“During last night’s episode of Heard Over The Piano, Sasha Cooke spoke a bit about the singer’s stigma of being a ‘good musician’. While that initially sounds like a compliment, early on in her career she had the impression that many believe that ‘being a good musician’ was really a euphemism for ‘not a good singer’…”
Read More“I had a fascinating conversation this evening with the mezzo-soprano, Sasha Cooke, as part of CAIC’s online discussion series, Heard Over The Piano. We started the series this season at CAIC in order to provide a virtual approximation of the salon-aspect of how we normally present recitals in Chicago when we are able to do live concerts. Ever since the beginning of the organization…”
Read More“Yesterday, I received news of yet another cancelation. This set of concerts was to take place towards the end of May. While I was holding out hope that the world might be reopened enough for this set of concerts to continue forward in some fashion, I was not completely surprised when the orchestra finally made the decision…”
Read More“Perhaps the most famous line from the tv show, Downton Abbey, is uttered by Dame Maggie Smith’s character, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, during one of the lavishly formal family dinner scenes, where she asks suspiciously: ‘What is a weekend?’ While I and many of my friends have shared a hearty laugh quoting that line over drinks in the past, as the pandemic keeps us locked down…”
Read More“Bridging the gap between being a student and a professional in the early 2000s, my view of what it was that I could do as a singer was quite narrow. I had been very lucky to follow a path that from all outside perspectives seemed pretty straightforward: go to college; land a spot in a prestigious, year-round young artist program; find a manager; begin your career. As a young singer, I was taught…”
Read More“I spent much of today sitting in my friend Henry’s studio, editing the footage of what will compromise CAIC’s upcoming Winter Lieder Lounge recital which airs March 5-7. The recital features two colleagues and friends of mine, baritone Edward Nelson and pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg. We filmed their performance a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been pondering how much I enjoy producing since that session…”
Read More“Yesterday I briefly mentioned that part of the goal of this exercise is to try and make my practice of writing more regular, as I attempt to push past the inner critics that paralyze me. It’s tempting to describe this phenomenon as ‘writer’s block’, but I’m not quite sure I am willing to dignify it with such iconic terminology. It feels more like paralysis than a block, and it never feels like I can’t write. It’s just too easy to find any excuse not to write…”
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