Wait, what?! – Rachel Payne

My father wisely stated, “one day you will likely have to do something other than music to make money.” Wait, what?! Hold the phone. I didn’t sign up for that! I just want to sing.  That’s what God put me on this green earth to do. As it turns out for me, Dad was right. … Read more

Kicking Back to Grade School – Karen Hogle Brown

Seriously!  How many times has that same person been late to rehearsal? How many times have I spent weeks on a score and the person next to me is fumbling around looking at it for the first time?  No matter what a great singer they may be, I know I would never recommend them for … Read more

Mr. T – Rachel Payne

Just like the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, it takes a plethora of teachers and mentors to raise a performer. Today I’m going to focus on just one who was absolutely influential in my development as a musician and artist. He was taller than me when I first joined the orchestra … Read more

For the Love of Lieder – Lindsay

Growing up in Los Angeles, I didn’t know much about German Romantic poetry. I did read some Goethe and Heine (because I had excellent high school German teachers) but I didn’t exactly grasp the scope of that literary movement. And I couldn’t have guessed that those poems would change my life. But when I moved … Read more