Off to Chicago Tomorrow Cara and I will be boarding the plane to Chicago. This is going to be one grand adventure. Once we leave I will not have any time to practice, just time to look over my music one last time. I am as ready as I can be and hopefully my best is what they are looking for.

That idea, hoping my best is what they are looking for, is one that has only dawned on me in the past few days. After numerous auditions, some eventful and some I never heard from, I realize that I do my best at each one. My level of performance doesn't change. Some can hear me and think I have a great big voice that is perfect for Puccini. Others can hear the same thing and think that I should be singing lighter rep for many more years before touching the 'heavy stuff'. What I do will never change someones mind on what they like or what they perceive as being the 'right' sound. So, I will go to my audition on Saturday and sing exactly the way I know how. It is my hope that Chicago is looking for my sound, because that is all I have to give and it is out of my hands if they aren't. That does not mean they don't like what they hear, just that it was not what they were looking for.

On a side note I will be doing a live Twitter session starting tomorrow to chronicle this big audition. See you there!

- Gregory -
¶ 8:29 PM 0 comments

Surprise Lesson So my voice teacher, Craig Hart, gave me a call on Sunday which resulted in a 3 hour drive to CT for a lesson. He and his wife Susan worked with me for a full 3 hours until my voice was sufficiently shot. During this time they were able to pick apart my arias and give me some great stylistic insight. You are never as prepared as you think you are. There will always be things you can improve on. Never let yourself be fooled into thinking that you are done practicing and preparing until the audition is done.

One of my favorite things about lessons with Craig is the fact that he is so patient. No matter how many times I do the wrong thing he just explains it a different way and helps me to understand and remember. Craig, this audition is for you. To all who say we should never sing the rep that we do, I will be doing my best to prove that my teacher is not just some crazy bass, but a great teacher as well.

- Gregory -
¶ 7:48 PM 0 comments

Two Weeks In two weeks I will be boarding my flight to Chicago. Things are starting to fall into place for me. Recently practice has been a bit discouraging. My voice has felt a little tired and slow. However, this week my good friend Nathan was kind enough to give me a coaching. It felt very nice, fluid and comfortable all the way up and down my range.

This leads me to believe that I am not warming up properly and at the end if the day, work has annhiliated my voice. I need to give myself more time in between warming up and working on my rep. As for being tired after work.... well I can't really do much about that yet.

- Gregory -
¶ 6:06 PM 0 comments