UselessNews

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! How to Mark in Rehearsal (and When Not To)           Anyone who has worked with me knows I am guilty . I have a really hard time marking in rehearsal, and I almost always end up singing full voice all the way through the process. Some of that is enthusiasm, some of it is adrenaline, and a lot of it is simply loving the music. Still, it’s a habit I’m actively trying to get better at. For readers who may not know what marking is, it’s one of the most essential tools a singer has for surviving long rehearsal periods. It’s how we save our voices through many, many hours of singing. Why would a singer need to do that? Isn’t it our job to be able to sing for hours on end? Yes—but it’s also our job to maintain a healthy voice, and a voice that doesn’t sound tired. Right now, I’m firmly in gigland . I’m rehearsing Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera York (opening February 27), and I’m also heading to Owen Sound this week to rehearse and pe...

  Disposable by Design:   When Quitting Is Framed as Growing Up. Myself and Michael Newnham with Orchestra Toronto(April 16th 2024) The season of cheer is on its way out — and what a season it was. This year, I’m grateful to have spent Christmas with my family and friends. Last year was different. I was in a holiday production that, while musically enjoyable, triggered intense illness anxiety. Life is short, and you only get so many opportunities to be with the people you love during this earthly existence. I’ll give up other holidays for music, but Christmas is a hard one to surrender. This season, I spent much of my time singing in long-term care homes, which I find deeply fulfilling. My final caroling gig of the year was on December 23rd with my regular choir. Somewhere between homes, during a break, I was asked a series of questions by a fellow chorus member — questions I haven’t stopped thinking about. That's What She Said.. People often ask me what it’s like to make a...

The Show Must Go On...And Then What?     Lucia's hard day at work.  D ecember is my favourite month of the year. My heart practically glows when I hear Christmas carols (or songs that are suspiciously similar but not enough to trigger copyright lawsuits). And the lights on people’s houses? Immediate serotonin. Plus, in Canadian work culture, once we hit December 20th, everyone who isn’t an essential worker collectively agrees to do the bare minimum necessary to avoid being fired. If anyone complains, the official response is: “Cheer up, fool — it’s Christmas.” And then, of course, it’s my birthday month . Every couple of years I end up performing on my actual birthday, and I almost always get a wonderfully chaotic “Happy Birthday” from my colleagues — sometimes even the audience joins in. The most memorable? Counterpoint Orchestra’s Don We Now Our Gay Apparel concert in 2015. Yes. Ten years ago.       Cantabile Chamber Singers.  That concert was t...

Begging Wednesday and Festivus for the rest of us!  Babushka Mode activated.  So much to do and so little time! I, like 90% of musicians, have once again found myself in the chaotic wonderland that is holiday gig season. It looks different every year, and luckily for me this time around I’ve got a nice mix of concerts and a bit of time to actually see my family. This year, I’m taking it easier. I’ve decided that singing outside is officially for the young and ambitious. I have paid enough dues, thank you very much. I sang outdoors for a Remembrance Day Ceremony and then spent the entire rest of the week trying to warm up. I even pulled out the winter gear early, all proud of myself—and yet the cold still got me. So here I am with some caroling, four concert gigs (Burlington, Hamilton, and Cambridge), and—of course—a partridge in a pear tree. My most loathsome carol. My personal purgatory is never actually arriving at “Five Golden Rings.” Caroling: The Good, the Bad and t...

If It Happens Indie Productions and the Graveyard of Creativity My one rep max at Krka Falls, Croatia 2019 I was telling a colleague about an exciting concert idea I had, and he responded with: “If it happens.” He’s incredibly sweet and absolutely didn’t mean to hurt my feelings — but oof. It stung. There’s something about that phrase that feels like a tiny shove back into reality. I’ve produced four recitals and three operas in my lifetime, and if I had even a modest abundance of cash , I would produce constantly. My brain is a nonstop hamster wheel of ideas. But money and time? Fleeting. Laughably fleeting. Because I don’t have the capital, the cycle goes like this: I get excited → I get embarrassed I can’t afford it → the idea dies → I mourn for a few days → and finally, I lay it to rest in my ever-growing graveyard of creativity . The Delulu Chronicles Post Performance of Lucia Di Lammermoor with Southern Ontario Lyric Opera 2025.  People love to imagine the singer pipeline ...

Bureaucracy and the Art of Screaming Beautifully Part 1.  On what they don’t teach you in music school, and why they probably should. Convocation 2014 Myself with Nicole Malcom. They should really be teaching this in music school.    I will never forget the first time I heard the phrase, “They should really be teaching this in music school.” It was spoken by my high school choir teacher, Maria Riedstra , during one of our independent study performance classes. She had hired a pianist to accompany us and was explaining how to properly bill the school board for their services—via invoice.      Looking back, we were incredibly lucky. Preparing a song with a live pianist in high school was a rare gift, especially in a Toronto public school. Most singing students only get that chance at a biannual recital through a private studio—if at all—before university. And since most teachers who prep students for post-secondary voice programs don’t start until around si...