Emily F. VRH 11/21

Emily F. VRH 11/21
Ben Shaw: Thank you for having such a nice, strong presentation. When you introduce yourself and stand to sing you look confident and comfortable--good job. You still hang on to some tension in your upper body. Maybe thinking "goldfish" would help with neck and jaw? Timbre is always rich, warm, and full, but started a little nasal today. This song seems like it's hard to find much emotion in, so I didn't see a lot of expression from you. Good job catching yourself from grabbing/squeezing on that high note! I hate ascending leaps too, but once you just let it go it was a lovely falsetto that sounded nice. 
Bric Slade: Sing this way always! Having that character to connect to served you beautifully today! Your body was much more relaxed. I think giving yourself permission to move and express just freed everything up from your head to your toes to your voice! Your breathing was better because you breathed in the emotion. Your diction was great. Your timbre was lovely. I didn't realize what a gentle, warm, lilting quality you have, and I like it! When you don't push the sound out it has this easy, sweet quality. This was the best I've ever heard you sing. Hooray! 
Brad Summers: Body seemed mostly relaxed on the outside, but I sensed some internal tension, maybe nerves? I like how Brad's jaw seems pretty consistently released. The intonation would sag slightly when he pushed the sound. Timbre is always rich and full. I prefer the baritone range for Brad, rather than the really low notes that seemed forced and thin. Diction was awesome, particularly the "L" and "d", which were distinctly not Americanized. Expression is getting better all the time, but I think Brad could use a little more focus on the meaning and that his technique will be aided by that. So much is really great in his singing, but it seems like he does a lot of focusing on controlling the outcome instead of just creating in the moment.