Sarah Boucher Masterclass Critiques 10/1

Sarah Boucher Masterclass Critiques 10/1
Amber Denslow: She seemed really relaxed throughout her body and she demonstrated some very full grounded breaths. Amber has a lovely spin on top of her range but her lower notes sometimes are a little bit breathy. I had a hard time understanding her words, maybe more consonants would help? In masterclass, Cindy's coaching with finding a tonal center in each section really helped to create more clarity in the line even though it is 20th century. As she had Amber "sing on top of all the notes" slowly without scooping, the piece felt much more solid and the words more clear. I loved how through Cindy's coaching Amber's tone was more present without her even trying! I think this piece will be awesome once Amber practices (like Cindy said) on the vowels to help with "sausaging" and to transpose it into different keys! Way to go Amber!
Mariah Boyer: Mariah has a lovely tone quality in her voice, it is just the right amount of nasal and richness especially in her lower notes. I thought she had good posture but could use more breath energy as she went higher in the piece. There was some bucket breaths, but overall she seemed very relaxed which allowed for more full breaths. As Cindy instructed her to let the piano be apart of the experience of the piece, her gestures and expressions became more alive and specific. I could see the story coming alive rather than just a vague expression of the feeling of the piece. I also saw a nice change in her vibrato when Cindy asked her to think about the vowels more. The vibrato was more free! Great job Mariah!
Ben Shaw: I liked that Ben showed that he was very alert and dedicated to the piece. He also seemed very confident in his memory work and his diction was very clear.  I think that he could show more dynamic shifts however, because it felt like he started at such a high intensity that at the actual climax of the piece he had no where to go. I also saw a lot of stiffness in his performance. When Cindy had him bend over and reach across the chair, I think it helped to ease his tension and have more grounded breaths. His sound was more free and not as pressed as he did this exercise. I think that when Ben applies the feeling of breath suspension it will really make the piece awesome and help with "breath farts" (haha Love that by the way!) Good work, Ben!