The Singing Revolution?

Can singing cause a revolution? The answer is yes! When 1 million Estonians sang for their freedom, it happened. Well, at least that's what the people involved in getting a documentary (of the same name) screenings say. I'd love to see this movie, but somehow I don't think I will be able to. They are doing a campaign to get screenings around the USA and Canada and if they get at least 1500 requests they will organize it. So far, it is or will be shown (for a week long run) in 25 cities around the US and Canada. They have a map on the site where you can see how many requests have been made in cities all over. Madison, WI has only 73 requests... :-(

Go have a look and make a request! Click on the title of this post!

14th Annual Free the Voice Seminar

I just got back from Frankfurt yesterday, where I attended the voice seminar offered by Carol Baggott-Forte. This is the same seminar that was once taught by my mentor, Cornelius Reid. The work is the same: Functional Voice Training. And let me tell you - it was FANTASTIC. Unfortunately, I only had 4 lessons myself (I thought I was going to have 6, but there you go), but they were so good. Carol is so amazing. I feel like I took another huge step towards vocal freedom. At the same time, I listened to her teach throughout most of the seminar 10am - 1pm, 2:30pm - 5:30. It's the most fascinating thing to listen to these people singing and hear what she does with them. Her explanations are always clear and concise and I learn soooo much. The progression of the singers is phenomenal, even in the course of one lesson, but especially at the end after they've had 4 lesssons. Now I just have to incorporate what I learned into my own teaching. My first course of action is going to be to be more adventurous with my pupils. I hope that I can inspire them to sing better, more reflexively and to trust their bodies and their ears!

Want to know more about Functional Voice Training? Go to Carol Baggott-Forte's website: www.liberatedvoice.com