Ten Days!

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen!

   It appears I am the first one to blog about the 2014 NYC immersion extravaganza! This is so exciting! I am sitting in my room back home in Muskego thinking about the trip, so I thought it would be the perfect time to writing my first blog entry! The trip countdown has reached ten days! WOAH! I feel like the trip has really crept up on us. As some of you know, I have been in the process of applying to grad schools the the past semester and that has had a very interesting influence on my preparation for the trip, in more ways than one. Writing my personal statement for grad school applications and creating my goals for the trip were almost one in the same process. It made me really contemplate what makes me tick as a musician and what has kept me on the crazy path of a performer.
      My professional goal for the trip revolved around my interest in new work, specifically Contemporary American Opera. I want to find out how I can support and perform in New Work in NYC. I am looking to score an interview with Douglas Cuomo, composer of the opera Doubt. I am currently waiting to hear back from him about solidifying plans. I will be performing a new piece by our own Jordan Jenkins at our concert that we will be putting on, so that will also help me achieve my goal in a certain aspect. Part of the trip that is so exciting to me is all the different ways that we have and will be collaborating with each other and with other working artists on the trip. Endless possibilities lie in the collaboration of great minds, and this trip is a wonderful way to grasp that idea and run as far as we can with it. I messaged Soprano Kathryn Lewek a few weeks ago and depending on timing we may be able to grab a quick coffee. She is currently performing her debut role at the MET so she was unsure if she will have time yet, but my fingers are crossed.
      My personal goal for the trip is to further explore the ways that I can continue my yoga practice to further understand my body and voice. As singers, the health of our bodies is also the heath of our instrument. In times of sickness, this can be terrifying, but it is also a very liberating concept. I know that my own yoga practice has already helped me grasp breath concepts to a new level  in my singing. I know that this journey of learning will never end and I can't wait to see where it will take me. In my research of singing and yoga, I found the name Mark Molitero. He is one of the few who has published research on yoga and the voice. I emailed him on a whim back in November to see if he would be doing any workshops in New York while we are there. Turns out that now he will be doing a PRIVATE workshop with us! Just goes to show the fruits that can come out of going on a limb and cold contacting someone! Special thanks to Mitra for helping work out the details on our workshop that I am absolutely ecstatic about. It is getting late(early?) so I should probably sign out before I start babbling!

...and too all a good night! Happy Holidays!
--Lauren