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,...

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....

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...

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...