I am writing after a very long hiatus. Actually, I can't believe it has been so long! I have been quite busy since I wrote last and there is much to update which is, of course, great news.
I am currently a vocal fellow at Tanglewood, which has been a wonderful and enlightening experience. It is very exciting to have been part of an institution that so many famous musicians have been a part of. A few notable alumni include: Leonard Bernstein, William Bolcom, Zubin Mehta, Dawn Upshaw (Who is our current head of voice faculty), Michael Tilson Thomas, Stephanie Blythe, Leontyne Price, and Aaron Copland. As you can imagine, I have been around some wonderful performers, seen some great concerts and have learned quite a bit about my own learning process. My particular highlight has been learning the Concerto per la notte di Natale dell'anno 1956 by Luigi Dallapiccola. That was a tough piece, but my goodness did it teach me a lot. I am learning new arias now and they feel like baby food in comparison!
A little quote for fun:
Soprano Suzanne Rigden (who also provided the English program translations) has a lithe and athletic voice that easily encompassed Dallapiccolla’s complex vocal lines, executing the stratospheric ascents without undue effort. -Brian Schuth
http://www.classical-scene.com/2015/07/25/fcm-night-3/
On another note, I have become a vegetarian! It has been a little over two months that I have not eaten anything that moo's or coo's. I will say that I have on occasion eaten some fish. That being said, it was only about four or five times. I have to say, I feel great! It was not a dietary thing, more of an environmental reason and animal rights etc. I keep telling myself I will do the vegan thing, but I wouldn't have survived here on residence food, that is for sure. I would like to disclaimer here: I do not do this to make anyone else feel bad about what they ate and am not judging of those who do eat these things. Since becoming a vegetarian I have had a lot of people ask why, and then they immediately become defensive. Therefore, please don't ask if you don't really want to know. #endrant
Okay, back to singing things: Since writing last I had and wacky trip to China. We toured fourteen cities. I can tell you that I saw a lot of hotels and not much of the cities themselves. I went to the great wall of china whilst being extremely get-lagged and, frankly, quite sick. It was still very impressive and breath-taking. I will say though that I do not want to eat Chinese food for another year. It was great food but I had enough! Other than that, it was cool to feel like celebrities there. I love that they enjoyed the operatic pieces and especially our Rossini cat duet.
Immediately following that I had a turn around of two days in Montreal and then headed to the Lunenburg Academy of Music for four weeks. It was a great program as it was an intensive individual study program and its in such a wonderful picturesque town! I met some really wonderful people and got to see my family. It really was the best of all worlds. While there I was preparing my repertoire for the Montreal International Music Competition, which happened between May 25-June 6th. What amazing voices we heard from all over the world. I had a really great experience preparing for this competition and was pleased with my performance. I unfortunately did not advance from the Quarter Finals, but I feel lucky to have been selected to be there.
That brings us up until the present. I can assure you that there are many other wonderful things that have happened during these experiences, but I am leaving you with the highlights of it. If you would like to have more information of upcoming performances etc. Please see my website: www.suzannerigden.com
This picture is relatively self-explanatory. This is myself, Rich Coburn and Christianne Bélanger on a huge poster in China.
Until the next time...
