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...

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....

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...

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...

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...