Top Ten Things To Do For Successful Procrastination

Now that the academic year is over at the University of Toronto and those of us who are contract teachers are finished with our teaching, we have time to dive into all of the things one has not put 100% effort into...including my least favourite thing to do -  practicing. 

Yes, practicing.

Let me qualify that statement.  I hate the "thinking about", "getting ready to", "learning my music" portion of  practicing.  Which is how I have become one of the most efficient procrastinators*.

So on this rainy day, here is my top ten list of things to do for successful procrastination:

10. Write a blog post;
9.   Do laundry and miscellaneous housework like clean the knife drawer;
8.  Sort your jewelry making sure that all your earrings have backings;
7.  Email all the contacts on your list to update them on your professional life (ok, this is a legitimate and smart business thing to do!)
6.  Talk to your mother;
5.  Talk to your mother-in-law;
4.  Drink more coffee;
3.  Run on the treadmill that you haven't used all winter;
2.  Rearrange the pictures of your kids around the house;

And the number one thing to help you be a successful procrastinator....shine your husband's shoes. Yes, you  know you have scraped the to-do barrel clean when you have shoe polish under your fingernails.

Good luck to all of you out there trying to get your work done....and remember young singers - DON'T do as I DO but as I SAY!

PS - I love this article about procrastination with Netflix as an example!

*for the record, this is a joke only.

Getting out to the opera...in Kingston, ON

Laura Whalen

David Pomeroy

Who says you have to hit the big city..or a movie theater to hear opera?  The Kingston Symphony will present Puccini's La Boheme in concert on Sunday, April 29 with some outstanding Canadian singers....The afternoon performance stars soprano Laura Whalen as Mimi and tenor David Pomeroy as Rodolfo and will be hosted by Canadian opera expert Iain Scott.

Soprano Laura Whalen is often noted for her command, precision, and elegance in operatic, orchestral and recital appearances throughout North America. Last season, she performed Mimi in Puccini's La Bohème with the Edmonton Opera, Bach's B minor Mass with the Vancouver Symphony, and Cecelia in the world premiere of Bramwell Tovey's The Inventor with the Calgary Opera. Whalen was honored to inaugurate Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in the fall of 2006, appearing in The Ring as Rhinemaiden (Das Rheingold and Gotterdammerung) and Der Waldvogel (Siegfried), conducted by the late Richard Bradshaw.

Tenor David Pomeroy, who will play Rodolfo, is blessed with a rich voice and thrilling top notes. He has caught the attention of artistic directors internationally. The Newfoundland native recently made his Metropolitan Opera stage debut in the title role of Les Contes d'Hoffmann under the baton of James Levine. He had previously sung the role of Faust at the Metropolitan Opera in the Parks with the same company. Other credits include La Traviata in Vancouver, Macbeth in Edmonton, and Carmen in Ireland, Stuttgart, Victoria, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Kansas City. He also sang Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in St. Louis, Kansas City, Fort Worth, Connecticut, Detroit, Quebec, and Toronto.

The cast will also include Charlotte Corwin as Musetta, Bruce Kelly as Marcello, David Pike as Schaunard, and Giles Tomkins as Colline.

Tickets range in price from $45 to $75. You can purchase tickets at the Grand Theatre Box Office, 218 Princess Street, by phone at 613-530-2050 or online at www.kingstonsymphony.on.ca .

NATS Ontario Hosts Soprano Wendy Nielsen and CCOC Conductor Ann Cooper Gay

NATS Ontario Meeting and Professional Training

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Edward Johnson Building @ the Faculty of Music
University of Toronto

9:30 -10:30 (NATS Members Only) Meeting & Elections
10:30-12:00 Ann Cooper Gay & the Canadian Children’s Opera Company
12:00-12:30 RCM Voice Syllabus “Resonance” Overview
12:30 -2:00 Lunch Break; Music Vendors including Plangere & Red Leaf
2:00 – 4:00 Wendy Nielsen Masterclass

Admission
NATS Members: Free
Non Members & Students: $10

 Ann Cooper Gay – “To Blend Or Not To Blend – That Is The Question”
Discussion and Demonstration
Ann Cooper Gay, Artistic Director of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company will discuss the needs of the young singer.
Singers from the CCOC will perform excerpts from their upcoming opera Laura’s Cow with librettist Michael Patrick Albano and Composer Errol Gay on hand to answer questions.

 

Wendy Nielsen – “Training the Young Opera Singer”
Discussion and Masterclass
Soprano Wendy Nielsen has sung in many of the major opera houses across North America including the Metropolitan Opera.
Recognized as a mentor for young Canadian opera singers, she recently accepted a joint teaching position at the University of Toronto and the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble.

Jeunesse Musicales announces Maureen Forrester Tour

This came into my in-box last week from four different sources in both our national languages...I guess I should post it NOW!

The Maureen Forrester Tour
Great Canadian Lyrical Voices Emerge

Montréal, March 29rd, 2012- Jeunesses Musicales of Canada (JMC) is proud to announce thecreation of a recital tour to honour the great Canadian contralto Maureen Forrester (1930-2010).
For the entire duration of her career, the singer was recognized for her artistic excellence and her qualities as a recitalist, as well as her undeniable support to the succession and development of Canadian contemporary music. This new JMC initiative will highlight an exceptional Canadian lyrical artist ready to embark upon an international career.

The tradition of excellence among Canadian lyrical singers has spanned from the 20th century to the present day. JMC has supported the careers of such renowned Canadian lyrical artists as bass Joseph Rouleau (1951-52), baritone Louis Quilico (1958-1959), and soprano Cécile Vallée (1967-68) who went on to grace the greatest stages in the world. This tradition of excellence continues today through the many lyrical singers who have passed through the JMC network, including sopranos Marianne Fiset, Nathalie Paulin and Karina Gauvin, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and baritones Russell Braun and Jean-François Lapointe, not to mention mezzosopranos Julie Boulianne and Julie Nesrallah and tenor Marc Hervieux. It is in this spirit of recognition of Canadian vocal talent that the Maureen Forrester Tour will take place every three years.

National auditions will take place on the 1st of May in Montréal and on the 14th of May in Toronto. Early-career Canadian artists that have acquired solid musical training are invited to participate starting immediately, by presenting a recital project that highlights the great lyric repertoire and Canadian music.

Maureen Forrester’s accomplishments and international influence are remarkable. Her passage through Jeunesses Musicales of Canada in 1953-54, at the dawn of her career, foretold of an extraordinary artist. She went on to work alongside some of the most illustrious conductors in the world, including Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, and James Levine, lighting up stages on all five continents. Maureen Forrester remained faithful to her roots at JMC, serving as national president from 1972 to 1975. She is the perfect ambassador to infuse an aura of excellence into the Tour and to bring recognition to today’s great Canadian lyrical voices.

For more details about the “Maureen Forrester Tour” and to learn about the enrolment [sic] process,
visit http://www.jmcanada.ca/en/para_nav/auditions/maureen-forrester-tour/