SINGING & SELF
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How we show up
This is the time of year in academic land where the proverbial rubber hits the road (is there a proverb about rubber tires? I don't know). Students take a moment to look at the syllabus (for the first time?) to discover (!) what the requirements of the course are...
When ego gets in the way
One of the biggest battles for we singers is with our own ego. Because voice is so tied to identity, we can be so powerfully ego- invested in every performance we do. We conflate our performance ability with self-worth. Every criticism (or even mild correction)...
All together now
KB and Friends! (February 6, 2026, Waterloo, ON) I could have made life easy for myself and put on a regular concert with just myself and a pianist. But no! Instead I chose to have 5 pianists, a conductor, two violinists, an accordionist, a percussionist and 18...
The Final Curtain
The Barber Studio: VICTORY! in honour of Victor Martens (Winter 2019) Since we're on a bit of a nostalgia trip at the moment, I thought it opportune to share a throwback to 2019 (remember those days?), when I had just returned from sabbatical to this lovely group of...
Taking the steps
So many steps! (Selfie, August 2019, Lyon, France) Ah, those halcyon days in the Before Times! I used to go to Lyon, France, each summer for a Voice Intensive, and eat well, drink good wine, commune with international colleagues, teach, play and sing. That particular...
Answering the Call
Answering the Call (taken on Bass Lake, ON, October 2020) There's an aphorism somewhere about how you make God laugh: Tell Her Your Plans. I was gradually warming myself to the idea of moving beyond my university voice-opera-and-other-things teaching life, living into...
The Inner Animal
Stretch (sourced on Snappa.com, December 2025) As someone working with her own voice now for about 50 years, and with the voices of others for half that time, I’ve come—gratefully—to know and greet the Inner Animal. In my own personal journey, it took me a very long...
Enter, with leopard
Leopard (Sourced on Snappa.com, Dec. 2025) It's a funny story, and if you want to know it, next time you meet me, you can ask. But this week, the image of a leopard has been omnipresent. I've been noticing its quiet, observant and wise presence everywhere. I was...
Noise Actor
Noise Actor (sourced on Snappa.com, November 2025) I've been working on a Directed Study with a grad student, and they are exploring extended techniques in a big way. We started riffing on what that expression "extended techniques" really means, and I posited that it...
Mind Over Matter
It's All in Your Head (sourced on Snappa.com, Nov. 2025) Two incidents this week formed the theme for this post: my daughter's 30th birthday project to run 30 km (shout-out Alice: she did it!) and the struggle and work of my students preparing for this weekend's...
Full Circle, Part 3
Circle of 3 (sourced on Snappa.com, October 2025) This year is full of these Ouroboros (see last week!) moments of returning to what was before, reliving it, grieving its passing, celebrating its regeneration anew. I was struck by this image of 3 women in front of a...
Ouroboros
Ouroboros (sourced on Snappa.com October 2025) Don't you just love it when you learn something new? Recently our Masters students had the opportunity to work together with Zorana Sadiq (I'm a big fan, so it was partly selfish to invite her into my classroom) and she...
Taking up space
Occupying space (sourced on Snappa.com, Sept. 2025) Occupying space is a big theme in singing. It's interesting how, as vocalists, even though we are performing artists to greater or lesser degrees, we seem to shy away from taking up and using the space that is...
This is me
This is me (September, 2025) This is me. In my final year of teaching at Laurier. Waking up, writing in my journal, prepping one class at a time, leaning into the work I love. This is me, trying not to be too fussed about the outcome, and being present to what is,...
