It's incredible to me that in a couple of days it will be the one month anniversary of the day that we left for NYC. Since coming back to Eau Claire, life has been very busy - we've had a voice area recital showcasing various settings of texts by William Shakespeare, I gave my first Faculty Recital here at UWEC, performed in the faculty April Fool's Day concert, as well as with the Voice Faculty Quartet for the Viennese Ball this weekend. Now that the dust has settled, I've been thinking a lot about the trip and all of the wonderful performances I experienced. While I heard a lot of wonderful singing, a few performers really drew me in to their performance, one such example was Paul Appleby's recital. What made this performance so special? The word that keeps coming to mind is "specificity." He had a specific meaning and intention for every phrase of music and poetry that could be clearly read by his voice, musicality, and physicality. When you're studying a song or an opera role, the possibilities for interpretation seem endless. One of my favorite parts of being a singer is exploring all of these possibilities in my own study, practice, and rehearsal. However, at some point you have to make a choice and go with it. If you try to express all the possibilities, you can end up expressing very little, giving a generic performance. This then led me to think about something one of the cast members of Anything Goes said about choosing to be great at two things, rather than trying to be great at everything. I think that the students were amazed by all of the possibilities and various paths one could take in pursuing a career in music. The possibilities are endless! BUT - at some point you have to make a choice and go with it. This doesn't mean you're stuck with the choice forever, as Logan Tracy reminded us, you can always make another choice, but make a choice! It is my hope that the students start making their "choice" and then take steps to realize that choice. Most are starting to do that. I'm excited to hear about their various plans for creating their own summer program, and I hope they know I'm here to encourage them in any way I can.
For myself, I'm going to go for more specificity in my performances; I'm going to allow myself more time with a piece to make a specific choice and realize that choice. I'm also looking to take on Caroline Worra's suggestion that we should all find something more difficult to do than singing. Right now, it has been working on my dissertation. I'm looking forward to having time this summer to really focus and devote my complete attention this project. I'm also looking for various ways to stop and "smell the roses." After being in college for over a decade, all while starting and maintaining a performing career, and now teaching music full-time, it's time for me to find a few non-music activities for my life. Maybe after the dissertation is done it will be time to start training for that marathon...
Mr. P
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