Emily F. OB 12

Emily F. OB 12: Interpreting music is the job of a performer. This means treating the words and music with respect and understanding. Time must be spent with the text to appreciate it and have an emotional connection to it. It's difficult enough to sing a piece that you love, so certainly don't sing something you can't relate to. A connection to a piece can be moving to an audience, if the singer can truly convey the emotion he or she feels in it. "While performing, artists should focus so intently on what they want to express that they have no time to listen to their own performance." It is vital to understand the composer's and the author's intents when writing the material so that it can be conveyed in the performance. But, "ultimately, you must have your own conviction about how a piece of music should be sung." 
Key concept: Consideration of the author, composer, language, and audience are all important in interpreting and performing music. 
Making connections: Laurie has been a great teacher for me in this way. She has given me lots of music to look at and consider, but has given me a lot of freedom in making choices about my songs. I have been able to really like and relate to most of the music I've done, and I've learned some lessons about my abilities and readiness on some of them. There are songs that I've chosen that simply are not ready until I have more experience and skill. This has been valuable to me. I do try to choose texts that resonate with me because I have a hard enough time expressing myself in singing that I need texts that I can get into.