Sookie Stackhouse song premieres

Tonight was the joint voice faculty recital at the University of Evansville. I sang my song cycle Pleas to Famous Fairies, which my former student Laura Collins premiered in 2009. But for this event I wrote a new fairy song "Sookie Stackhouse" in honor of the True Blood character who was recently revealed to be a fairy. The audience laughed at the song's Jersey Shore joke (Sookie-Snooki). And it was great fun to sing the Offenbach Orpheus Fly Duet, the Merry Widow Cavalier duet and an HMS Pinafore trio with my colleagues.

YFS at NOA

I started the new year by giving a presentation at the 2011 National Opera Association convention in San Antonio. Entitled Yoga Breathing and Meditation for Opera Singers, the session focused on using pranayama techniques as well as meditation with mantras, mudras, and chanting. It was great to see former mentors and old friends such as David Holley (UNCG Opera Theatre) and Paul Houghtaling (UA Opera Theatre).

Rejoice greatly: Evansville Philharmonic debut

On Dec. 11 I made my debut with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra. I was the soprano soloist for two performances of Handel's Messiah. The first was a candlelight concert at Trinity United Methodist Church in Evansville while the second was presented in the Granary in New Harmony. A wonderful way to start the holidays!

Photo: With tenor Steven Stolen.

Holiday Pops at Victory Theatre

The University of Evansville presented its annual Holiday Pops concert downtown at the beautiful Victory Theatre. I got to sing one of my favorites, the Judy Garland classic: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Mood Indigo premieres

Yesterday was the inaugural Mood Indigo jazz jam at UE. We had a good crowd in the Ridgway Center. Today we continued our musical adventures as the pre-show act for WUEV's "Happy Holidays and All That Jazz" concert.

Pictured: Lauren McMillen a.k.a Zooey Deschanel

Singing for our Veterans

This week it was my pleasure to sing at UE's Veteran's Day service. Thanks to all of our veterans (including my uncle Harold Smith). I performed the Star Spangled Banner and "He's Gone Away," which makes me think of Civil War as depicted in the film Cold Mountain.

Making an Impression

On November 3, the University of Evansville's Music Department presented its monthly First Tuesday concert. This month's focus was Impressionism. With my colleague, pianist Anne Fiedler, I performed 3 of Debussy's Ariettes oubliées: Il pleure dans mon coeur, Green, and Spleen. I love these evocative songs!

Photo: with my voice colleague, tenor Dr. Gregory Rike (who sang Duparc)

YFS at UK

On Oct. 28, I presented a Yoga for Singers workshop at the University of Kentucky. It was a presentation for the Voice Pedagogy class of
Dr. Noemi Lugo, Professor of Voice at UK and my high school voice teacher!
I studied with Noemi from ages 15-18 and she coached me through the role of Maria in West Side Story.

Tomorrow I'm doing a yoga session for the members of UE's Phi Mu sorority. It seems that everyone is exploring and enjoying yoga...

3 Finalists at Kentucky NATS

On October 22-23, I took 9 of my UE students to Kentucky NATS at Berea College. 8 of the 9 made the semi-finals and 3 were finalists. I was especially proud of my freshmen women: MacKenzie Sweeney won 1st place and Ali Wregglesworth won 3rd in Freshmen Women, and Michaela Tussey was 3rd in Underclassmen Muscial Theatre. The Kentucky chapter is actually closer for us than the Indiana chapter, and I thought the event was refreshingly well run. It was great to judge with my first voice teacher, Dr. Noemi Lugo, to run into Eric DeForrest, who was a student at SUNY-Fredonia when I had my first college teaching jon, and to meet Cynthia Lawrence and other new Kentucky NATS colleagues.

Weekly YFS begins at UE

This morning I began weekly Yoga for Singers at the University of Evansville. Studying for midterms kept some students away but we had a lovely restorative flow. Maybe next week senior Kayla will bring her seeing-eye dog Oreo to join us in Up and Down Dog.

The Hills of Tomorrow

On September 26, I sang a duet with my colleague tenor Dr. Gregory Rike for the Inaugural Concert in honor of UE's new President Thomas Kazee. Doug Reed accompanied us on the organ as we sang "The Hills of Tomorrow" from Merrily We Roll Along. Sondheim seemed an appropriate choice since Dr. Rike was conducting UE's excellent production of Assassins this weekend. As the song lyric says, "may we come to trust the dreams we must fulfill."

Yoga for Musicians (and Monkeys)

Today I broadened my focus to present Yoga Breathing and Meditation for Musicians at UE's weekly music major seminar hour. I introduced pranayama techniques as well as mudras to help in meditation and to combat performance anxiety. The students especially enjoyed my slide of a meditating lemur, although he seemes to be indecisive about his mudra.

Fun at the Faculty Gala

I made my UE debut at the annual Faculty Gala. It was great fun to sing Norina's aria with an appreciative and responsive audience. But I was overwhelmed by the variety of the program: harp, euphonium, guitar, woodwind quartet with harpsichord, brass quintet, sexy Piazzolla for violin, cello and piano. I am excited about my new instrumentalist colleagues. Still I can't escape Shorter. A Shorter grad from the 1970s was in attendance. A biology major turned Episcopalian pastor, this gentleman from Owensboro, KY was there to remind me of my former colleagues.

Yoga, Spirit, and Community

I have been taking class at a number of yoga studios in town but today I received the most lovely note from the teacher at Evansville Power Yoga. "It's always a gift to have you practicing with us. Much Shanti." I am overwhelmed by his words; they exemplify the yogic philosophy but I was both flattered and humbled. What wonderful energy I feel, and I look forward to practicing in this yoga community.

New Music Dept. website

Check out the newly designed website of the University of Evansville Music Department or visit the Voice Area page to learn about my new colleagues.

Sarah McLachlan, singer/yogi, in concert

Last week I got to see Sarah McLachlan in concert at Chastain Park in Atlanta. I suppose it was a conciliatory concert since Lilith Fair was cancelled throughout the South. Sarah sang well, showing good breath control and impassioned expression. It was timely since she is currently featured on the cover of Yoga Journal.

Tiny Dancer on Penny Lane

I have made the move to Evansville! I am excited to explore the local music scene from the Evansville Philharmonic to the German Männerchor. And on my own block I can enjoy the Penny Lane Coffee House, a cool place for a soy latte or vegan scone, once frequented by Penny Lane herself (Kate Hudson in "Almost Famous").

NATS in SLC: Singing and "Postering"

The National NATS conference in Salt Lake City was a wonderful experience for me. It was literally a trip down memory lane to be in the town where I went to high school while encountering colleagues old and new. I had the pleasure of singing on the Graphite Publishing showcase and presented my poster paper on Yoga Breathing and Meditation for Singers. (To see the paper, click on the Yoga for Singers tab on lindalister.com.) Kelli O'Hara's concert and master class were highlights, especially her hilarious rendition of "Opera-It's an Opry with an A."

Druid City/YFS Thank You

I received a lovely thank you note from the students of the Druid City Opera Workshop:

"Thank you for giving us such a wonderful understanding of our bodies and what yoga can do for us as singers. We'll forever cherish everything you taught us!"

It is so rewarding to help empower performers to sing better, to find vocal and expressive freedom. I look forward to many more YFS workshops.

Clara a.k.a. Kelli O'Hara

The National NATS convention is about a month away, and I am excited about the featured performer: Kelli O'Hara. Originally Kristin Chenoweth had been the featured artist, but I suppose Glee and the Broadway production of Promises, Promises created a scheduling conflict. Kelli should be a good replacement. She has similar crossover appeal yet is a bit less known. The original Clara in The Light in the Piazza, she studied with the same voice teacher Kristin did, Florence Birdwell. What a great name! BTW, Kelli had a cruel cameo in Sex and the City 2, so I have to remind myself that she was just acting and didn't mean to demean Carrie Bradshaw.