“Nature, the gentlest mother” is the first of Aaron Copeland’s song set for soprano voice, Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, orchestrated in 1958. This song holds a special place in my heart as I chose it to end my senior voice recital in college. I fell in love with the piece when I first heard … Continue reading Nature, the gentlest mother
Poetry review: Lana Del Rey
An analysis of the music and poetics of a pop-star From Leonard Cohen to Patti Smith, Lana Del Rey follows an impressive legacy of musicians who have crossed-over into poetry. Has she done so successfully? I was very interested to find out. The six-time Grammy nominated singer / songwriter, released her first book of poetry … Continue reading Poetry review: Lana Del Rey
A night at the opera
Three poems Opera For the opera tonight my heart is dressed in fitted black — a mournful and desirous type of gown that Callas would have worn, for music is untouchable, and stages are pandemic-dim, but I’m still so in love… I remember my first Met performance — twenty-one and tortured by the body language … Continue reading A night at the opera
Autumn Leaves
You came to me like the first of autumn, gently awakening my every leaf to the crimson ribbons of your breeze — and to you: the dream of my deciduous heart. Our souls had always been older than the summer — interacting with each other without us ever knowing, and September was something harmonious to … Continue reading Autumn Leaves
Singing lessons
There is one thingthey don’t tell youabout singing lessons. And the one thing is thatit’s morethan justsinging lessons… It’s soul work. It’s digging deep into your rootsto explore your depthsand expose your truths. And every lesson is a different story … One day it could be thathands are shaking,heart pounding,desperately achingkind of love storybetween you … Continue reading Singing lessons
Lullaby
On sailboatswe glissade —ceasing all activity from choppy shores to tranquil watersthat ripple tosimplicity. Boundlessly we float, we restin lovingkindness. Breathing in thesoftened skies we welcomeocean’s lullabies. “Lullabye” cover by Katy Funke https://youtu.be/DR73kyKrTeE Today I wanted to create a special recording project for my friends and family who just had babies or are expecting very … Continue reading Lullaby
Lauretta’s Aria
Giacomo Puccini is one of the first names that comes to mind when we think of Italian opera, and for good reason, as he has composed some of the most memorable opera scores of all time. He is known as "the greatest composer of Italian opera since Verdi," with famous works like La bohème (1896), … Continue reading Lauretta’s Aria
A Song for Easter
I started my singing career in high school as the cantor for the Catholic church that my family and I attended in Idaho. Since then I have worked for numerous churches throughout the U.S. and have gotten used to the busy music prep weeks leading up to Easter and the holy days of obligation that … Continue reading A Song for Easter
Singing Poems
Bloom A flower isas simple as thatnot for menot for you A flower bloomsdespite applausewith no desireof “oohs” and “ahs” & for that reasonI will sing& gladly take my bowsto crickets Scribbles On days like todayI scribble and erase at aria lines‘til Gounod is a mess,Bizet leaves the room,and Verdi goes completely insanewhile Mozart and … Continue reading Singing Poems
Moon River
https://youtu.be/-O6klSSSj6o My performance of "Moon River" Henry Mancini’s 1961 composition of “Moon River” was originally written for Audrey Hepburn’s character, Holly Golightly, to sing in the cult classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. After the movie’s release the song became wildly popular and branched into several different arrangements, including a jazz standard. The piece swept every award … Continue reading Moon River
