The Whirlwind of My Life

I cannot believe I have left this space for so long!!! I think I realize how far behind I am on writing...and then procrastinate because there is so much to catch up on! Haha! It's a vicious cycle! It has been an incredible whirlwind that past two months!

In a nutshell...

Recital videos are up on YouTube! You can find them at: https://www.youtube.com/user/SopranoSngbrd/videos

The Ariettes Oubliées made a second appearance in a performance at my dear friend Ya-Chun's graduate recital. Such a joy to perform with her! :) I also decided I would do my own hair for this recital...after more than TWO HOURS sitting in front of the mirror with a curling iron, I decided I have too much hair! Haha!

Purchased airplane tickets to Europe... Ha! (More on that in a minute...)

I completed my Master of Music!

Got a glorious, unending case of laryngitis, which of course, is the perfect thing to happen to a soprano!

A mere two days after the voice began to return, I was jetting off to my alma mater in Ohio for a gig--after a full day of teaching!--with gown and glitter heels in tow. It was so incredible to be back on campus...and to be there as a "professional soprano." And traveling anywhere as such is such a magnificent feeling. This is my life...and I LOVE it!!! Let's keep this rolling... ;)

Oh, and what happens when Miss Big Hair (my Boston-branded nickname...hehe!) goes through airport security THIS time?! THEY MADE ME TAKE MY HAIR DOWN!!! Yes, that's correct. I set off the metal detector, and after removing my jewelry, and I was asked in a rather hostile tone, "What is in your hair?!" I said, "Excuse me?!" And then, the guard proceeded to tell me I had to take it down, or I would be submitting myself to a full-body search. I said, "Okay...but I warned you that you didn't want to see what happens when I take the hairpins out..." The locks unfurled in an unruly manner, and the jaws of the couple in line behind me hit the floor. The guy said, "Uh...nice...hair..." and then realized it was okay to laugh when I started making jokes. Haha! PRICELESS!!!! Apparently, my hair looks suspicious. You never know what could be hiding in there... ;) 

They treated me like a total princess when I was there! Teehee! As soon as I walked through the door, they were making sure I had water and anything else I needed and giving me full reigns of the hall.  My flight had been delayed in Philly, so I didn't get to Ohio till after midnight...then didn't get to bed till 2am....to wake up bright and squirrely for a morning rehearsal and an afternoon performance. Adrenaline, a ton of water, a dose of caffeine, a wonderful vocal technique, and some B vitamins fed to me by my coach's husband got me through! Tim, the man in charge of the whole event was a doll. Once I put on my heels for the rehearsal, he looked at me, and said, "In those shoes, girl, you can have whatever the hell you want!" haha! I am not one to be the "Kathleen Battle" diva, but I have to admit the attention is fun. ;) He also owns a spa, and I was given a generous gift certificate. So sweet!

A visit to Ohio also meant seeing the lovely Lynn, whom the concert I was brought to sing for was in honor, my dear friend Sarah, my long-lost love Que and his new beau, Alex, a happy slue of old professors and friends, staying with my "Ohio family," Barb, Tim, and the girls...they are my home away from home always, many visits to Cherbourg Bakery to see Geri and the crew, midnight chats over wine on Geri's porch, an impromptu parlor performance with Que before the electric went out for a little while, dinner with my long-lost Chad, reuniting with my darling Caitie, lunch with Dr. M, midnight chats with Barb after everyone else had gone to bed, making oobleck with the girls, and seeing dear, sweet Nonni for a couple hours before I had to leave town... It was a glorious four-day reunion, and I was overflowing with joy to see everyone, catch up with them, and share all that I have done in the past two years. It was as if I never left....one of those visits where you can pick up right where you left off. Love. :)

After four days in Ohio, it was four days visiting home in PA. Days filled with watching Becca play soccer, reuniting with the dog Rafiki (that almost snuck in my bag to come back to Boston with me!), Xander being my shadow, and watching his caterpillar build its chrysalis. That kid is too much! Haha!

Then, it was back to Boston to spend the week packing up my apartment. Meanwhile...

With practically a day's notice, I learned and performed the Fauré Requiem...and then moved to a new apartment for the summer...about an hour after the concert. Yes, I am crazy.

Since then, I have been working as much as I can, practicing, battling a ridiculous allergy roller coaster, from which I lost my voice AGAIN last weekend ( -_- highly unamusing), attempting to also keep somewhat of a social life, and squeezing in a couple of much-needed technically-based voice lessons because...

Europe...

I leave in just under 3 weeks for a 6-week romp around Europe. Yes, this is totally happening! Ack! :) There must be something about huge, life-changing events that prompt me to do drastic things, like purchase plane tickets to Europe...because I did this three years ago when I graduated college, too... Hehe! ;)

This trip is of a little different nature, though, not just [entirely] a gallivant. I will be returning to Hungary for a 3-week singing course with the wonderful János, Roland, etc. at the Kodály Institute. :) I cannot wait to see and sing for them, again! A lot happens in 5 years...especially in the voice! It is going to be exciting to show them the difference and delve into the Hungarian music world once again. And surprise! I also discovered that Dr. M and a few colleagues from undergrad will also be in Kecskemét at the same time! Crazy small world! It has turned into quite the "reunion" summer! 

After 3 weeks in my beautiful Hungary, I will be meeting up with my friends Christa and Vince for a road trip to their house in Switzerland, perhaps via Salzburg, a holiday in Croatia via Milan, and then back to Switzerland for a few days before I fly back to Boston.

In the meantime...I am in the midst of hardcore apartment hunting because directly following my return to the States, I must move to a new (and hopefully semi-permanent, and by that I mean, God-willing, minimum 2 years!) apartment...AND THEN roll right into orientation week and a new school year. Oh yeah...I graduated with the Master of Music, but I didn't think I had had enough just yet, so I signed on for one more year for a performance diploma. Haha! 

And there you have the continuing adventures of a crazy soprano on her "Big Hair" head... ;) 

Stay tuned for more adventures and anecdotes leading up to and throughout my European excursion! :)

I will leave you with some of the recital photos I received from my aunt whilst at home...

I could have danced all night! (...and slept the whole next day...)

And then as quick as that, the recital was over. What an incredible night it was, though! :) From the first notes to the last resounding of applause in the hall to the final reception guests bidding their congratulatory comments and good nights, the evening was simply "perfect." Sure there were a few mistakes here and there, but they were nothing to devote any energy troubling over. I don't think I would change a thing. (Except maybe my throat not feeling so dried out! haha! Singer problems.)

Purple dress...what a surprise! ;)

I think all this comes from being so incredibly aware in the moment and so comfortable with the music. Finding this "zone" in the music was so exhilarating! The nuances, the shadings, the playing with the text and colors I could add...taking those spontaneous risks made it all feel so alive. What energy it inspired in myself, my collaborators, and the audience! It was palpable and fueled the excitement and joy more! This is the professional world. And I LOVE it! I cannot wait for this to be my life all the time! :)

above photo credits to my cousin Elana

above photo credits to my friend Bradley, who was taking screen
shots during the live-stream! :)

(More photos to come when I receive the disc from my aunt's camera!)

It was an absolute JOY to share this program with everyone! I cannot wait to do it, again! :) It is a weird feeling that it is "over," but I also know that it is really just the beginning. One of the really exciting things about this program is that literally each and every piece will be like a permanent fixture in my personal repertoire, to be sung for years and years to come. What a treat!

And if you were not able to tune in, never fear! Once I receive my recordings, I will be doing a little YouTube posting! ;)

I barely slept that evening, though, and in turn, was so deliriously tired on Friday that I couldn't actually see straight. I went to see my voice coach, who unfortunately couldn't make it to the recital (because I was a total idiot and didn't look at the calendar when I scheduled my recital...and it landed on Holy Thursday. -__- Stupid, Samantha!), and I was like, "I feel drunk, and I only had maybe a quarter a glass of wine last night!" He was laughing so much! Despite not being able to come, he was so overjoyed and had so many things to say and commentary he had heard from all around. I am so lucky to have such caring teachers and coaches! Jayne, too, was the sweetest, checking in with me throughout the entire performance. So blessed. :) 

Now, it's on to the next project in my performing schedule this spring! In just 12 days, I will be performing Debussy's Ariettes Oubliees, once more, on my friend Ya-Chun's collaborative piano recital. (You can tune in for the online live-stream broadcast at this link: http://www.concertwindow.com/shows/ya-chun-shih-collaborative-piano)

Next Stop: Recital!

How it got to be so long since I last posted, I don't even know! School, work, daily rehearsals, coaching, lessons, teaching, and intense recital prep has kept me crazy busy. Nonetheless, I am alive! And...

I am presenting my Master of Music recital this Thursday! Hooray! I am SO excited! :) It is going to be brilliant. I get to work with some incredible colleagues who are all so enthusiastic about the music, singing some absolutely beautiful songs by faculty member and good friend Vartan Aghababian (seriously, he should be famous!), and...I have a lovely purple dress and glittery shoes! Also, I am overwhelmingly grateful for my dear teacher and mentor, Jayne, who couldn't be a more perfect match for me, and for my awesome coach, Mr. Moll, for putting up with me, answering my endless amount of ridiculous questions, and fixing that one vowel for the 58th time! I am so lucky to work with you guys. :)

What is even more exciting is that even if you are not in Boston, you can WATCH THE LIVE-STREAM BROADCAST ONLINE!!! What?! Yes, it's true! Click the link below just before 8pm on Thursday, March 28th, and voila! I'll be singing in your living room! ;)

http://www.concertwindow.com/shows/samantha-dearborn-soprano


Family members come into town tomorrow...here we go, crazy! ;) As my undergraduate teacher always said, "See you at the double bar!"

Cheers! (And enjoy the show!)


P.S. Oh, and my newest nickname is "Big Hair".... Haha! Much better than Squirrely or Honey Boo Boo! Oh...

2013: The Year of the Awesome!

Photo Credit: Ya-Chun

The New Year started off a little bumpy,  but it is shaping up into some very exciting endeavors! I'm now calling it "The Year of the Awesome" after discovering Kid President's "Pep Talk." If you haven't already (or even if you have!), watch it! It'll be a fabulous next 3 minutes of your life, and you have the most wonderful laughter. Promise. :)


Exciting new discoveries in my voice. My voice coach said I'm finally growing into my "big girl" voice. hehe! He's so silly! In any case, I really enjoy my coachings with him. :) He's been really good for me. Our coachings are always a little ridiculous, though. For instance, last week, this exchange happened:

Me: singing a Purcell song
Him: "Where's your leT THe?! Ach! Julie [Andrews] would be so disappointed... *shakes his head in disappointment*

I was a little worried coming off of the holidays, feeling a little vocally out of shape and not as prepared as I felt I needed to be on my recital rep. However, something happened in that last week of the holidays, and I walked into the semester with a "sudden" grounding. It's crazy...and AWESOME! :) This is when music is the most fun, adding all the nuances and playing with colors and inflection of the words. Love!

Also happening in my life... You are looking at the newest Visiting Faculty member of my school's community music program, teaching a group voice class for 8-10 y/os! (Yes, that's right...I'm a student in the conservatory AND a faculty member in the community programs. I live in this crossover world of the school.) I have a mailbox with the "big kids" now and a faculty key! Crazy...and AWESOME! What an opportunity! :)

Recital prep is well underway. It is all starting to settle and come together, bit by bit. There are still a few pieces definitely still "under construction," but they will get there in time. :)

Sang a competition in Rhode Island a couple weeks ago. Didn't win, but singing well means more than that. (And the one judge's face when I sang the required piece was priceless! And made the whole thing worth it! Literally, it was the boy's face in the new Kraft Mac 'n Cheese commercial.) Plus, gave my roommate and I a little crazy adventure for the afternoon!

Photo Credit: Amanda

And most recently, I sang in a masterclass with Martin Katz yesterday! What fun! And what an incredibly brilliant man! He was in town for recital with soprano Karita Mattila (which has since been cancelled due to the current blizzard...), and since Mr. Katz is the former teacher of my voice coach, he kindly paid us a visit to spend a couple hours working on beautiful art songs with us. What a treat!

Photo Credit: Jaime

In other news, my hair is still an every day topic of discussion at school and on Facebook, and I actually find it hilarious! I think it's funny how every time I walk into a room, the greeting is not, "Hi, Samantha!" No, it's "Whoa! What's with your hair today?!" Ha! Ridiculous! Dr. D's most recent name for me is Squirrely, after a squirrel tried to claw its way through my bathroom window...and the joke was made that he saw the opportunity for a new nest. haha! Oh, boy! All this talk of "woodland creatures," so now, I've basically turned into Giselle of Andalusia in Enchanted? I wore my hair completely down the other day, and I think I disrupted the universe or something.

And now, we have "Winter Storm Nemo" (How can I take this seriously when they name it that?!)...school's closed, basically the whole city of Boston has shut down, the trains stop running in two hours, and we'll probably be house-bound till Sunday at the least. (You would think that New Englanders would be accustomed to winter weather, but they seem to freak as much as Ohioans did... 

Photo circulating Facebook

So...I'm slowly chipping away at my to-do list, trying to use the time productively and need to get some recital work done for sure! I have gummy bears, "Anastasia" wine (hehe! Okay...so I added the 'a' at the end of a Greek wine...), and going to take my hand at homemade chicken noodle soup! Mmm!

And then the holidays were over...

*le sigh* Can we turn back time to have another two weeks, please?

It was back to Boston yesterday after two weeks at home.  I am thankful for being able to take this much time for my home visits over the years, but I am typically never ready to return from them. (And it is uncertain when the next will happen...)

It was a laid-back kind of holiday this year. Not a lot happening, and you know what? That's quite alright. I'm glad for the rest, repose, and pj days. Unfortunately, I was sick for a good portion of it and actually still not feel fantastic...ringing in the new year with a sinus infection to top this illness off. Oy! But I have drugs now for it, so hopefully that will knock it all out of me because no illnesses allowed this semester!

Cornflakes the Snowman

After two weeks of baking cookies for Santa with Xander, building snowmen, playing legos, watching all the Charlie Brown specials, quoting Elf endlessly, eating the entire 3-lb bag of gummy bears, and attending Becca's soccer practice just to listen to her South African coach speak (hehe!), it is back to reality and no more slacking on this recital music! (Needless to say, I am more than a little behind on my music...and feeling the stress! However, I have a large portion of the next week to be dedicated only to that, since classes don't begin, again, until the 14th...and I had to be back early. I have to admit, I am a little jealous of all the people that get that extra week on holiday, but duty calls for my community programs assistantship...and I should probably go to work, too... Blargh.)

So, I'll leave you with an overview of my holidays in photos. Enjoy! :)

Baking cookies for Santa...with pink sprinkles, per X's insistence!

The snow fell more and then some more after that. It was like being in a snow globe. :)

X and I discovered Photo Booth on my new iPad...

Rafiki.

My fake look of surprise (we both knew what we were getting.)...

And Becca's "Academy Award-winning shock"

The story of this snowmobiling helmet for X is just ridiculous, but he loved it, so that's all that matters.

Happy 2013! May it be filled with blessings and goodness. Cheers!

Home for the Holidays

I got home in the nick of time! Snow storm began mere hours after I arrived home, safe and sound. White Christmas? It's beginning to look like a wonderful possibility!

Traveling home on Thursday was fairly uneventful. Nasty head colds and flying up and down, however, do not make for a very pleasant trip. :-/ Nonetheless, I survived. And much to Dr. D's disappointment, unfortunately, there were no hair pat-downs at security. haha!

I've basically been "couched" since I got home. This illness came on very fast and knocked me down. Still barely a voice, so I highly doubt there will be any Christmas singing for this soprano. More important that I get thoroughly better than even attempt to sing on a voice that's not there. 

No worries, though (ha! yeah, right...a soprano without a voice isn't worrying?!)...we've got gummy bears and Christmas movies to keep me company. ;) (Xander hasn't been too thrilled with me that I haven't been able to do much of anything yet...but the gummy bears seem a fair enough consolation prize to him...and me! hehe!) 

Oh, and who remembers (for once!) to pack her camera charger...and not her camera? This girl. Oh, boy... Same with my new snow boots. Guess we'll just have to make it work with the family camera and my old snowmobiling boots! 

Semester: SURVIVED!

And cue the "Hallelujah Chorus"! ;)  I feel like I basically dropped off the blogging planet these past few months, but more importantly, I was wading through towering piles of scoolwork and schores. Having come out alive, I can sincerely say that this has been the most challenging semester of my academic career. We will find out in January how well I fared grade-wise.

Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday with all the comings on of a nasty head cold...and a performance to be sung in the evening. ACK! Thankfully, the voice held out. But I was forced to cancel my lesson today because it has now taken over my throat and resonators! What a glorious note to close out my semester... :*(  On a positive note, though, I ought to be counting my blessings that that is all I had to cancel. Not a huge deal, because this can be made up; not usually the case for a performance. Just frustrating because I really could have used that lesson. (Flying home tomorrow morning will be a treat with all this head congestion... Ha!)

Since it's been like 7 years since my last post, here's the run-down of some highlights:

▪ Murder Mystery party for Rachael's birthday!

▪ Rehearsing the seance scene from The Medium starts to influence your life...almost burnt the apartment down at 6:30am on a Monday...then had a rehearsal where I sang about burning things at 9am.

▪ Also having dreams about "Doodly" and "Mother, mother, are you there?" Creepy. 

▪ Harvard boys can't count. 

▪ I got a job teaching voice lessons!

▪ Dawn Upshaw at Symphony Hall

▪ Birthday party at my vocal coach's house (his own party) = AMAZING way to spend my Saturday night. So much laughter, dance party in his kitchen, "Sound of Music" sing-along. Awesome!

▪ Flying home for Thanksgiving, my hair got a pat-down at airport security. Yes, this is real life. Actually happened. Apparently, my hair looks suspicious or dangerous. And my opera coach, Dr. D, has reveled in this to no end. (He cannot wait for the Facebook updates when I fly home tomorrow.)

▪ My hair has become an out-of-control source of humor, jokes, and teasing. I find it just as hilarious as everyone else. I actually make half the jokes, myself. haha! It's got a mind of its own! Dr. D is relentless on the commentary. Hilarious!

▪ Spent a few days hanging out with my nephew Xander, who showed me his robot skills with an empty Sam Adams box that my dad gave him to play with. 

▪ TWO new pairs of glasses because mine broke over Thanksgiving. AND I chose and ordered them all by myself! My friend Edwin brought to my attention that the one pair look like Karen Walker's. It's true:

▪ This conversation actually happened at Thanksgiving dinner:

Aunt #1 (whilst interrupting Aunt #2, who was talking about the Erie Otters hockey team...but wasn't listening): "Did you know that otters hold hands when they go to sleep, so they don't float away?! Isn't that sweet?!"
Aunt #2: Are we talking about the same Otters?!"
Ladies and gents, THIS is what happens when you weren't actually listening.

▪  Mom rode the train back to Boston with me and hung out for a few days.
▪  Edwin and I got engaged. (Not for real! That would be way too dysfunctional. haha!)

▪  This is Edwin and me:

▪ After all these years of late nights, I have found that I am actually more of a morning person and far more productive then.
▪ Whipped out a 25-minute presentation in two days.
▪My roommate and I went to dinner one night, and the host at the restaurant legitimately asked, "Uh...What's with the 1980s hair?"
▪ Dr. D thinks I should write a book about the adventures of my hair.
▪ My voice coaching sessions are highly amusing and usually consist of me, to no end, singing quirky vowels and my coach asking if I am testing him. Ha! You have so much patience for me, Mr. M!
▪ Sang Dvorak's Gypsy Songs and a couple Beethoven folk tunes for piano trio and voice.

▪ Been discovering crazy cool things in my voice! (Being sick makes me sad right now because I can't play around with my new resonance discoveries.)
▪ Observed the future of classical music during choir rehearsal for community programs:

▪ I have succeeded in losing and finding my watch countless times.
▪ Christmas party at Rachael's!
▪ Auditioned for SongFest...
▪ Baked candy cane cookies with peppermint schnapps frosting and topped with crushed candy canes...instead of writing my two hefty papers.

▪ Whipped out paper #1 and turned it in a whole week early! (That's only because I had another due the same day that was even bigger, so I had to start chipping away at the work pile somehow.)
▪ Procrastinated on paper #2 some more.
▪ My roommate and I threw a little dinner party for her birthday/Christmas. I officially had no time to do that, but I am so glad we did! :)
▪ Spent this past Friday night...and Saturday night...and Sunday night conjuring up paper #2 and ended up submitting it two days ahead of time! (How is this happening?!)
▪ Opera scenes concert last night was a success! The Medium is super cool...and super emotional.
▪ Now, spent most of the day on the couch/cleaning the apartment, since I had to cancel my lesson, and I leave bright and squirrely in the morning for two weeks in PA for the holidays.

And that has basically been my life. Absorbed in school and trying to stay afloat the workload. I have two weeks to get all illnesses out of my system because come the first of the year, I have zero time to deal with this nonsense. I have an entire recital to memorize by January 15...and four songs still to learn... :-/ Plus preparing for a few more auditions (that, of course, do not all have overlapping repertoire), and two - possibly three - other recitals following my own. Here we go, crazy and exciting six months! But first, some much needed and deserved rest and repose. I'm not sure I remember quite how to let myself do nothing...

See you from the PA side of life! ;)

When a soprano goes to grad school...

...she's going to have too many things to do, so...she'll forget about her blog and be bogged down with work!

My life feels a bit like that When you give a mouse a cookie... book that sparked a whole series of such book! Ha! 

The short-hand version of recent life events...

If you run yourself ragged and not get enough sleep and combine that all with drastic weather changes, you will get sick. -_-  (Thankfully, it was a fairly mild, short-lived cold...but still caused several days of cancellations of rehearsals, lessons, etc. Ugh.)

I probably took on too much music this semester. Overwhelmed...but I'll survive.

But you will get really stressed out at times and may have one (or more) slight meltdowns with sprinklings of melodrama.

If you listen to too much Julie Andrews (I know...how can that EVER happen?!?!), it will begin to influence your English diction, like "branch" becomes "bronch"...and will lead to the most ridiculous vocal coaching session ever and him asking if I am "testing" him...because it was a continuous occurrence throughout our half hour. Haha! Now, that was hilarious!

You can spend 45 minutes coaching a two-page song, and still, your work will be far from finished on that piece...which brings about the upsetting, stress-inducing realization that there is and never will be enough time to know all there is to know about each thing I sing. =/

If you sing Monica in scenes of The Medium, your opera coach will replace, "Doodly, doodly..." with "Honey Boo Boo...", which will then lead to you YouTube-ing what/who is Honey Boo Boo, only to find out what a mess our culture is. (Thirty seconds of that tragedy was enough for my life time!) But will also lead to a hilarious round of jokes, facebook commentary, and parodies of my scene.

And when Hurricane Sandy (aka Frankenstorm) hits the East Coast, Jesus will grant you a much-wished-for DAY OFF!!! (Which could turn into two day...) And you'll have guests over for a pj party at your house (conveniently and smartly located a half-mile from the coast...) and get stranded because the T was closed down and its wicked ridiculous outside! So you'll bake butterscotch chocolate chip cookies, watch White Christmas and Anastasia, and attempt to tackle some of this tower of schoolwork! ;)