Emily F. masterclass 10/8

Emily F. masterclass 10/8: 
Brad Summers: Breathing looked like it was from the chest up. There was some gaspy-ness in it, but I totally understand why! I spent half of my lesson on that song today. The phrases are ridiculous! Finding places in the phrases where you can a breath is a challenge, because where it would make sense musically is usually in the middle of a word or idea, so it seems like there's nowhere to breathe, particularly on the first verse. You might want to carefully assess where the most strategic places to breathe are. Timbre is nice and rich and warm, lovely to listen to. Diction sounded pretty good. I'm going to check a few words because I've practiced them differently and now I don't know who is right: "ovunque," "insegnato" and "puo" were the ones I noticed that might be mispronounced. The dynamics seemed about the same throughout the piece, keeping it from being very expressive musically. There were a few nervous movements. Cindy's help with "singing happier" made a big difference. Using clear pictures in your mind that you can relate to make such a huge difference in what the audience sees. 
Sarah Gee: I didn't notice much about your breathing. I've said a bunch of times how much I love your timbre, just lovely! Diction sounded good. Your expression was much more "present" today than I've seen it. It did seem like a challenge, though, because it wasn't consistent throughout (that might have been a memory thing). I don't know this song, so when you didn't know the words, you could have made anything up you wanted and I wouldn't have known. When Cindy asked you to be aware of your jaw on the bright vowels, you got like a mile more space on everything!!! And the sound reflected that-- gorgeous! I got to see you from the side and it was a dramatic improvement.
Sarah Brenay: The quiet beginning section the first time seemed under-energized. I started to watch your breathing and I didn't see much going on in the body, no balloons. The timbre was a little inconsistent, and I think that might have been because of the lack of breath energy engaged? I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing and hearing. When Cindy worked with you, your sound improved and became fuller and more consistent.