Violin Lessons in El Paso, TX

Instruments: Voice

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
Originally, I wanted to go to St. John’s University in Annapolis Maryland because they were based entirely on a Classic Text program. After all the Honors English classes in high school, I had my eye on that kind of education from the beginning (and later fulfilled that goal at NYU Gallatin). But a few months before graduation, I entered a statewide High School Forensic Tournament at Monmouth State College that included two dramatic competitions. I entered both – with a monologue from “The Fantasticks” (starting with the sly “El Gallo’s” introduction to Luisa, while putting ribbons in my hair, and then turning around to appear as 16-year-old “Luisa” herself). Then in the pairs competition (with a fellow actress from my acting class) I played 60-year-old “Queen Elizabeth” from “Mary Queen of Scots”. I performed both roles, 3 times that day, alternating between 16 and 60 with no make-up changes – and won First Place in the state in both categories. The judges said this had never happened before. I couldn’t ignore my acting skills, and I so love to sing – so Musical Theater was the solution.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
My grandmother had a grand piano and had been trained as a classical musician. When she moved out of her house, she left her piano to me. Her daughter, my mother, was the kind of church alto that choir directors prayed to work with. She had a strong rich smooth alto sound that blended well and could sight-read harmonies. She also loved rhythm, and even though she was given piano lessons as a child, as an adult, she bought a large organ and played Latin songs with a “rhythm ace” that gave her a selection of drum beats she could choose from. She loved it!

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
I play the piano to accompany my singing. And now I accompany my students’ singing, which I prefer over using recorded accompaniment tracks. I can respond to the singers’ decisions on a moment-by-moment basis and guide them in the dynamics of the piece in the heat of the moment.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
Your own nerves. And learning that your voice is made of flesh and cartilage and blood and hormones. It is alive! You must work with it and know what to expect of it in a variety of situations – weather, allergies, a cold. Learning when you can “sing through” a problem, and when to let the understudy go on or cancel a performance.

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
I warm up with a recorded tape from several of my voice teachers, warming up my lower range, mid-range, top range, and blend. The warm-up takes about 20 minutes before I start singing. Then what I’m practicing determines the way I work from that point on into the rehearsal.

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
The song “I Remember Sky” by Stephen Sondheim. It captured me as a young musician. The imagery is beautiful, the music haunting, and I never tire of it.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
Musical Theater. The music is more high quality, sophisticated, and timeless than most other genres, except perhaps classical. There is a huge variety of Broadway shows that have stood the test of time, and been revived 20 years later to find a new audience. They can tell timeless stories with eternally ageless characters, in fabulous innovative ways like Hadestown, West Side Story, Wicked, Hamilton, Rent. Theater just doesn’t get better than this – and the songs stay with you forever!

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