Sam Meredith VRH 10/3

Emily Hess-Emily's breathing looked very good, but I think the management of her breath can be better. She was using a lot of her air at the beginning of phrases to really push the consonants she was singing out. I think she pushed out the air a little too quickly in some spots and that made it more difficult for her to sustain everything all the way through phrases. This may also be the reason why her timbre was a little inconsistent. At some points it would be very strong and full, but on some notes it became a little timid. The intonation was good, though and I thought she a did a good job expressing the meaning of the piece. The diction was mostly good, but there were some consonants at the beginning that I think need to be brought out more. This problem seemed to fix itself as the the piece went on. Overall I thought it was a solid performance that will only improve with time.
Kaylee Farris- I noticed a couple of audible breaths and breaths in the shoulders during Kaylee's performance. When she had a good breath she had a very nice spin to her voice and a wonderful, rich timbre. I think the breathing, however, made consistency in that area difficult to find. I think the timbre in her voice had some of the same challenges that were prevalent in Emily's performance. At times it was strong, but there were times when it seemed to take a few step back and become rather shy. The diction needs some work I think. She had trouble remembering some words and a lot of the vowels were just inconsistent. It might be a good exercise for her to sing through just the vowels of this piece just to ensure that all the 'ah' vowels feel the same, etc. Another thing I want to see out of this performance is more expression. I think she can do more to really sell it. Overall, though she has a great voice and a lot of potential.
Jared Daley- I thought Jared did a really good job with his breathing. He sang all the way through the phrases with good support for his voice and it didn't seem like he was fighting to get there, either. The intonation was mostly good, although there was one downward jump that seemed to be pretty difficult. I thought he had a nice resonant timbre throughout the piece, though. The diction was good, but I think that the 'o' vowels could be a little more open. I think the emotion of the piece was well expressed, which made for an overall great performance.
Elizabeth Tait- I think the inhalation was good in Elizabeth's performance, but I think she also had trouble with puffing out a little too much air at the beginnings of phrases. She had wonderful intonation, though and a powerful timbre in her voice. Her diction was also very good. I like how much she emphasized all of the consonants in the text. It made all of the lyrics very clear. I also think she did a great job expressing the emotion of the piece both through her mannerisms and through the nice dynamic contrast that she put into the music. I really enjoyed the whole performance.