Good Vibrations Voice Studio

The audio on this post is a live capture of Donna & Sabine on the first day of the 2026 Calgary Vocal Festival., and these pictures tell the story better than any words could.

What makes Donna exceptional isn't what stands out about her. Instead, it's how she comfortably just IS. In rehearsal, she is warm, friendly, and conversational. She coaxes the best out of every single singer, with humour and expertise. She has a deep love of music and she lights up when she shares it with us. During competition, she allows the singer to shine by providing stable & dependable accompaniment while they sing, and when the song asks the pianist to take the spotlight, you suddenly understand how brilliantly Donna shines.

The who have only worked with Donna have been beyond spoiled. They don't understand how special and beautifully honed her skills are. Learning to work with other musicians is a skill that is slowly dying - not only because it's 'easier and cheaper' to use a track, but because skilled pianists who want to accompany (especially beginners) are few and far between.

I have no relation to Donna, but her husband and I share a Welsh heritage...and a surname. For my part, I am grateful to call her a friend, too.

WE LOVE YOU, DONNA. ❤️ Thank you for all your support, coaching, and beautiful playing.

MY BRAINNNNNNN - Song 26. If I ain’t got you (Alicia Keys)

The algorithm will hate this post, but I don't care. It's for ME, not for the interwebs.

I had one of my singer's parents (shoutout to Monique!) that watching all my singers in a row (like we did at our Studio Showcase a couple weeks ago, to prep for the CalgaryVocal Festival) was like stepping into an art galary and watching all my work displayed. I had never thought of it like that (I am student-centered!).

Taking the time to gather these videos, pick 10 seconds, and count down like this was a powerful exercise for me. WHAT A LOT OF WORK THESE FESTIVALS ARE! Exhausting, rewarding, emotional, and empowering! And these are only half my students! The others are still out there, singing tunes and taking lessons! My brain!!

There is another post coming about her, but it also makes me appreciate our studio collaborative pianist, Donna Williams, EVEN MORE. She easily played over 100 songs over the 5 days of the festival. EASILY. Wow.

So, to help you count (and to give credit to the songwriters, who ALSO deserve our thanks!) - here are the songs that were performed:
1. Beautiful Little Fool from The Great Gatsby (Howland & Kerrigan)
2. The Fate of Gilbert Gim (Margaret Drynan)
3. Coraggio, ben mio (Italian folk song, arr. Stephen Chatman)
4. What Baking Can Do from Waitress (Sara Bareilles)
5. Wild & Reckless from Drat! The Cat! (Levin & Schafer)
6. I'll Show Him! from Plain & Fancy (Horwitt & Hague)
7. A Quiet Thing from Flora, The Red Menace (Kander & Ebb)
8. Rainbow (MUSGRAVES, MCANALLY and HEMBY)
9. L-O-V-E (KAEMPFERT & GABLER)
10. A Change in Me from Beauty & The Beast (Rice & Menken)
11. A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman (Pasek & Paul)
12. The Trouble With Love Is (Rogers, Sturken & Clarkson)
13. I Love You Too Much from The Book of Life (GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA)
14. Pure Imagination from W***y Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (BRICUSSE & NEWLY)
15. Can't Help Falling In Love (WEISS, PERETTI and CREATORE)
16. Sonya, Alone from Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 (Dave Malloy)
17. Six Hours as a Princess from Children's Letters to God (Cohen & Evans)
18. Romance (Claude Debussy)
19. Don't Rain on My Parade from Funny Girl (Merrill & Styne)
20. Bel piacere (Handel)
21. Lachen und Weinen (Schubert)
22. For You There Is No Song (H. Leslie Adams)
23. My Grand Plan from The Lighting Thief (ROB ROKICKI)
24. Friend! from The World According to Snoopy (Hackady & Grossman)
25. It's Possible from Seussical the Musical (Ahrens, Seuss & Flaherty)

Day two was a big one for us at Good Vibrations! Four musical theatre numbers and two classical are now in the books! Some big smiles, many personal bests, Donna smashed the keys (in a good way!!!), bras were put on backwards, thieves revealed themselves, dogs caused deaths, Italian folk songs woo’d us, flour got on our hands, and heartstrings were pulled. ✨✨✨

I taught today. And I taught this song. And if you’re interested in singing Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” without choking or bailing on the bridge…have a 👀 👀 👀 ✨✨✨

ADULTS SING TOO. And Adults also take voice lessons!

They take singing lessons because they want get more solos in the choir.

They take singing lessons because they want to feel confident performing their own songs.

They take singing lessons because they are curious how it feels to sing what THEY want, instead of something from ancient Italy.

They take singing lessons because they want to harmonize better in their band.

They take singing lessons to help strengthen the voice they use daily (and often) at work.

They take singing lessons because their kids did, and it looked super fun.

They take singing lessons...BECAUSE THEY WANT TO AND THEY CAN.

I am ready, willing, and more than able to help you level up your singing and performing, for whatever reason you want. Because that's a big perk of being an adult!

Thanks to 7 of the 9 adults in the studio for participating in our Winter performance event, and for their willingess to have a small portion of their performances shared with the world.

SHOUTOUT TO Donna Willams, pianist, for your amazing support. We love making music with you!

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