SINGING & SELF
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For the joy of it
Joy flowering (THANKS TO my clematis, June 2025) I am channeling joy and gratitude this week as I begin the first of many "final firsts" in this, my final year of what has been a very rich and rewarding (and at times challenging and humbling) teaching career. I am...
We must persist
Persistence (sourced on Snappa.com, August 2025) There has been considerable feedback from readers on the topic of "hiding" from my last post, and the fear of doing things that scare us off, make us feel vulnerable and question ourselves. So I'm going to keep diving...
The ways we hide
Hiding in plain sight (a COVID selfie, April, 2020) I have been thinking a lot about the ways we like to hide from ourselves as singers, artists and performers. It's a very vulnerable business, this singing stuff, and it can make us feel extremely exposed. Exposure...
#itsachoice
This or That (K.Barber, July 2025) Last Thursday I had the pleasure of working with the folks in Maria Vetere's International Studio in Niagara Falls, ON. We spent the better part of 12 hours together, whether online, in person or in class together. It was an...
When Self meets Voice
Thank you for the music program (Hannah Piercey, Priya Khatri, July 2025) There's something magical that happens when artists come together, hearts full and open to their audience, bravely showing themselves in their entirety. Such was my experience this past...
Artist Alchemy
It's summer, and time to replenish, revive and restore. Time to reflect, dive in, immerse oneself in the sounds, sights, sensations of the season. One of my favourite summer pastimes is reading. Voraciously. Novels (Favourite Daughter). Memoirs (How to survive a bear...
Imposter Encounters pt. 1
Re-envisioning 2025 (photo: K. Barber, May 2025) So, there I am, presenting a conference poster for the very first time at The Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia last week. It didn't take long for my Imposter Self to show up in this setting--literally the...
The Gift is the Work
Gift (sourced on Snappa.com, May 2025) I know I've ranted (was it really ranting? Maybe...) before about my aversion to the words "gift" or "talent" when it comes to artistic ability. I find them annoying and insulting. They imply that some people are just inherently...
Return to Self
Selfhood and voice as the path towards it have been the overarching theme of this blog since I started writing in 2019. My preoccupation with this topic has permeated my own artistic practice, my research and my work with students for many years now--probably for the...
The Queen in Them
Teiya Kasahara in Tapestry Opera's Songbook XII (photo: Eric Forget, 2023) This week we were paid a visit by a serious Opera Kween, Teiya Kasahara (they/he), creator and star of their one-human show, "The Queen in Me". Teiya talked about their journey as a transgender...
Trust the impulse
Impulse (sourced on Snappa.com, March 2025) Idea. Breath. Sound. Hesitation is deadly. We sing at our best when the channel is free. Allowing ourselves to trust that what we've been working on will serve us in the moment is one of the greatest challenges we face. It's...
Full Circle, Part 2
Full Circle Pt. 2 (sourced on Snappa.com, February 2025) You'll need to get used to this theme of Full Circle. As I move toward my final year of teaching at Laurier (yes, I turned 65. It's a thing), I find myself reflecting more and more on my teaching life, the...
Full Circle
Big Red Ball (Kimberly Barber, taken December 2024, Vancouver, BC) This week I had the pleasure of coming full circle. I had a "debriefing" with one of my former students, Dr. Elizabeth Lepock, with whom I co-taught the new course "Pedagogy and Integrated Wellness"...
Just a member of the band
Girl Band (sourced on Snappa.com, January 2025) This week I made the decision to sneak back out of performing retirement. I'm joining a band. True story! Not just any band, mind you. And it's not the kind of band you might typically think of; it's a wind band. And in...
