Emily C.: MC, 11/5/13

Brad Summers

Breathing is like a bucket. Try keeping your tone up--some of the high notes are just a few cents flat, but it’s hardly noticeable. Just maintain breath energy throughout the phrase. Diction is good, but I think the [u] could be a little purer. Expression is good, and it sort of changes throughout the piece, but there are times when you zone out, so watch that. Timbre is lovely, smooth, and warm, but your voice had a tendency to get a little more tense than usual. 

MC: When introducing yourself, don’t rock back and forth or forward/backward. Keep energy and pitch up in your speaking voice, even. Make sure that your movement isn’t random and keep it under control. Try recording yourself to catch the unconscious movement. Exaggerate the meaning of the piece through body movement and then keep it in mind--show more intention in the deliverance of the piece; this can distract from unnecessary movement. This really improved the tone of your singing--it was wonderful!

Luke Shepherd

Expression is always great with your singing because it changes throughout the entire song, and I love how it influences the dynamics. Breathing gets a little gaspy sometimes. Timbre is warm, round, and smooth. Resonance is actually improving every time I hear your sing--it’s wonderful! Intonation is excellent, and diction is clear and understandable. 

MC: Do something more specific (a change of focus/position/energy) to make it more obvious that it’s two characters singing. Make the movement apply to the lyrics, and match the tone of the music to your movement. Make the answer relevant to the question. Underline the meaning of the important lines of music to inform the audience that the characters are separate. Once you figured out what to emphasize and the best “balanced” transition between the characters, it was so much more convincing. Sing into the notes to help encourage the airflow. 

Sam Meredith

Oh, this song is wonderful in your voice. Breathing is good, but I do see some excessive “pooching” on inhale. Timbre is smooth and warm. Intonation is great, and diction is good as far as I can tell. Expression is a little stagnant, but the expressiveness of the music helps a lot. I think you could engage the eyes a little more--it seems a little lazy. This was very beautiful--you’ve done a lot of work on releasing unnecessary tension. Keep you eyes up--I can tell you’re working on it, but your eyes occasionally flit to the floor, and it gets a little distracting. But this performance was absolutely gorgeous. 

MC: Lay with books under head, arms up, and knees up, and this helps to notice if your jaw or neck is tense. Do this for 17 minutes. More presence on the low notes. Maintain spontaneous combustion in the short notes as well as you do in the long notes. Keep the rhythm, and be as musical as you can without rubato.