Empower Your Voice

Dr. Candace Magner, researcher and publisher of the music of Barbara Strozzi, 17th Cen. Venetian composer.

Publication Website: cordonatoeditions.com

Blog Website for info: barbarastrozzi.com

Email Dr. Magner: [email protected]

The music heard in this podcast were Opus 2, number 4, "Costume Dei Grandi" and Opus 2, number 9 "La Vendetta", both performed by Dr. Magner with Adam Pearl, harpsichord; Michael Sponseller, cello; Andre Uhe and Michelle Brians, violins.

The duet is Opus 2, number 23, "I Baci", performed by the group Favella Lyrica from their CD "A New Sappho" on Koch . Pamela Murray, soprano; Pamela Dellal, mezzo soprano; Michael Beattie, harpsichord; Daniel Ryan, violone.

Adriana Giordano, Brazilian Vocalist and Producer Making Space to Get Lost in the Music Adriana's life growing up was filled with music from her father's country, Uruguay, her mother's country, Italy, and the country she was born and raised in, Brazil. She was immersed in dance for her youth and didn't pick up singing until later in life. Her first exposure to singing was through a choir, then a rock garage band, and then an improve garage band. She sand with Abrace, http://seanet.com/~jyarrow/, an all female a cappella group for a time. One of the highlights of singing for Adriana is when she is "lost in the music;" transported to a place away from the present during improvisational singing. She feels like she found her way back into her passion again in 2010 and began singing professionally in 2011. She realized there is space for Brazilian music - there is a need for something different, including Brazilian jazz, contemporary music, and other styles. She sings with Encanto http://www.encantobrazil.com, a multi-ethnic, female-led seven-piece, world pop music group — a combination forró, samba, and choro-inspired originals and reimagined covers of classic Brazilian hits. She has learned that the voice either needs to be in front or in the middle, but never underneath. With Brazilian music, the lyrics describe the challenges of life, so story telling is just as important as the rhythm of dance. It's not about the loudness. Adriana produces a Latin/Brazilian/Caribbean festival in Seattle. The Seattle Latin, Brazilian, & Caribbean Festival is held at the Royal Room each July. http://theroyalroomseattle.com Look for the Facebook page. Adriana defines "Latin" in that sometimes Brazilians feel they are not Latinos - that they are "other." But because of the language roots in the Latin languages, the rest of the world does view them at Latino. Looking forward, Adriana feels like it is time to focus on her own career and voice. She wants to improve her breathing and take care of things that have been neglected. Adriana doesn't dream of fame, she dreams of doing well and sounding good. Music is for the audience. Encanto http://www.encantobrazil.com EntreMundos Quarteto https://www.entremundosquarteto.com Every Sing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/ Every Sing on Twitter: @Every_Sing_Pod Nancy's website: NancyBos.net/podcasts Teadora beauty.com Our favorite Teadora products around my house are the beauty butter, Brazilian glow radiance oil, and the sugar scrub mask. We also love the soap - the scent is delicious. The 25% discount code is everysing

Show Notes Every Sing episode 009 Dr. Natalie Lerch on Horseback Riding and Singing

Dr. Natalie Lerch, Voice Department at Cornish College of the Arts and avid horsewoman - or as she likes to call herself - Diva Cowgirl, talks about the correlation between singing and riding horses.

Mocha, Natalie's horse, is a 22-year-old paint. She's had him for 7 years and he has a fabulous sense of humor. Like an audience, the horse wants to have a fun, easy experience. Natalie learned to control her nerves on Mocha, calming herself down, and she found a complete shift in his personality. The singer's experience can be much like this. Dr. Lerch has noticed in her horseback riding lessons, her teacher often says, "Don't forget to breathe." Just as she tells her students. Breathing in and for the song is similar. Singers have to prepare their posture to move, to not be rigid or schlumpy. The kind of posture she works on with the horse is to feel like your hips want to stay with the horse, your waste is a slinky, and your upper torso wants to float above that. Energy and preparation - You can't just yell "Go" to get a horse going. There has to be some preparation just as in singing. Learning to physically release into the energy of the high note is like releasing into a jump. Horseback riding makes Natalie more flexible as a singer and a teacher - mentally, physically, and emotionally. And to be more forgiving of herself. Singers and cowgirls need to acknowledge their emotions and deal with them in order to have a successful experience. "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway." Try something new. Make sure that your life is balanced. Sometimes we want something so badly but get in our own way because we don't take the time to step back and let it percolate. NatalieLerch.com Every Sing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/ Every Sing on Twitter: @Every_Sing_Pod Nancy's website: NancyBos.net Teadorabeauty.com Our favorite Teadora products around my house are the beauty butter, Brazilian glow radiance oil, and the sugar scrub mask. We also love the soap - the scent is delicious. The 25% discount code is everysing

Every Sing episode 008 Nathan Young - What Feeds My Soul

Nathan has music directed for many of the theaters in the Puget Sound area as well as cabaret and solo shows. He is also the choir director at Sammamish Presbyterian Church. Nathan enjoys being a clinician for choirs, along with directing, arranging, and producing for singers and instrumentalists. You will find his Living Room Concerts videos on his Facebook page, linked at the end of the notes. Quotes from Nathan "My passion is ensemble. There's nothing more powerful than people singing together as a group. It actually has the power to change lives and heal souls and relationships in ways that just mere words can't. There is something about singing together that does that. And singing together in perfect balance and harmony is something I can't live without." "As a director, sometimes I'm a traffic light." "In a church choir I'm trying to find what inspires each person to be there." "If you come with the right attitude and are willing to try anything, I will give you the tools to do it." "Three quarters of what I do is people relation, no matter what it is. It's finding out how to gain somebodies trust and give them direction. How do you come with not only your talent and what you can bring to them, but the humility you need to be in that environment." "We are all bound up by our insecurities." The take-away: Always give the "why" first. Why are we doing this exercise, song,... Once we know the why "the," "how" falls into place. Nathan is working to voice teacher, Ann Evans of the University of Michigan, to create an online resource for choosing songs for music theater and eventually opera. Nathan's Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/youngnl Every Sing Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everysing Every Sing Podcast Page: nancybos.net/podcast/ Every Sing Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/ Teadora - the show sponsor - at Teadorabeauty.com with discount code "everysing" for 25% off.

Every Sing 007: Tom Kimmel on How Music Move Us

Tom Kimmel is an award winning songwriter for film (Twins, Runaway Bride, Serendipity), television (Touched By An Angel, Dawson's Creek, Miami Vice), and for a host of major artists including Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Joe Cocker and Randy Travis. A soulful entertainer, speaker, poet, and teacher, Tom tours widely and has released seven albums and a book of poems. Tom says: We are drawn to things that move us, and from a really early age I just loved music. Tom started out as a singer in high school, but as soon as he learned three chords on the guitar he started writing songs and they just poured out. Lately, Tom feels like he is a writer first. He's been thinking about things to write that don't involved performing, including his memoir. At some point his drive shifted from performing and making money to sharing and building community. Tom's goal for the songs he writes is that they help people calm down, warm up, relax, and their breath changes. Tom didn't have any formal training and learned from copying others until he developed his own style. In the process he learned that he needed to stop trying so hard - to just sing and be present. "Our job in life is to show up. Listen and share." Tom Kimmel www.tomkimmel.com Every Sing Podcast Page: nancybos.net/podcast/ Every Sing Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/ Teadora - the show sponsor - at Teadorabeauty.com with discount code "everysing" for 25% off.

006 Every Sing: Marieke Schuurs on Body Mapping and Alexander Technique

Marieke started to consider Alexander Technique and Body Mapping after attending the Voice Care Network in Minnesota in the 1990's. After, she started working with Barbara Connable on Body Mapping. Cathey Madden - Seattle Alexander Teacher, UW Drama dept. Certification in Body Mapping from Andover Educators and is a certified Alexander Technique Teacher from Alexander Technique International At the beginning the teacher has to build a bridge from the student's understanding to what Body Mapping can teach The Fundamental tenant of Alexander is that you have an overall use of yourself, it might be really good, really poor, or somewhere in-between, from things that you do, or habitual postures. If your general use is poor, it effects everything you do and everything you do is more arduous, more labored and puts pressure on the joints. So the more you can bring somebody into easier, smoother coordination then everything they do becomes more fluid. Improve the core use and then everything else gets effect after that. In improving physical technique, unpack the habit (what are the little steps). The word "singing" becomes the trigger for the habit. On a neuro-physical level, as soon as they think of singing their system goes into a whole system of neurological responses. Our body's do that all the time. The habits start so fast that sometimes it can't be stopped. To teach a singer to be aware of the moment before they start, ask them to think about singing but don't start, then do it again, and again, and notice the habits. It gives them the opportunity to stop the habit and create new ones. When you are moving well according to your structural-muscular design, then the quality of your movement becomes easier, lighter, and more fluid. Marieke's website: http://www.cantarevoicestudio.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cantarevoicestudio/ Every Sing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/ Every Sing on Twitter: @Every_Sing_Pod Nancy's website: NancyBos.net Teadora beauty.com Our favorite Teadora products around my house are the beauty butter, Brazilian glow radiance oil, and the sugar scrub mask. We also love the soap - the scent is delicious. The 25% discount code is everysing

Every Sing Episode #5, a conversation with Ken Stringfellow Ken Stringfellow is a singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. He his famous for the band he started with his good friend, Jon Auer, The Posies. He has also toured with R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star. Ken has been involved with more than 200 albums. I got to catch up with Ken in Washington state. He spent many of his growing up years in Bellingham, WA and returns to the Seattle area frequently to give concerts on his old home turf. But, Ken spends most of his time performing and being with his family in Europe. He is truly a musician of the world, as you'll hear in this conversation.

Ken says that his path through the music enterprise is building relationships with his audience, other musicians, and people in the music business. He thinks of himself as making music and making connections. This humanizes it and gives it scale for him. He considers this his path to sanity, and avoids thinking of it as a business or the music industry.

Despite the size of the venues or projects, it still comes down to personal relationships. The thing Ken likes the most are performances that are the simplest and the most pure. He likes shows that are small and special. He loves the intense energy that can happen when he is walking around with his guitar but no mic among the audience. Ken says music production is great because it brings new people to his life. Growth and vulnerability are constants throughout Ken's career. He enjoys putting himself into situations where he doesn't now exactly what he's getting into. Ken considers himself a singer first and foremost. In the music he looks for places to put out intense blasts from a deep place to have an impact on the audience. He says, "You get in to people's emotions by catching them off-guard." Ken's upcoming project is a tour with Mercury Rev, called Tears of Silver. Tickets are at https://www.tearsofsilver.space Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @kenstringfellow http://kenstringfellow.com Every Sing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/ Every Sing on Twitter: @Every_Sing_Pod Nancy's website: NancyBos.net Teadora beauty.com Our favorite Teadora products around my house are the beauty butter, Brazilian glow radiance oil, and the sugar scrub mask. We also love the soap - the scent is delicious. The 25% discount code is everysing

Dennis Coleman is the Director Emeritus of the Seattle Men's Chorus and Seattle Women's Chorus where he served as conductor and artistic director for 35 years. He has also served that long with Bellevue First Congregation Church and continues to work with the choir there to this day.

• Dennis's love for choral singing began in the church and with hymn singing.
• He said he got good training as an accompanist and improvisation growing up in the church and in his high school.
• His father's recordings of Sir Thomas Beecham's Messiah was an early inspiration along with Robert Shaw's Chorale. He developed an ear for choral music listening to these during his junior high years. He latter got to study in Robert Shaw's summer program for choral conductors.
• His belief system meant that at the church level music was a means of reaching out and affecting people for evangelism and to move people.
• Dennis is confident that he has been led to be exactly where he needed to be.

Seattle Men's and Women's Choruses http://www.seattlechoruses.org First Congregational Church Bellevue http://www.fccbellevue.org Every Sing Podcast Page: nancybos.net/podcast/ Every Sing Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/

Michele D'Amour is the founder and lead singer of Michele D'Amour and the Love Dealers.

Michele is a born storyteller, poet, and songwriter. Her lyrics treat difficult topics with a sense of soulful whimsy and wry humor. Michele wrote songs and sang lead for several local bands before entering the local blues scene and honing her craft at blues jams. Michele formed her band, Michele D'Amour and the Love Dealers in 2011. They are booked up months in advance in the Pacific NW, and are heading out on a west coast tour in the fall of 2017.

Take Aways from the Interview

• We DON'T wear Spandex in the blues
• We like the blues because they show that somebody has it worse than you.
• For Michele, its all about the audience, so the audience can experience healing.
• you can approach the world with a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. It is important to have a growth mindset.
• Any time Michele learns something Michele views that as a win.
• Be your best self - be your best you.
• Keep learning, keep going.
• It takes a mix of vulnerability and trust with the band to make something great.

Website: www.micheledamourandthelovedealers.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCzxlZZ7hfN2lOQvWq2phXmQ Bandcamp: micheledamourandthelovedealers.bandcamp.com Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/ michele d'amour free to preview each song in full. Every Sing Podcast Page: nancybos.net/podcast/ Every Sing Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/

Ted Chamberlain is the director of the barbershop chorus, SeaChordesman, and member of the Evergreen District champion barbershop quartet 4.0. Ted began singing barbershop while still in high school in the 1980s. Aside from his passion for Barbershop, Ted has also been a National Board certified public school music teacher and currently has an independent voice studio. Seachordsmen Barbershop Choir: Seachordsmen.org Ted's website: NWVoicestudio.com 4.0 Barbershop Quartet: 0quartet.com Ted's courses: Tedshops.com Ted's email address: [email protected] Recommended website: Barbershop.org Recommended video: Signature Dance With My Father http://video.genyoutube.net/B6FwopHVll8 Ted's motivation: I think my passion for singing started at a really young age, as young as the age of 4. I remember the physical nature of singing, the physical feeling of belting it out. At the same time, over the years, I've developed a passion for helping other people to find all kinds of really interesting things with singing. Ted's take-away: Find an avenue for singing and enjoy the whole experience of being a singer, because there's nothing like it. Every Sing on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1711090705861666/ Every Sing on Twitter: @Every_Sing_Pod Nancy's website: NancyBos.net