I want to thank all those of you who came to my senior recital. I was so overwhelmed by the number of people who took the time, and in many cases paid the money, to come hear me sing. It meant more than you can know. It was such a treat for me to sing to such an appreciating audience. I have grown so used to cold auditions and sterile juries, where the audience consists of no one but critics. I still really struggle to give myself fully in such circumstances. On the flip side, there is nothing that makes me feel more alive than when I have the chance to share emotions, tell stories, and bear testimony through song. I love helping people laugh, cry, and smile. Ms. Mahy told me in my lesson this week how proud she was of me. She commented on how complete the recital was, and how she had gotten goosebumps several times. “And that,” she said “says something!”

        I am not the most polished technician. There are many things I am still figuring out, but the preparation for this recital has been overwhelmingly helpful in helping me discover new aspects about my voice. I have learned to more smoothly access my chest voice, to more comfortably access my higher range, and to keep consistent focus in my middle range. On Thursday I attended a meeting for my job with the Voice Lab on campus. A professor from another school who is a huge proponent of using spectrographic display in vocal pedagogy came to discuss the latest version of a program called VoceVista. It was interesting to hear how his research and the research that he has read of other current scholars has proven that some of the staple teachings of the Oberlin technique are perhaps not as grounded as they originally thought. This professor talked about the need for formant tuning, often through the use of vocal fry. It’s a complex discuss and one I’m not going into tonight, but it just reminded me that there are many different ways to sing, and many different methods to teaching singing. It’s always good to be open to new ideas.

    It meant so much to me to show all of my older siblings, parents, and grandparents around Oberlin. Oberlin has been such a huge part of my life these last four years, and I was thrilled to show them some of my favorite spots. I was also delighted to be the “host” for the first time. It’s more challenging than I anticipated, but also very rewarding.

    Thank you Brigette, Dave, Trevor, Lauren, Bryce, Derek, Sabina, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa and Jeremy for coming!