Copland, Purcell, Poulenc, Hartke

It's been a whirlwind after UNLV Opera Theater's production of The Fairy Queen closed Nov. 10. Following the Purcellian afterglow, I performed Stephen Hartke's Iglesia Abandonada with violinist Weiwei Le at the Nov. 13 Nextet concert. And Nov. 17 I get to sing in the new Smith Center! The Copland program should be a crowd pleaser, and hopefully Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh will draw a crowd curious to hear him narrate the Lincoln Portrait. It is well-timed thematically, since the Spielberg Lincoln movie opens this weekend as well. My November performances will conclude with the Poulenc Gloria-one of my favorites-which I will sing in Ham Hall on Nov. 30.

YFS returns to GA

Last week I had a nostalgic return to the Atlanta area, doing Yoga for Singers workshops for Clayton State University, Musik21 at the Johns Creek Center for the Arts, and the North Fulton Music Teachers Association. I also shared YFS with the voice students at Georgia Perimeter College. See us perfecting our Tall Mountain pose in this photo.

Georgia is still on my mind, even though I'm back in Nevada with an autumn intent to renew and revitalize my personal yoga pracitce.

Fairies and Elixirs

I am pleased to announce the 2012-13 season of UNLV Opera Theater. I'm a fairy fanatic so blending Purcell with Shakespeare will be good fun. Then it will be cool to combine Donizetti with a touch of the Bellagio. In the fall Opera Workshop we will explore pants roles from Cherubino to Drood, while April's scenes will explore beauty and vanity, so get ready Semele, Thais, and Truvy.

Meditating to the Taos Hum

In late June, I traveled to my parents' place in Arroyo Seco, NM. (I attended 1st-3rd grades in this small town on the way to the Taos Ski Valley.) I taught two Yoga for Singers sessions to the students of the Taos Opera Institute. During meditation, I wonder if anyone heard the legendary Taos Hum.

Tree pose: Roots Before Branches

Last week at the Druid City Opera Workshop, the students worked hard on Tree pose. Some lost their balance, but I told them that was ok, and that they had to build their foundation before they can branch out. I meant that literally, but metaphorically it reminded me of the climactic song from the Glee finale "Roots Before Branches," where Rachel Berry goes to NY to follow her dream. Click here to watch Lea Michele’s powerful performance of the song.

YFS @ NYC. Next stop, Druid City!

Last weekend I traveled to New York City to give a Yoga for Singers workshop at Bija Yoga, a lovely new studio near Unnion Square. The weekend also included hosting NATS Chat, a monthly online discussion group of voice teachers. This month's topic was, not surprisingly "Real Divas (and Divos) do Down Dog: How Yoga Helps Singers." Later this month, I get to return to Paul Houghtaling's wonderful Druid City Opera Workshop. In its third year on the University of Alabama campus, Druid City is a great new summer opera scenes program. I'll be directing scenes from Cosi, Boheme, Traviata, Barber, and Magic Flute as well as leading yoga practice. It will be interesting to see how Tuscaloosa has recovered from last year's tragic tornado which decimated portions of the university town. Click here to learn about Druid City Opera

YFS heads to TX

This April marks the one-year anniversary of the publication of Yoga for Singers! In celebration, I'm doing some touring around the country to lead some workshops and spread the word about YFS. You can catch a YFS workshop April 21 at Big Yoga Houston or. Happy spring, and Namaste!

Carmen: Castanets & Love Duets

2 weeks away: UNLV Opera Theater's "Carmen" Mar. 16-18 in Ham Hall.

You Gotta Get a Gimmick

Happy March! My article on Creative Recital Programming is in the March/April issue of Voice Prints, the newsletter of the New York State Singing Teachers' Association. Click here to read my article on p. 4.

Caffe Breve with Alizma

Yesterday I presented my first faculty recital at UNLV. Entitled "Caffe Breve," the program featured arias and songs all about coffee from Bach's Coffee Cantata to "Taylor the Latte Boy." The concert concluded with the world premiere of a song I wrote entitled "Blonde Coffee" which I wrote with latte girl Kristin Chenoweth in mind. This photograph features my students Aleksandra and Monika Okapiec, two of the Okapiec triplets who are Alizma. Click here to learn about Alizma

2012: A New Year of Possibilities & Costumed Asanas

Happy New Year! 2012 promises new opportunities. My book Yoga for Singers will be reviewed in the upcoming March issues of the Journal of Singing and Yoga Magazine! I'm busy preparing to direct UNLV's production of Carmen, but I realized I haven't uploaded a new video since moving to Vegas. Click here to watch the new YFS video . It's called Costumed Asanas and shows how to modify some yoga poses so you can warm up in costume before an audition or a show. Wishing you well in 2012.

If Mozart's Impresario were casino mogul Steve Wynn

We received positive reviews for UNLV Opera's production of Divas. CLICK HERE TO WATCH “THE IMPRESARIO” Madonna and Lady Gaga are the divas, competing as opera singers and yoginis in front of Steve Wynn, their agent Ari Gold, and the abdonminally gifted Mike Sorrentino aka 'The Situation.' CLICK HERE TO READ A REVIEW OF UNLV DIVAS” It's been an exciting first semester!

UNLV Divas

My first UNLV production has launched Divas, Mozart, and Haydn. Check out our interview with KNPR. Click here for KNPR interview

YFS Review in Voice Prints

Check out the review of Yoga for Singers in Voice Prints, the newsletter of the New York Singing Teachers' Association, p. 6. CLICK HERE FOR YFS REVIEW

Mudras @ CMS & YFS @ Campbell

Last week I traveled to Richmond for the national conference of the College Music Society. Despite the 8 am session time, there was good attendance at my workshop Yoga Breathing and Meditation for Musicians and Speakers. A flutist said she was eager to try the techniques at an upcoming audition. I also did a YFS workshop at Campbell University in North Carolina. Usually I sell some books after the workshop, but here they were buying them beforehand!

Bikram Yoga: Too Darn Hot for Me

Since moving to Vegas, I've taken advantage of the wide variety of yoga options. Most recently I decided to try Bikram Yoga. Bikram has messianic devotees who seem to love its practice. (To watch a 60 Minutes interview with founder Bikram Choudury click here) I admire their focus and commitment but after 2 classes, I've decided it just isn't the right style of yoga for me. They do a set series of poses in order which makes for great discipline, but I couldn't help but miss so many of my favorite asanas. I thought I'd developed a better tolerance for heat since I moved to the Mojave desert, but the humidity makes the heat index too extreme for me to feel healthy. The heat does increase flexibility and certainly makes you be present and live in the moment because all you can do is think of the Kiss Me, Kate song, "It's Too Darn Hot!" If you love to sweat profusely then you may love Bikram, but I felt exhausted from dehydration. As a singer living in the desert, I just don't think it's the right fit for me. Finally, I missed having music to guide and enhance my practice. There was no restorative meditation in Bikram's so-called "torture chamber." So my exploration of yoga styles will continue. I'm enjoying the journey but I hope I'll soon find a studio to call my own.

Wonderful time at Wanderlust

This wonderful yoga and music festival did not disappoint. Check out the great view from The Cosmopolitan's Boulevard Pool.

Cosmopolitan Wanderlust

The yoga and music festival known as Wanderlust is coming to Vegas this weekend! This is my chance to take an Anusara class with its creator, John Friend. Plus I've heard that the Cosmopolitan is a beautiful venue. I'm not familiar with the featured act Thievery Corporation but it sounds like they're a mix of reggae, jazz and Indian classical music. We shall see!

Red Rock Mudra

Hiking at Red Rock Canyon this weekend, I took a moment to meditate on the majestic beauty (and to catch my breath after a steep climb). This hand yoga posture known as Jnana mudra

helps maintain focus and concentration, so it's useful for singers, hikers, et al. I want to do Yoga Sanctuary's Red Rock Yoga Class/Hike but instead of paying $39 for it, I did my own solo hike and meditation for free.

Flow Yoga feature

Yoga for Singers is now featured in Flow Yoga magazine!
Click here for
Flow Yoga link