Happy 2011 to all!
Ye Gads! I once again cannot believe that the month is over already and I haven’t written a Happy New Year newsletter to you all. How is this possible…that the year 2011 has raced in and is in full swing so quickly?
I have loads to tell you so let me begin, okay?
First of all, let me wish you a belated but still heartfelt Happy New Year. I certainly hope your holidays were everything you wanted them to be.
My own holiday was grand. I took the train to Los Angeles and spent Christmas with my son and his lady in Marina Del Rey. Glorious! We had such a great time together…eating Los Angeles Mexican food, (the best in the world)…touring the Getty Museum, meeting fabulous young Angelino’s and….reconnecting with my west coast students, which was an amazing, if not nostalgic experience. We had our regular vocal performance workshop, and everyone sang so beautifully and had grown so much since the last workshop we had together. I was very proud of all of them. And Rick, my son joined us and sang as well. How fabulous he sounds. And the train ride…WOW! That was a uniquely wondrous experience too!
I’ve included a couple of photos in this newsletter, and you can see more on my Facebook page.
I had just enough time once I returned home to rehearse for my Cole Porter evening with my band, “No Exit” at a popular Jazz joint here in ABQ, “Vernon’s Jazz Club”, and my older sister flew in from Dallas to support me and to do some filming of the show.
Some of her efforts were unfortunately futile with all the noise and movement in the club, but there was some that was good enough to put up on YouTube, and you’re very welcomed to trot over there and watch some segments of our performance. Just look for “An Evening with Cole Porter”
We were received very well and have already been invited to return in March for another Tribute show. I think we’ve chosen to perform songs from Movies and Broadway…as Jazz tunes of course.
So it is with humility and amazement that I have greeted 2011...living my 71st year on this magnificent Earth and loving my life.
And the weirdest part is that the whole thing started with an event that I tried to avoid for more than 40 years. I won’t go into details here, (pretty private…and emotional), suffice to say, sometimes the very thing that you think will destroy you, and that you keep fighting to keep away from touching you, CAN often be the very thing that frees you to truly live your life and “Follow Your Bliss!”. It’s just a question of ALLOWING things to unfold and evolve the way they are supposed to. In other words, “Get thy bloated self out of the way, and give it up…let go.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (paraphrased)
Some announcements about what is happening that could affect you if you frequently, (or even infrequently) visit our website.
My plans for the new year, already in progress, are varied.
I’d like to start spending more time on the video collection I am constantly asked about. I am really amazed…and delighted about how many singers young and old, professional and virtually inexperienced, have benefited by these videos.
I have decided to go on with them in a more detailed way, dividing them into sections the same way I would teach a person in my studio.
When I moved, (it seems that whenever I move, some of my equipment needs to be reconfigured to work properly), this last moved altered the way my webcam was operating so I am attempting to install a newer and more sophisticated webcam.
As soon as that’s handled, I will start adding to the instructional videos. There is a URL at the bottom of this newsletter which will show you where all of the videos and other materials are located.
And of course, I welcome your ideas about specific singing issues you might want addressed in a video lesson, so please feel free to contact me and let know what you’d like to see there.
Another plan I have, knowing full well the words of John Lennon when he said, “Life’s what happens when you’re busy making plans”. I thought last year at this time that all I wanted was to relax, retire, and recreate! Boy oh Boy! Was I wrong!!! I tell you, singers, I am having the time of my life…the very best time…and in this my 71st year.
Okay, so getting back to the plan…
I will be looking for the perfect time to jump away from here for about a month or so in the Spring or Summer to go to Seattle and record a CD of my favorites with my friend Barney McClure, with whom I shared a bandstand years and years ago. Having reconnected with him, I have been inspired to do this CD as well as to inspire others in our age range to stay the course and never give up on dreams.
I will also be working on expanding my private practice There are loads of great singers here in beautiful ABQ, and even great artists need a coach now and then, just as skillful athletes need a coach to point out areas that could use a brush-up.
So in order to have the time and energy to handle all of these “plans”…
I am taking the Singyourlife website down after 11 years of presence on the Internet. Actually much of it will still be available, but it will not be located at www.singyourlife.com
I am moving all the content, including the Blog, to a site I started several years ago, and have learned recently that I own free and clear…with no fees for hosting or anything like that.
So PLEASE write all the links you see here down and SAVE them for future browsing. This newsletter will appear at various sites as soon as I send this out to all of you.
I’ll be letting go of the email manager too, so the only way to read my newsletters will be at the various blog sites where I post them.
I am inquiring as to whether or not I can keep my singyourlife.com email address. If not, however, I am giving you several choices of where you may reach me. PLEASE write them down as well, or copy and paste them into a safe place.
Letting Go of this burdensome website, which has consumed so much of my time and effort will free me up to work on all of the above mentioned projects, PLUS finish 3 books I’ve been working on for a long time, one being a compilation of all the articles and stories I have told you over the years about my life as a musician and singer, another a memoir of sorts, and the third, a novelette, totally fictitious, but based on real experiences.
Below are the new emails and URL you’ll want to save if you want to stay in touch.
For all Instructional Videos and Performances:
For Blogs:
For emails that will reach me in a hurry, try any of these:
(Just copy and paste into the browser)
‘Til we meet again, Singers…
Sin[g]cerely,
Chrys
2 comments:
Hey, I just happened to come across this "singers blog?" Im not sure exactly what you blog about, haha, but it would be cool to find out. Meanwhile, could you check out my blog? I'm a singer..I guess. haha
http://rpofficial.blogspot.com/
Check out Katy Perry's BRAND NEW video trailer for "Part Of Me": http://bit.ly/xHRIX7
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