Back again
Hello from Knoxville! It’s been a minute! Apologies for my long absence….except….no, I’m not sorry. I’ve been busy doing the things I missed so much during the peak of the pandemic.
First, a bit of catching up:
My return from Spain dumped me straight into audition season. I recorded some new videos (I’m real proud of this one posted above!), made a trip to NYC, sang a few auditions, and then flew straight to South Carolina for my brother’s wedding.
All the while, I was rehearsing and prepping for a New Year’s concert to be recorded the week after my return to Nashville.
Christmas gigs were a thing this year!
January marked the beginnings of my preparations for The Copper Queen (I’m in rehearsals for this right now!). Also for this concert I have coming up in June!
My duties with Opera on Tap Nashville have resumed, as has my job with the Symphony.
And during all of this, I had something like 20 private students across two different schools!
I will say, it’s been a fulfilling, but exhausting time. I’m relearning my limits and now that the school year is done, I’m doing a some reevaluating with regards to where I want to put my time and energy.
Frankly, 20 private students was WAY to much. I started feeling burnt out around Thanksgiving. December was a welcome break, but by March and April, I felt like I had nothing left to give. This took a toll on my teaching. It also took a toll on my life outside of teaching. I felt like I only had half a brain for the last couple months. Singing was my escape, but time and energy was in short supply, and there were many days when it was simply not possible.
I’ve had a couple of weeks to rest (I feel like I could use a couple more) and reevaluate since the end of the school year. Here is what I know:
I won’t be returning to the high school in the fall. I am so grateful that this opportunity came along when it did because it allowed me to completely refocus myself on music full time, but it was ultimately not a good fit. This will allow me to put my energy into teaching at the college in the fall, and to better control how much I am teaching.
Ultimately, I want to be doing more singing than teaching. I know that teaching makes me a better singer (and vice versa), but I would like to find a different balance going forward.
It’s time for me to bust butt and get more gigs!
That said, I’ve got a couple of auditions coming up, and I’ve made a list of organizations to contact and inquire about future opportunities. I’m working on some new rep. Since I’m also in the middle of rehearsals right now for The Copper Queen, I have a fair amount of downtime since most of our rehearsals take place in the evenings.
SO…..here are my goals for this week:
I need to write a good cover letter so I’m not trying to invent the wheel every time I email an organization with my materials.
I’m working on a new audition aria, and I want to get it memorized this week!
One of the pieces on my June 11 concert is in Hebrew, and another is in Aramaic. Eep! I’m fortunate that one of my kind hosts here in Knoxville teaches Hebrew and Biblical Studies at UT, and has offered to help me with these pieces!
I’m going to email an organization/day starting tomorrow!