Diva Redefined

My Guilty Pleasure

/ Odds and Ends / 0 comment

During my first year of grad school I found myself wanting to branch out from the usual Friday night activities, especially as the weather in Ann Arbor got cold. Don’t get me wrong, I love to Netflix and chill, hang with friends, dance and try new restaurants, but I felt the need to spice things up and take in the winter solitude in a way that didn’t feel as predictable. How did I spice things up you ask?!? I bought an adult coloring book lol. Yea yea, I know you are probably judging me for it. I mean, who buys a coloring book and calls it adding spice to their life?! For me, it’s all about the little things that add flavor to the mix of my every day life. Moments of quiet in a demanding week help to separate my mind from the daily grind.

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Travel Essentials: The Singer’s Guide

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Every singer has special things that make their trips a little easier to bare. These are a few items I use and recommend for those who travel a lot for auditions and or business. And remember, you don’t have to brake the bank for many of these things. Wait to buy during holiday sales and or your birthday.

  • Travel steamer
  • travel humidifier
  • garment bag
  • external charger
  • allergy meds/cough drops/meds of your own/hand sanitizer etc. Violinists have rosin, singers have Ricola (joking… but not joking). Because our bodies are our instrument it is so so important that we treat them with care while traveling. Public transportation = germ frolic zone. I promise I’m not a germaphobe, but I don’t know any singer who enjoys getting sick or not feeling close to %100 for a performance.
  • If you’re flying….especially internationally, don’t forget your neck pillow. Your body will thank you later. I personally love the ones with the squishy micro beads.
  • Straws: sometimes the drive or subway trip to the audition can take a while. Even if you have warmed up at home, I like having straws sometimes to keep the voice warm. Check out some straw exercises here.
  • A BANGIN music playlist to listen to and prepare your mind to sing and calm the nerves.
  • make-up kit.
  • Screenshots of directions. So what happens if you loose internet or service. I like to have where I am going as a safety precaution.
  • Readily available pdf’s of your music, resume, and headshot. Ya’ll… stuff happens. God forbid anything tragic occurs before an audition …but as a safety measure I always have PDF’s that I can pull up on my phone to print if need be.
  • Travel sized toiletries. Go to the dollar store and rack up! Also, the “dollar spot” aisles when you first walk inside Target are perfect for these things as well.
  • Spices/food favorites: I’m not saying every singer MUST carry around a giant bottle of hot sauce (but hey, if that’s your style, that’s cool too). For long term work engagements in new cities it can be helpful to not have to rebuy essentials each time you arrive. I’m kind of a foodie, so I love traveling with snacks.
  • An open heart and open mind. Remember why we do what we love!

Have any special items you travel with to add the this list??? Let me know 🙂

 

Aspen, Colorado: Mountain Oasis or Affluent Utopia?

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I had the honor of attending the Aspen Music Festival this summer as a vocalist in the Aspen Opera Center. My experience at Aspen was filled with incredible musical growth and amazing colleagues to match. As the premier classical music festival in the country, Aspen was in many ways a sight to behold. Rarely can one be completely engulfed in a space surrounded by people who love what they do. The amazing level of camaraderie and support at AMFS helped to produce student performance projects and three fully staged operas. In this sense, Aspen was incredibly affirming as a long term professional goal that had come to fruition.

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“You are beautiful for you are fearfully and wonderfully made.” — Pslam 139:14