we will be performing the roles of many various people and groups one of which is portrayed by hand held puppet like masks. Evidently there are many puppets in this show which I think is pretty darned cool since I've just finished watching season 3 of the Muppet Show and am working my way through the special features. On a personal note regarding rehearsals, I am feeling more open and "me" when I initially meet people - still working away at this.