What December Holds

November is nearly gone but December holds some exciting concerts. First up is a concert I will be giving for the Tape Ministry at Roswell United Methodist Church. I will be reprising some of the music from last year's "Amber's Alleluia" concert.

On Sunday, December 6th at 3PM at Roswell United Methodist Church, the Michael O'Neal Singers will give their annual Christmas concert. This year we will sing the Vivaldi Gloria with chamber orchestra. I just learned that I will be singing the soprano solo "Domine Deus". I'm very excited about this opportunity to further my experience singing oratorio music. Also on this concert, the Georgia Regional Girls Choir will present Britten's Ceremony of Carols. We will then sing several pieces together and ask the audience to join in carol singing.

On Saturday, December 12th from 5PM to 9PM, I will be singing at Bulloch Hall in Roswell for their 4th annual Trilogy of Candles Tour. The theme this year is The Twelve Days of Christmas. I will be singing in the "Six Swans a-Swimming" room. I asked for hazard pay in case we inhale some feathers!

On Sunday, December 20th at 3PM, The Michael O'Neal Singers and Chamber Singers will once again host a Messiah sing-a-long with Chamber Orchestra. The Chamber Singers will sing the solos and lead from the stage while the Singers sit amongst the audience members to help you sing along.

Merry Christmas to all! Sing lots of carols!

Broadway Concert Postponed

I am so sorry to report that this weekend's concert has been postponed. There was some trouble with securing the venue for this weekend, not to mention my broken toe and a bad cold. It just seems that the gods were against a concert happening this weekend.

However, do not despair, we will reschedule for January and I will let you know when it will be as soon as I know.

Broadway for the Ridiculously High Soprano

Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14 at 8PM at The Teaching Museum North on Mimosa Blvd. in Roswell, I am planning a recital with Allen Baston accompanying called Broadway for the Ridiculously High Soprano. The program should include the following:

Many a New Day from Oklahoma
Moonfall from The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Meadowlark from The Baker's Wife
Make Believe from Showboat
If I Loved You from Carousel
If I Were a Bell from Guys and Dolls
The Finer Things from Jane Eyre
Children of the Wind from Rags
Bewitched from Pal Joey
Green Finch and Linnet Bird from Sweeney Todd
The Girl in 14G
Much More from The Fantasticks
The Simple Joys of Maidenhood from Camelot
Somebody, Somewhere from The Most Happy Fella
I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady
Yes, My Heart from Carnival

All of these pieces are near and dear to me so I'll be blah, blah, blahing about that between songs.

The Teaching Museum North is a lovely venue with a beautiful grand piano. Should be a wonderful backdrop for this dramatic evening.

Childcare will be provided in the Dr. Seuss room.

Admission is free. However, I will be passing the hat to help pay for the rental of the hall. You can give whatever you feel I'm worth. Decide once you've heard it!

Coming Up

The Reminiscents will be performing at The Paulding County Fall Festival on October 10 at 1PM on the square in Dallas, GA.

The following weekend, Saturday, October 17, we'll be at The Taste of Roswell on the Roswell Square. (time TBA)

Other than that, I will be singing at church and preparing a recital "Broadway for the Ridiculously High Soprano" as well as singing with the Michael O'Neal Singers and Chamber Singers in their upcoming concerts.

The Medium

The Capitol City Opera Company presented The Medium by Gian Carlo Menotti this past weekend at Oglethorpe University's Conant Performing Arts Center. I played Monica. It was a dream-role for me. There was a strong cast that was wonderful to work with! Here are a few pictures. I will post a little video as soon as possible.

That'll Show Him

Had the extreme pleasure of performing Sondheim all this weekend with a fun and wonderful group of folks! My best performance today was of That'll Show Him. I'm mad at myself for making a mistake during Green Finch and Linnet Bird, because that's a great song for me, but I sang it well the other two days.

Coming Up

This weekend I'll be performing with Capitol City Opera in their annual Light Side fund raising event. This year we're doing Sondheim and I love it. It's going to be great fun! www.ccityopera.com for info and tickets!

Nothing planned after that until September when I'll be singing Monica in The Medium with Capitol City Opera. I'm also working on a concert of Broadway songs. I'm thinking about calling it "In My Element: Musical Theatre for the Rediculously High Soprano" It should be ready sometime in November.

What I did in May

I sang Art is Calling for Me (also known as The Prima Donna Song) from Victor Herbert's 1911 The Enchantress at the final Michael O'Neal concert of the season. It was a real chance to shine in front of 3000 audience members. I loved playing it up and being a real prima donna!



The Reminiscents performed for the JVHS '53-'55 class reunion in May. We had a great time sporting our new 50's dresses and singing a whole new set of 50's songs. Here I am singing Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. To see more clips, visit the website www.thereminiscents.com.

May Madness

Lots of fun things coming up in May! I have taken the whole month of April to prepare for the happenings in May. First up is 2 gigs for The Reminiscents. We are doing a performance for the annual dinner for the Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau and then a class reunion in Columbus. We're excited about these gigs because we will be reaching back to the 50's which means all new songs and new costumes, as well as a new cast member. We're so happy that Courtney Loner has decided to join the group. She is going to be a huge asset to us. But, sorry these gigs are private. I'll let you know as soon as we have a public gig so all can come see the new look and sound!
Next up is Dinner and a Diva at Petite Auberge on Tuesday, May 19. May is Mozart. This month we'll be doing highlights from Don Giovanni, which means Batti, batti and Vedrai carino for me as well as a duet with Gerald Yarblay. You can always check www.ccityopera.com for information and tickets.
Last up for the month is Celebrate Musical Theatre with Michael O'Neal Singers on Friday, May 22 at 8PM. We will be singing highlights from musical theatre from the last 100 years. I will be performing Victor Herbert's Art is Calling for Me from The Enchantress. Great stuff! Check out www.mosingers.com for info and tickets!
See you around!

An Evening of Song

On Saturday, March 14, I sang with The Capitol City Opera Company in their Evening of Song. I sang first Laetitia's aria Steal Me, Sweet Thief from The Old Maid and the Thief by Gian Carlo Menotti and second Susana's aria Deh vieni, non tardar from Don Giovanni by Mozart. John LaForge joined me as Giovanni in the duet La ci darem la mano as I sang Zerlina. We are trying to raise enough money to keep the company afloat and perform two operas next year. I am scheduled to sing Monica in The Medium in the Fall and then hopefully, La Traviata will go on in the Spring. It had to be cancelled due to lack of funding this year. We did this evening of song instead.

Busy! Busy!

I finished up the last performance of Dracula today. We all felt really jazzed about it. After 8 performances, we finally got it just right. Now, I wish we could do it for another weekend.
I was just hired to be the soprano chorus for a production of Dido and Aeneas for Brenau University, so that's the next thing on the list.
I'm still doing The Sound of Music. I had my serious doubts about this production but have been pleasantly surprised at how well everyone has pulled it together to make a decent show. And, of course, Mali is precious as always!
I've been doing lots of school shows this month. We're going to perform Seussome Twosome for Mali's 7th birthday and hopefully raise a little money for Capitol City Opera Company.

The Daily Grind and Dracula

The Reminiscents did a fantastic gig on Saturday night. We sang all our favorite songs for a packed house. I thought people would just come in and out, but they were enjoying it so much, they stayed for the whole 2 hours. What a compliment!
I am thoroughly enjoying singing Dracula with the Atlanta Ballet. It's only 7 minutes at the very end, but it's very difficult music. I'm loving the challenge!

Coming up

The Reminiscents will be playing a gig at The Daily Grind, on the corner of Piedmont and Sandy Plains in Marietta. We'll be there on Saturday, January 31 from 8 - 10. We'll be singing 2 great sets of music ranging from 1955's Sincerely through 1971's Different Drum and everything in between.
After that, I'll be singing with the Atlanta Ballet for their production of Dracula. It is seven minutes of bone chilling music at the end of the ballet. Gives me nightmares just to practice it at home! Thanks to Michael O'Neal for casting me in this.
Throughout February into the first weekend of March, I will be appearing alongside my oldest daughter in The Sound of Music at Blackwell Playhouse. Mali is playing Gretl in her theatrical debut and I will be playing Mother Abbess.