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Love, Lies, and Public Humiliation: Mozart’s Meanest Joke What Even Was That Last Week? And boy, has it been busy. During this production period, I’ve been keeping my regular Monday-through-Thursday teaching hours—and wow, has it been tough. I’ve done six-day weeks before, but it’s so easy to burn out after about three. My Wednesdays have been especially brutal: twelve-hour days across three separate work locations. Yikes. Luckily, our show goes into the theatre this coming week, and I’ve booked off my other gigs to give the production my full attention. Sitzprobe with our wonderful orchestra:) The cast minus me!  The cast minus Don Alfonso and Guglielmo.  The “Happy Ending” That Really Isn’t This week, our production team has been wrestling with how to end this opera—with that infamous happy ending that really shouldn’t be one. I love Così fan tutte . The music is stunning. But the show is often dismissed as silly because of its obvious disguises and the seemingly light-he...

Make Your Own Garden Grow Before my graduation recital with Nicole Malcom and Amanda Chin at York University. Dear Voice Student, So—you’ve decided to study your passion and perhaps even pursue a career in the arts. Bravo. Choosing to follow your calling, especially one as vulnerable and personal as singing, takes enormous bravery. You are not just entering a profession; you are charting a map in unmarked territory. Every artist becomes, in some way, a cartographer—mapping the landscape of their own path in a career that is as unpredictable as it is rewarding. The arts are strange that way: they’re always changing, yet somehow always the same. In a future post, I’ll dive deeper into the practical side—income streams, the many hats you’ll wear as a musician—but for now, here’s what I believe you truly need to build a career as a singer. Musicianship Good musicianship is your foundation—your compass. This means developing strong ears, solid theory, and a deep understanding of how music w...

Cosi Fast and Furious; Mozart Drift My cast mates on a hot evening off near Nuremburg, 2018.  Life in a Quick Jog Life is back to its normal pace—a steady quick jog. I’m back to teaching and singing, with a side order of early wedding planning. Right now, I teach private voice and piano lessons four days a week between Toronto and Markham. (I’m also looking to fill Fridays if anyone’s interested—see the link above!) On Wednesdays, I join my favourite local choir, Village Voices , as a section lead. It’s been such a joy to find this community, both for the camaraderie and the delicious music. We have a concert coming up in November—reach out if you’d like details! This week my car also decided to give me an early Halloween scare with my breaks not working on the highway. Luckily the phrase 'pump the breaks' came to mind and I managed to build up just enough breaking pressure to not become strawberry jam. She's all fixed now, and the only injury was to my wallet, thankfully...