Now offering voice lessons!!

3rd Place Winner!!

Bray took home 3rd place last night at the Opera Birmingham vocal competition! We are so proud of you!!

Opera Birmingham Competition!

Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition

THE 32ND ANNUAL OPERA BIRMINGHAM VOCAL COMPETITION

The annual Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition begins its 32nd year in Birmingham on May 22 & 23, 2010. The competition was founded in 1978 by W. Cassell Stewart to reward young singers with exceptional talent and motivation with both cash awards and future performance consideration. Prizes range from $3,500 for first prize to $1,000 for fifth prize, with an additional “audience favorite” award of $1,000.

Bray competed in this competition today, and has been moved on to the finals tomorrow! Over 20 singers competed, and only 5 are chosen to compete in the finals! They have a formal dinner/recital at 6pm, and then the winner is announced! We shall update after the results tomorrow...

the comedians.

The 'Comedians' in Ariadne auf Naxos-they were amazing! Bray is sitting on the stage to the right.

Dress Rehearsal Footage!

Check out the video clip from the latest Ariadne dress rehearsal!
http://www.seattleopera.org/tickets/yap_0910/ariadne/videos.aspx
In case you can't tell, Bray is the one in the plaid shorts, hat and funny glasses! Come and see the show if you're in Seattle!
Time and Dates:
April 1st, 7:30pm
April 3rd, 7:30pm
April 9, 7:30pm
April 11th, 2:00pm
all shows are at the Meydenbauer Event Center in Bellevue, WA.

Ariadne auf Naxos is coming!

Bray's last show with Seattle Opera's Young Artist program is fast approaching!! Check out the Director's Talk on the Seattle Opera website for info on the production and cast!
www.seattleopera.org

Little Sponges.

This morning, as I was on my way back from dropping Bray off at the transit station, I turned the radio to NPR. We usually listen to the kids' tapes, as Madeline loves to sing along, but today I wanted something a little bit more-well-educated. A dark, suspenseful passage, full of minor chord progressions came on, and I heard a little pretend-scared voice behind me say, "OH NO! It's the bad guy!" And then her brother chimed in, and as the music swelled, they both pretended that we were outrunning the 'bad' guy in the car. But, after a moment, the music changed, to light trills on flutes and oboes, high in the register. At this point, my daughter said, "Oh! That's not the bad guy! That's a biiird!" And my son agreed, saying, "Yes. There is the bird."
As I listened to this cute conversation, I was struck by how they so quickly picked up on the themes in the music. The dark sounds represented a 'bad' guy, and the light, fast, sweet trills were similar to the sounds of a bird. I, unfortunately, am rusty on my recognition of composers/pieces, and so waited till the piece was over to hear who and what it was. To my surprise, it was the Farewell (of Wotan) and Fire Magic section, from Wagner's Ring Cycle! If you recall, we took the kiddos to the children's version Seattle Opera put on several weeks ago. Not only did they pick up on the themes in the music, they remembered what the 'bad guy' part sounded like! Their brains are truly little sponges. And I need to brush up on my music skills-they'll be ahead of me before you know it!