Now it's time to focus on the Fall schedule. If you haven't taken a look, check out the great roster of classes we have lined up. While we'd love to offer in person classes, we're going to wait a bit longer before coming back together in the classroom. Plus, being online has given us an opportunity to open our doors to anyone, anywhere in the world!
Alongside our ever-popular "Sing Your Story" class (taught by me) and "Piano for Singers" with Jerry Phelps, we are also bringing back "Pardon my French" with JP Perreaux (for all you Francophiles out there!). Want to test out your inner pop star? Look no further than Farah Alvin's "Pop Shop". You can work those lyric interpretations with Barb Jungr (all the way from ENGLAND!) Been a little shy about singing? Try "Sing Out Louise: Unleashing Your Inner Singer" with Jennie Litt. And if getting your singing chops back in shape after a long pandemic is in order, don't hesitate to sign up for Carmen Cancel's "The Training Room". Jazz more your style? People are raving about "Swingtime” with Michael Kanan. We are thrilled to welcome Natalie Douglas, David Friedman, and Darnell White to the Singnasium family! Check the site for their class offerings starting in October. Want to perform a favorite song? Try out our monthly Open Mic series, Singapalooza!
The bottom line? We have something for everyone in our Fall line up, with more workshops and offerings on the way.
We are so excited to continue our online offering this fall and know that while we'll be back together again soon, at least we have singing - from anywhere in the world! - to keep us creative and thriving.
]]>We weren’t going to let a pandemic stand in the way of expanding our Singnasium family! We’re so excited to welcome two new members to our Board of Directors! Please join us in welcoming Fritz Stewart and Ann Sardini.
Ann Sardini
Ann Sardini is a financial expert and transformation leader. Her roles as a CFO and Senior Executive span multi-nationals to early-stage startups across the health and wellness, retail, and media sectors at companies such as Weight Watchers International, QVC, VitaminShoppe.com, Sesame Street and NBC. Her experience at the intersection of female-focused businesses, subscription services, and the application of technology in the consumer space has enabled her to bring a multi-faceted perspective to her current consulting and board service. Ann currently serves as a Director of Treehouse Foods where she chairs the Compensation Committee and previously served as Lead Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair. She also has served as an Independent Director, Audit Committee Chair and Restructuring Committee Member for Pier 1 Imports, and chairs the board of Ideal Protein, a privately-held healthcare company. Ann was named to the WomenInc List of 2018 Most Influential Corporate Board Directors for her public company service. She has also served on the boards of not-for-profit Promise Project Fund for the City of New York, and of Weight Watchers Danone China. Along with her board service, Ann leads In Progress Advisors, which she founded in 2013 to provide companies with hands-on strategic and practical counsel for successful growth, M&A, capital structuring and exit strategies. She brings sought-after financial, transformation, and commercial expansion expertise to consumer goods and services companies, including those that are driving expansion via technology and direct-to-consumer brand extension. Her list of accomplishments is incredibly impressive and we are so fortunate to have her join us! Ann lives in New York City with her husband Chris Shriver, a Production Designer and Art Director for feature films, television, and streaming video channels.
Fritz Stewart
As a tutor, teacher and performer, Fritz believes strongly in Singnasium’s mission. He hails from the pacific northwest where he’s known fellow board member, Eve Eaton, since high school. “We sang together, but when it came to musicals, she was cast in the leads, while I was relegated to the orchestra pit or in the back, where no one could see me ‘dance’.” An avid violin player, he spent many years singing, starting one of the first acapella groups at Stanford University, where he double-majored in Mathematical and Computational Sciences and Music. He remained there to earn a Master’s Degree in Computer Science, during which time he also served as a Teaching Fellow. He then moved to NYC for a brief corporate gig before heading to Hawaii, where he taught math, music, computer science, and physics. “I would likely still be there had I not decided to pursue a career as a professional musician.” Off to the Orchestral Conducting program at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, he earned his Master’s Degree there while serving as a Teaching Assistant in the Music Theory department and as adjunct faculty in the Math department. Upon graduation, he spent the next four years as a music director of musical theater and vocal coach, performing in two national tours, many regional productions, and one ill-fated Broadway workshop. Since then, he’s been working as a private tutor in Manhattan, mostly in the field of standardized tests and college admissions.
]]>Janie Press is passionate about music. She sees music as a powerful vehicle to tell a story. That’s what drew her to cabaret, which is all about telling a story through music.
That’s also what drew Janie to a new cause that she’s now fully devoted to. About a year ago, Janie was watching 60 Minutes, and they were featuring an Italian pianist, composer and conductor named Francesco Lotoro. Francesco has spent 30 years working tirelessly to find, recover, study, archive, and then record and perform thousands of pieces of music that were composed and played by prisoners in concentration camps during the Holocaust. Despite horrific conditions of deprivation and despair, these victims found ways to make music. Francesco has recovered over 8,000 scores. “The music covers everything from classical, gypsy, folk, even cabaret!” Janie explained. “I was so moved, I knew I wanted to help him in some way.”
And that’s just what Janie did. She reached out to Francesco’s foundation in Italy to see if she could get involved. “They didn’t have anything established in the United States, so after a few conversations, I decided to start my own non-profit to support his efforts.” Holocaust Music Lost & Found, Inc. was established as of June 2021. Its mission includes to rescue more music that was written in concentration camps. And to share that music with the world, inspiring audiences to see how music can free the human spirit. Janie describes the work as “one of the most thrilling and gratifying things I’ve ever done.”
Though Janie Press has a full plate, she still finds time for her own music and story-telling. While juggling her nonprofit work, Janie is also preparing for a cabaret show. This will be Janie’s fifth solo cabaret to date. It is her first, however, under the direction of Lennie Watts.
The show is called “Retire: Who’s Got Time?” and it’s about musicians of a certain age (65 and up) who are still out there performing. “The oldest person represented in the show is Mel Brooks, who is 95! I’m also showcasing Judy Collins, Elton John, Barry Manilow, and many others. I was amazed there were so many talented, older people out there still getting up and performing and doing it so well!”
Originally from Worcester, Massachusetts, Janie quickly found her way to New York City. She built a successful career in the fashion industry. Then about 20 years ago, Janie thought she would like to learn how to sing. She discovered Helen Baldassare’s cabaret classes and fell in love with the cabaret world! She later joined Lennie Watts’s “Sing Your Story” class.
Check out Janie’s new show, directed by Lennie Watts, on October 8th and 21st at Don’t Tell Mama!
The show is called “Retire: Who’s Got Time?” Certainly, Janie Press does not.
]]>One of the things I am most proud of at Singnasium is the community that has been created. I get lots of messages from students and teaching artists about how wonderful our Singnasium family is. I constantly hear the words SUPPORTIVE, SAFE, TRUSTWORTHY, LOVING, WARM, and INCLUSIVE when people describe their experiences in our classes, workshops, and open mics. In this newsletter, you will see how a group of singers from the Sing Your Story classes have kept the community spirit going over the last year. You will meet our 2 wonderful interns who have helped to up our social media presence, and get a little insight into one of our students, Julie Salzano.
If you haven’t seen our One Voice Project video, take a few minutes to see how the Singnasium family united to form one glorious voice.
Enjoy the beautiful weather, stay safe, and keep singing!!
Lennie
]]>On a weekly basis, a group of fabulous women get together to gab. What do they have in common? They all have taken Singnasium’s Sing Your Story class. But their connection now runs much deeper. We’ll let them fill you in!
Debbie Zecher: When the lockdown was announced and Singnasium had not yet (brilliantly) pivoted to online classes, I realized that my Wednesday afternoon Sing Your Story class had become something of an anchor for my week and I would be bereft without my classmates.
Barbara Kaplan: Our friend, Debbie Zecher, suggested that maybe we’d like to get together for a social meeting…no singing. What a great idea!
Mercedes Herman: We ladies just felt we were in limbo...we knew that zoom classes were coming soon, yet we felt disconnected.
Ronni Faust: The weekly Zoom meeting helped keep us all together and provide a forum for all manner of discussion — music, food, psychology, hair, fashion — everything under the sun!
Barbara: In the beginning, we were mostly getting to know each other in a way we didn’t in class…you might call it “Tell Your Story.” Little by little, we developed a strong bond and we all felt really safe with each other, whether we attended each meeting or only showed up when we could. For me, having gone to college at an art school in Manhattan, it was the closest thing I could think of as sorority sisters.
Debbie: And that Zoom group, “Cab Gab” as Marge Helenchild has termed it, has continued to be an anchor through this crazy year; we’ve now met every single week for 13 months. There are about 10-12 regulars and we have laughed and cried, shuddered at the state of the world and marveled as the world began to right itself. We have cheered each other as we got our vaccines, we have shared joys and sorrows and many online shopping discoveries.
Sarah Carson: What I like most about the group is the camaraderie, the fun and laughter we have shared, the support through these tough times and the opportunity to get to know my cabaret friends on a much deeper level than I ever could have before.
Mercedes: We all encourage each other and connect - like what new equipment to use (lights, audio) to the latest hair cutting equipment! I’ve learned this past year to love more. The connection was a life line! One of the best moments was when we all got to “tour” Joan’s apartment during the Christmas holiday. How she decorated her place, sharing her memories.
Barbara: Over the course of the months we discussed relationships, singing, Singnasium, the pandemic, fear, anxiety, politics (way too much politics), broken hips, throat polyps, dating, music, hair, hair roots, hair cuts, manicures, pedicures, anxiety about the pandemic, anxiety about the pandemic ending, politics…you get the picture.
Roberta Feldhusen: Although I have not been a regular attendee, when I do go I am instantaneously transported to a place of warm and welcoming cabaret friends. These amazing and talented women spend a sacred hour each Thursday. There's never a lull or dull moment in the conversation.
Marge Hellenchild: I like returning every week to something familiar that carries the past, present, and future of singing and cabaret in the most recent iteration of myself. It wasn’t all a dream!
Sarah: One of my favorite moments is our “show and tell” days when we ended up discussing in great depth the best toenail clippers and personal grooming equipment we all needed - much hilarity in this personal sharing!
Debbie: I celebrated a milestone birthday this past summer and I was gobsmacked when a cake from the group arrived that Thursday morning so my cabaret pals could sing happy birthday and share my celebration virtually.
Barbara: I won’t name names, but one of the girls brought in long tubes like Fla-Vor-Ice. But these were flavored Martinis! You can get them in Costco. I brought in my favorite root mascara. Unlike Rudi Giuliaini, mine doesn’t run down your cheeks if you begin to sweat (Boyd’s Brush-It-Away, on Amazon). But the best was the elastic waist pants. You can guess which comedian/singer came up with those!
Joan Darragh: The best moments were the melt downs--a good old fashion girlfriend cry. We had them, and we recovered together. Probably my fondest moment was my big Teddy Bear giving Barbara a Zoom hug when she asked for one. Hoping for the day when we are off-screen, until then the connection continues--a warm assurance of better times to come.
Sarah: I think the idea of continuity has been big for me, I have looked forward each week to my Zoom hour with my cabaret friends, to laugh together, share ideas, commiserate, support, and hold each other’s hands (through the magic of the internet). This group has been so incredibly supportive in such a difficult time - keeping us connected from living room to living room, across the miles and I certainly hope that even when we are able to meet again in person, that we will continue enjoying our Thursday Zooming together.
Ronni: It was a great way to keep us all connected, and evolved into a supportive, loving group of singers— something to look forward to each week! It kept me sane (well, saner) and made me feel part of something special.
Marge Hellenchild: This group reminds me that I am alive. I still am a member of this community. It has been a psychologically very difficult year.
Roberta: This community has truly been a gift during this crazy year. Thank you Sing Your Story! 'Grateful, grateful, truly grateful I am!'
Debbie: I am so deeply grateful to this wonderful group of friends who have truly been my stalwart companions through the pandemic.
Barbara: I know I can count on these women for their support, they are real friends. It won’t be the same when we get back into the new world, but I’m sure we will work hard to keep in touch and see each other. We share a unique experience during a terrible time in life. We have become a sisterhood, and who wouldn’t want that?
]]>Katherine Reardon
Mitchell-lee van Rooij
Mitchell-lee van Rooij earned his Bachelor of Dance in 2005 and danced extensively for over 13 years in The Netherlands. He has performed all over the world, including the Joyce Theater in NYC. He’s currently transitioning into a profession with more leadership in the Arts and worked as a dance critic at Dance Europe Magazine and as a Publicity and Marketing-assistant at Dansmakers Amsterdam. Mitchell also helped creating an audience engagement and experience project at Festival WhyNot, a performance festival that stimulates innovation in modern dance. His most recent affiliation with the Arts in The Netherlands was as an advisor for The Arts Council (Raad voor Cultuur) where he promoted to create a safe and nurturing environment for artists. At present, he works for two independent visual artists in New York City where he helps out as an archivist. Most recently he assisted in curating an exhibition that opened in January 2020 in Brooklyn.
]]>How much do we love our students? VERY MUCH! Each student comes to singing and Singnasium from diverse backgrounds and all corners of the globe. Let’s get to know Julie Salzano, who has been with Singnasium since it’s early days.
Julie Salzano comes from a long line of theatrical performers. And by long, her lineage goes back to the middle of the 18th century where both sides of the family were musical performers in Rimini, Italy performing Giuseppi Verdi’s operas. (That’s a LONG line!) Her aunt was a cabaret singer and performed for years in the clubs and theaters in New York City.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Julie began performing at five with her aunt in an Off-Broadway production and kept at it, performing in plays all through high school. She then took up scenic design in college.
Her theatre career took a bit of a pivot after Columbia University graduate school when Julie became one of 200 women who entered the 38,000 male Police Department in New York City. Her education brought her to work for the Psychology Unit, when she entered a post-doctoral certificate in Psychology, taught part-time at Hofstra University and then full-time at New York Institute of Technology, earning distinguished teaching awards.
Julie has been published extensively in her field of Criminal Justice and Psychology. Through it all she kept creative, writing screenplays and winning four writing awards from the Houston World Fest Festival and the Charleston Film Festival. She produced a cable show called “Criminal Justice Today.” And has written and produced three Off-Broadway shows, winning acclaim for writing from award-winning producer Patty Hirsh.
Julie’s love for singing never wavered. Taking classes at Singers Forum, she won an Equity award. When Singers Forum ended, Julie joined Singnasium working with Lennie Watts, Brad Simmons, and Carmen Cancel to perfect her skills to one day do her own show. Keep singing, Julie!
Thank you for taking the time to get to know Singnasium Student, Julie Salzano.
]]>Ann is currently taking Swing Time 1 and 2 and loving it! But before enrolling in Singnasium, Ann put together an amazing one-woman show that was made into an equally amazing, award winning short film about her brother who courageously battled cerebral palsy.
The synopsis of the film captures it perfectly: "Family legend is that Ann was 'ordered up' in 1957 by Woody, eight and severely cerebral palsied. He did not want to be alone in the world if anything happened to mom and dad. Being non-verbal was no obstacle. He’d touch mother’s stomach and dad’s lap and wave his hands like wands. She was nicknamed Woody’s Order! Her destiny: 'To be thy brother’s keeper just in case.' In childhood she embraced it. Woody was a real live doll to care for. But she had another destiny. At twenty-two she debuted on Broadway as Elizabeth Taylor’s daughter. She wrote a hit solo play which opened in her hometown, Pittsburgh. This short film, which premiered at Tribeca, captures Ann performing portions of the solo play for Woody on a New York stage. Interwoven are stunning home movies that capture their lifelong bond."
We feel very privileged to share this beautiful tribute with all of you, but ask that you do not share more broadly (e.g., please do not post to social media, etc.)
Watch Woody's Order (16:15 min).
]]>"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"
--Percy Bysshe Shelley
The days are short, the nights are cold but if you listen closely, you can hear music in the air. Singnasium is in full swing with more classes than ever. Computer screens all over the country are lighting up the faces of people who refuse to let the winter blahs, and an almost year long quarantine keep them from lifting their voices, staying connected, and fulfilling their need for music in their lives. The Singnasium family is growing and we couldn’t be happier to be building this very special community of artists.
If you haven’t experienced the Singnasium community, now is the time! Check out one of our classes, or join us at our free, monthly open mic, SINGapalooza.
Stay safe, keep warm, and keep singing!
Lennie
]]>Tell us a little about your musical background.
If you could do a duet with anyone, living or dead, who would it be, why, and what song?
What an impossible question to ask a singer! There are so many voices I love, but I'd probably say Cece Winans or Brandy. I spent much of my adolescence trying to learn every single thing they did vocally. They both have that rare combination of insanely versatile and flexible voices and a genuine sing-from-their-toes sort of tone.
How did you get into teaching?
I don't ever remember not teaching. When I played school with my sisters and cousins as a child, I was the principal. I've always felt like a teacher and knew that much of my life would be teaching others.
What have learned over the last year during the pandemic?
I've learned to love and hate Zoom. I love how much it can keep us connected, but I miss making music in real life. I've been joking, but I'm pretty serious when I say: I CANNOT WAIT TO PAY $8.50 FOR A FLAT DIET COKE AND A RUDE WAITRESS IN A CABARET ROOM!
What are the first three things you are going to do when all of this is over?
Hug the people I love for a very long time. Go out dancing. Sing on a stage!
Musical Theater WILL come back! Will YOU be ready? Broadway Funny Lady, Kristine Zbornik will help you Own Your Audition, and Joshua Zecher-Ross will Get Your Book Together. We are thrilled to have Tony Award winner Nikki M. James joining us with Breaking the Mold. Also joining the Singnasium family are Broadway, Television, and Recording Artist Mykal Kilgore teaching Modern Musical Theater Styles, and Broadway Veteran (last seen in Hades Town), Afra Hines, helping you to Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Body.
Not enough for you? Come join us for our popular Open Mic, SINGAPALOOZA. We’ll be coming back to you monthly on Fridays: 9/25, 10/23, and 11/20.
And finally, our fall line up includes Tony Award nominee, Sharon McNight, who will be offering a one-day Comedy Song Workshop on Saturday, September 12.
But wait! Mark your calendars for our annual Fall Fun(d) Raiser on Thursday, October 15th at 7:30pm. This year’s event will be virtual (of course!) and the theme will be: Paint the Town (Whatever Town You’re In!) I can’t wait for you to join us!
]]>What keeps you creative during these crazy times?
Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines! I took on a bunch of smaller projects as soon as they materialized, so my schedule is pretty jam-packed. When everything first shut down, quite a bit of work dried up, including the world premiere of one of my musicals. So, with a suddenly empty calendar, I decided to write a few non-theatrical songs (for the first time in years!), and put out a couple of videos - basically just to have something to do - plus about four or five songs for a new show that's been on a back burner for a while. We even did a Zoom reading of it, for my collaborator and me to see if we were actually onto something or not. Turns out we are, so we'll keep that moving.
But then doing music for a living picked up again, so July has been all about arranging/recording for a couple of virtual concert events (including The Arrangement Experience!). In August, I'm prepping one of my incidental scores for publication/licensing, as well as finishing a few demo projects of other people's material.
My favorite thing to do is write, but I needed to diversify my skill set in order to continue living indoors. As a result, sometimes the recording/engineering, orchestration, or even (God forbid) copy work delays my being able to get at my first love. But when I actually do get the time, it makes me that much more productive. I've had some pretty great teachers along the way (though not so much in my actual field; I come with a staggering lack of training), who showed me that the secret of life is to never stop learning. If you don't become complacent, inspiration seems to perpetuate itself. Besides, as a friend/mentor once told me, "There's no such thing as writer's block. Because if you get it, somebody else won't."
When did you realize you wanted to be a songwriter/arranger?
I knew from a very early age that I wanted to do something in the arts. So did my parents once it became clear that I was simply not about to catch that baseball. But I didn't know if I would be a singer, an actor, a painter, etc. When I was twelve, my family were all in the car, and something decidedly different came on the radio. "What's that?" I asked. My mom reached over to turn up the volume. "Oh, I heard this earlier in the week; I think you're gonna like it," she said. "They're called Queen." The next five minutes-and-change absolutely ruined me for life. I remember saying, "I didn't know you were allowed to do this!" (Turns out you're not, and they weren't, but they did it anyway.) I needed to figure out how four people could make so much noise, and so many different kinds of noises. Still working on that one. But my fate as a songwriter and vocal arranger was sealed.
The instrumental arranging came later - when I finally learned to say yes when the phone rang, and just try new things. That was how I accidentally learned that I could do a lot of different things, and actually enjoyed doing them.
What song do you wish you had written, and why?Only one? There are so many ingenious ones... I'm gonna go with the first one that popped into my head, and say "MacArthur Park." And not that Donna Summer sacrilege either, I'm talking about the real one. The Richard Harris (!!!) extravaganza. I don't care that it doesn't make a lick of sense: it's brash and fearless and bombastic and preposterous. It's everything! And the orchestration, also by Jimmy Webb, is a complete time capsule. (Back to Queen: Brian May says, "If something's worth doing, then surely it's worth overdoing.") And it feels like it's always been here somehow.
I firmly believe songs should feel inevitable rather than concocted or forced into being. This is not to say that I listen to nothing but overblown nonsense - I love my Joni and Sondheim and Gershwin and Billy Joel, and unfairly less-celebrated masters like Nik Kershaw or Andy Partridge. But the stuff that really has no business existing and yet there it is being glorious? That's what got me into this mess in the first place. Songs that I can listen to all these years later and say, no matter how much knowledge, experience, or courage I may accumulate, I would never have come up with that. And I'm so glad somebody did.
]]>Over time, she slowly reconnected with her love of singing by getting involved in local choral societies and church choirs. In 2017, Jessica joined the Master Chorale of South Florida and went on to sing with them onstage with Kol Esperanza, Rocktopia, and Maestro Andrea Bocelli! With the encouragement of her husband and friends, Jessica began signing up for local jazz jams with professional musicians in late 2019, and was singing weekly by the time March, 2020 rolled around. “I was just starting to feel like I could build some momentum as a performer again when the pandemic hit and then everything came to a screeching halt. I felt so heartbroken and lost."
Currently, Jessica works as a Medical Speech-Language Pathologist providing voice and swallowing function rehabilitation to patients in hospitals recovering from critical illnesses, including COVID-19. While quarantined at home, she noticed a post on Facebook about Singapalooza hosted by Lennie Watts, and decided to sign up for the open mic. That experience motivated her to register for Singnasium classes: “Discovering Singasium was like finding an oasis in a desert! It provides invaluable intellectual stimulation, musical training, performance pointers, and social interaction with like-minded people. My therapy work is very mentally and emotionally demanding, so I feel blessed to have this extraordinary opportunity to be a part of the Singnasium family even though I’m 1200 miles away from New York City!”
]]>Lennie Watts, founder of Singnasium, was interviewed by Sue Matsuki, of Cabaret Hotspot. Click the link below to read the article!
Lennie Watts, singer, producer, teacher, director, long-time MAC President and the Artistic Director of Singnasium and now the host of a new open mic called Singapalooza talks about life and offering places to work on your craft during these crazy times!
]]>Sing to tracks, or accompany yourself.
Email Singapalooza@singnasium.org by 3pm on the day of to register and to receive a zoom link. Free to join.
]]>We’ve moved all of our summer curriculum completely online to offer a diverse selection of virtual classes covering musical theater, cabaret, country, jazz, and rock, as well as musicianship, vocal training, arranging, and self taping— a true one-stop musical shopping experience. A full list of classes, which begin June 15, and teaching artists’ bios may be found here.
We are taking this opportunity to expand our footprint from New York City to the whole country and even internationally. And we’ve reached out to provide some of the best teaching artists in NYC and beyond. Now more than ever, being creative, and more specifically, singing is important! It helps with stress and breathing, and all around good feelings.
Some of the teaching artists will be familiar to you and some are new to the mix and represent some of the best in their respective fields. Grammy Award-winning songwriterJulie Gold (From a Distance); Tony Award nominee Sharon McNight (Starmites); and multi award-winning Broadway, recording and cabaret star Karen Mason (Sunset Boulevard, Mama Mia, And The World Goes ‘Round) offer new classes, joining current Singnasium teaching artists Gabrielle Stravelli, Kristine Zbornik, Brad Simmons, Michael Holland, Carmen Cancél, Ted Stafford and Lennie Watts. Also joining with new offerings this summer are Joshua Zecher-Ross, Lisa Asher, and Ashton Michael Corey. Check out the complete listing on www.singnasium.org.
I’m also excited to announce a new monthly online open mic, “Singapalooza”!
Join us Thursday June 11, July 16 and August 20 from 6:30 - 8:30pm.
Hosted by yours truly - Get a track, make a drink and SING!
Email singapalooza@singnasium.org by 3pm on the day to register. You will be sent a zoom link.
]]>You can learn more from Ashton by signing up for Put Your Best Face Forward.
]]>I hope this newsletter finds you all safe and healthy. Boy, these are strange times, and I don’t know about you, but it’s taken me a while to adapt to this “new normal”.
How do we stay healthy? How do we stay sane? How do we stay creative? We are inundated with news 24/7, and most of it isn’t good. We’ve all been affected by this virus, and for some of us, it’s hit very close to home. Now, more than ever, the power of music and its effect on our lives is so apparent.
When I started Singnasium with Kim Grogg and John Koprowski, one of the first things we discussed was how music and the community that it brings had enhanced and vitalized our lives. Our mission was to create a space that could help do that for other singers - singers of all levels and strengths that shared a common love and appreciation of music and singing. We have brought artists together in classes, seminars, workshops and bootcamps.
Now, we are faced with new challenges and opportunities for furthering our mission. We are thinking outside of our normal box and stretching into new territories. We have started using platforms like Zoom, FaceTime, and Google Meet to conduct business. We are currently doing the three classes that were interrupted by the COVID-19 quarantine on Zoom, and will be adding more classes very soon.
Although this is all very new to us, we are making it work and excited about being able to continue with classes. We are also excited about the prospect of opening our classes and exposing our amazing teaching artists to singers around the country and the world! People who do not live in the New York area will be able to sign up for these online classes! We will be sending info about our next round of classes shortly. Until then, keep singing, stay positive, and take good care of yourselves.
May 2020 - Lennie Watts, Artistic Director and CEO
]]>Masks may be required when we venture out, but while we’re at home, I encourage you to turn on the music and Sing Out Louise! Now is the time to let music be your companion and wrap you in love.
There are so many people in our community who are singing out and helping to keep us strong. Check out our fabulous teaching artist, Gabrielle Stravelli, and her Live FaceBook concerts on Saturdays. Or take a peek at Singnasium student, John Burns, and his kitchen concerts. And what about all the Singnasium singers who made Stephen Mosher’s Broadway World Pandemic Playlist! (Gerrilyn Sohn, Rian Keating, Roberta Feldhusen, Lynda Rodolitz and Helane Blumfield, just to name a few!) All of this to say, there is a lot of entertainment out there which can lift your spirits and connect you to others.
The Singnasium Board realizes the need to keep music alive...in our homes and in our hearts. With that in mind, we have taken steps to offer online classes and retool our upcoming summer and fall sessions. We continue to keep our mission front and center: Keeping the arts alive by helping vocal artists thrive.
To keep the arts alive AND to keep the proverbial lights on, we need your help.
Let me end by saying, we are forever grateful for all gifts and donations. We have to stay collectively strong and with your help we can do that through music and song! Oh yeah...and a good cookie recipe!
SINGcerely,
Kim
May 2020 - by Kim Grogg, President
]]>What is your performance background?
As one of those kids who spent my days singing along with cast albums of musicals, it was one of life’s great ironies that neither my high school nor college did musicals. Not until Ricky Ritzel’s Broadway in November 2019 was I in anything resembling a musical. (Thank you, Ricky!)
With my love of music, people were surprised that I became a rabbi, not a cantor but my passion for music always percolated just beneath the surface of my rabbinic life. In 1995, I was invited to speak at a nearby congregation; instead, I created Broadway Bible where I told Bible stories with a show tune title. Here’s an example: Noah is on the ark and his wife finds him outside, trying to escape the responsibility for all those animals for a few minutes. “What are you doing?” she asks. “Oh, just ‘Singing in the Rain.’” Fractured Bible stories with a musical twist!
That was followed by ten years doing Jewish-themed cabaret shows each summer. In 2005, I started taking a cabaret class at the local music school. I learned about the Yale Cabaret Conference, was accepted and spent twelve of the most challenging and rewarding days of my life there.
I realized that the need to perform was becoming more compelling so I retired early in 2014 and moved to NYC to jump into the cabaret world with both feet and a whole heart. I attended open mics, started taking the Arrangement Experience and Summer Boot Camps with Lennie, as well as classes at the Juilliard Adult Division and the Kaufman Music Center. I was fortunate to be a Senior Fellow at the O’Neill Cabaret Center in 2017, another intense but fabulous experience.
When Singnasium began, it became my cabaret address, not only for the classes I love, but also for the wonderful community of singers. In 2018, I presented my debut show called, ON PURPOSE, a musical memoir of my life as a rabbi, wife, mom and, now, cabaret singer. Doing that show filled my heart in ways I never imagined possible. And in 2019, I was so happy to be part of Four Women, Four Stories with Lynda Rodolitz, Helane Blumfield and Peggy Schwartz, as well as Meg Flather’s Cabaret Sisterhood.
What became clear as I began to explore this ‘second act’, was my desire to synthesize my love of cabaret with my lifelong passion for Judaism. I’ve loved traveling around the country as an artist-in-residence performing shows from my synagogue years, as well as ON PURPOSE.
Last September, I created a cabaret fusion High Holiday service where I substituted thematically appropriate cabaret songs in place of some of the liturgy. Planning and leading that service for the cabaret community was a total labor of love, especially because I got to work with my son, Joshua, who is another one of my favorite musical collaborators. What the experiences of the last few years taught me was that I could bring my whole self to the stage, and I’m really grateful for every opportunity to sing.
How are you staying connected to your family and friends while staying at home?
My son, daughter-in-law and grandchild (cutest baby ever!) live in Jerusalem so we have a weekly WhatsApp visit and regular Zoom calls for our extended family. I’ve taken part in Zoom get-togethers with college and rabbinic friends. I can attend Zoom Shabbat services at my former synagogue in the Berkshires, as well as those all over the country.
Being home has given me the chance to reconnect with people I hadn’t seen or talked to in a long time, a silver lining of this situation. And I’ve been happily connected with the Singnasium family as well, with a weekly Zoom visit with my Sing Your Story pals and others in my Singnasium world.
How are you staying creative?
I’ve been working on a new show called, Jewish Caroling: The Music of Carole King, Carole Bayer Sager and Carolyn Leigh, originally scheduled for early May but now postponed until mid-October (hopefully!). I’ve loved exploring the lives of these amazing women and their music. I work with Lennie Watts and Tracy Stark and they continue to inspire me with their talent, creativity and generosity.
After a short hiatus, I’m back working on the show which fills me with joy. I’m also working my way through a book on how to play from a fake book so that I can accompany myself a little better when I practice. I’m a terrible pianist, but I thought this might be more fun and more useful than just practicing scales.
What’s the first thing you want to do once we can get out and about more?
First and foremost, I want to see my kids and hug them for about 10 hours! Then (and I know this might be a while) I want to walk from my UWS apartment to midtown and revel in the theatre district coming back to life. And if I can see my friends on stage at Don’t Tell Mama or one of the other clubs we love, even better!
I want to thank every front-line worker and first responder I encounter and ultimately, I want to advocate to make life better for those who helped us by their willingness to be out there during the pandemic.
As a rabbi, any words of comfort for those feeling a little off while on lock down?
The wisdom of people’s shared life experience has been enormously comforting. In particular, I am guided by those who remind me to take one day at a time, live in the present and acknowledge gratitude. It’s so crucial to be gentle with ourselves when we feel frustrated, sad or depressed and to acknowledge the legitimacy of those feelings. Social media can be both a blessing and a curse; it helps us to stay connected but it can also be intimidating. We’ve got to let go of the tendency to judge ourselves harshly when we see what others offer online and wonder why we’re not doing the same. Sometimes, our greatest accomplishment is simply living out each day as best we can.
But since you add the caveat of my rabbinic background, I’ll frame my answer in the context of a Jewish text. One of the key components of the Passover seder is the retelling of the exodus from slavery. We tell the story over and over again because we are commanded to remember and to see ourselves as if we too had escaped from slavery. And that remembering must inform our day-to-day existence—to see our lives as a journey, to know that bondage and liberation take many forms and that both are part of our lives. We also realize we have a sacred responsibility to help others with their liberation. It’s about kindness, compassion and empathy for ourselves and for others.
Another piece of the story resonates deeply for me. When the Israelites left Egypt, they did so with almost no time to prepare for the journey, but the Torah is explicit that Miriam, the sister of Moses, packed her tambourine among her few possessions. In later commentaries, the sages ask why she would bother to bring a musical instrument at such a precarious time. As usual, they answer their own question. She brought her tambourine, they suggest, because she understood that music would be vital to their survival as the Israelites made their way through the desert with so much uncertainty and angst. Miriam knew that there would again be a time for music and celebration. The same is true for us. Music has the power to heal as we slowly and often painfully, make our way through these complex and challenging days. We will sing again and our music will carry us forward to days of celebration and joy!
May 2020 - Deb Zecher
]]>Television, film and Actor’s Alley Theatre Company made Los Angeles a busy place. But after one too many earthquakes, and her mother suffering a stroke, she moved back to her hometown, Pittsburgh. After her mother passed she wondered, “What to do? Move back to L.A., or back to NYC?” She ended up going to Ireland, and then decided that New York would be home.
But when she arrived, she found the New York she knew was greatly changed. She turned her shock into art, and was inspired to write Times Square Tourist, a solo show that she took to the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland.
Laurel came to Singnasium through our Artistic Director/CEO, Lennie Watts. A couple of friends of Laurel’s were MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) members and they encouraged her to join and go to MAC To School, a weekend of singing and performing workshops, where she met Lennie and learned about his classes. Laurel has taken The Arrangement Experience and most recently Sing Your Story, which she feels is a great class in which to improve your craft, learn new material and meet a supportive group of people.
Laurel shared, “there is nothing better than being with creative, energetic, inspirational performers and sharing the joy of music together.” Here at Singnasium, we couldn’t agree more!
]]>Gabrielle explains that studying jazz is like learning a language, and she gives her students the tools to go home and practice - she empowers them to sing this amazing artform. Gabrielle admits that, “people get intimidated by jazz because they feel it’s intellectual, and it is, and it takes a lot of work. But jazz started as dance music. It’s joyful, fun and complex - these things don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”
In the classroom, Gabrielle demonstrates techniques, shares exercises and has students listen to various versions of the same song to hear the possibilities. This past winter, she and her students explored how to develop a swing feel, they practiced singing different rhythm patterns, and how to improvise. They also learned how to adjust their singing style - for example if a certain section of a song needs to sound more like a horn - how to do that vocally. One student, Wendy Russell, commented “I thought I knew a little bit about jazz and she opened up my eyes and ears to so much more!”
In her classroom, her teaching style alternates between checking in with students and letting them inform her, while also pushing them out of their comfort zones. But the confidence piece is important to her. She shared that when she was at the conservatory the practice was to break students down and build them back up, but she doesn’t want that for the people who study with her. They can gain that confidence without the damage.
It’s clear that Gabrielle wants her students to have fun, first and foremost. For her, singing is her happy place, and she shares that feeling with her classes. “It’s always exciting for me to be in a room with people who have fun singing and are interested in learning more.”
And the learning is not one-sided. For Gabrielle, teaching what she does to others, having to articulate what she is doing, reinforces her own singing and performing. Gabrielle is looking forward to teaching Swingtime again in Fall 2019.
Gabrielle currently has a new album, Picking Up The Pieces, Gabrielle Stravelli Sings Willie Nelson, which you can purchase digitally on iTunes or Amazon or get a hard copy at CD Baby. To learn more about Gabrielle, watch videos of her latest performances, and find out where she is singing next, please visit her website http://www.gabriellestravelli.com
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In Musical Theatre, it is said when a character’s emotions become too intense, it is time to sing. Well here at Singnasium….it is always time to sing! And right now, I want to sing the praises of all who are part of our beautiful Singnasium world.
Let me start off by saying how very pleased and honored I am to be Singnasium’s new Board President and to be greeting you all in this, our inaugural newsletter! Several years ago, when Lennie, John Koprowski and I began to talk about Lennie’s vision for a school, I had no idea that I would one day be asked to preside over the board. Those early meetings, which happened around my kitchen table, led to where we are today. Our original mission to keep vocal arts alive in NYC is the same today, and today we are thriving. Lennie Watts and his incredible creativity and vision lead us. Our fabulous board of directors are diverse in their talents and all very passionate about Singnasium. They have done the hard work of getting Singnasium on the map. Our Singnasium faculty is the best in the business! They bring their knowledge, skills, experience and love of singing to every class and workshop they teach. We are graced by their presence and dedication to us. And none of this works without students. We value the support of our fun, loyal, talented and sometimes-crazy students. We cannot exist without them. We cannot exist without you!
How will we keep this momentum going, you ask? How will we continue to thrive? To sing aloud for years to come? The answer is to get you all to take more classes and/or donate to the cause. We hope you do both. Singnasium depends on donations big and small. This includes donations of people’s time as well as money. When you think of your annual giving, we hope you will think of Singnasium. If you need a reason, think of singing as feeding our souls. When we sing, we lift our spirits and the spirits of those around us. We take joy out into the world. We bring happiness. Plus singing just feels good! Did you know that singing is a natural antidepressant and that it strengthens the immune system? This is a medical fact. Singing a song is more than just learning the tune and lyrics. It can transcend languages and culture. It can reverberate into the world and effect change. Music connects us to all of humanity and does as much as feeding starvation or curing disease.
We hope you continue to help Vocal Arts Thrive in New York City. We encourage you to spread the word about us. Tell your friends and neighbors how great it feels to sing and connect to people through a song. We give special thanks to John Koprowski, whose generosity and support is being used to pursue our mission. We miss you John! Finally, I want to say thanks to all of you who have given your talent, your time, your money and your moxie to our cause. Keep singing and we’ll save the world while we’re at it!
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