Sam Master Class 9/10

Sam Master Class 9/10
Hannah Lovato- The piece Hannah sung seems to be very difficult with regards to breath. There aren't very many easy places to get breaths in and for that reason the breathing seemed to be slightly rushed at certain points in the song. I think if she just relaxes more and opens up more when she breaths that will fix the problem. The intonation was very nice. The timbre was also very good for the most part, but I did notice that she had a slightly closed timbre when singing 'e' vowels especially in the lower register. I thought that she did a great job making adjustments when Cindy gave her feedback and by the end the problem with 'e' vowels was more or less fixed, which made the diction even better. I thought that the expressiveness was good, but she was doing a lot of movement, which i didn't think was necessary. Overall I enjoyed the performance and thought that her voice had a lovely resonance through most of the song.
Taylee Beckstead- Not long after the beginning of the piece i noticed that I could hear some of the breaths Taylee was taking. That made those breaths more shallow and lead to some breathiness in her timbre especially in the upper range. The action of breathing was also happening a little too much in her  shoulders and upper back. I think just having a good mental perception of breath (i.e. it's a release, not a hurdle to overcome) will help her relax more and get better breaths, which are also silent. When she got a good breath her intonation was great and her voice had a clear, consistent timbre. I thought Taylee did a good job adjusting and improving her breathing after receiving Cindy's criticism. I didn't see the breath sneaking into her shoulders after that. The diction was clear and I thought she did a good job expressing the meaning of the piece. There was, however, some excessive physical movement that I would try to eliminate. Overall a good performance. Things were a little more tense in the upper register and when her breathing was more shallow, but other than that she has a very nice sound.
Laekin Burgess- From the beginning of the performance I could tell that Laekin was a little tense in her posture. This caused some of her breaths to sneak up into her shoulders. She just needs to maintain proper upright-but-relaxed position. The intonation was good, but i think the breathing problems in some cases led to attacks that sounded hesitant or forced. This also caused a slightly pinched timbre in spots, but when the breath was good she had a nice, open tone. I didn't notice any problems with diction. I thought she did a very good job being expressive and conveying the proper emotion of the piece. I also think she did a good job following Cindy's advice and making adjustments that helped her get more out of her breath by loosening her posture. For the most part Laekin had a rich, enjoyable sound.