Atlanta Academy of Vocal Arts

2025! Remember, the voice is a precious instrument and you only get ONE—as unique as you are! Please REACH OUT to resourceful voice professionals (like me 🙂 )for guidance if you are in need of support. 🗣️

Please take the time to educate yourself by watching this video: https://youtu.be/SwoYUL28oNQ?si=hU6MyymJNAQi8lWB

“Every year on April 16, otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons and other voice health professionals worldwide join together to recognize World Voice Day. On World Voice Day, everyone – young and old – is encouraged to assess their vocal health and take action to improve or maintain good voice habits. The American Academy of Otolaryngology‒Head and Neck Surgery has sponsored the U.S. observance of World Voice Day since its inception in 2002.”

Very happy to be back to H***h with this lovely lady; my dear friend and singing colleague Jennie Fabianski 🤗🤩 Thank you for having me for another wonderful vocal clinic day: always super great singing vibes with this program! 💖🎵

A bit of music history on the Irish harp for your Irish ☘️ blessing here on St. Patrick’s Day! 🎵

Ireland is actually the only country in the world to have a musical instrument as its national emblem....
No musical instrument has ever had to carry so much baggage - The Story of the Irish Harp is integral to Ireland and Irish culture.
Based on the ancient lyre, the Irish harp is one of the world’s oldest instruments.
The ancient Irish kings employed harpists to entertain them, so harpists held great prestige in society. Gaelic society was the dominant social structure across Ireland and the Scottish Highlands up until the 1600s.
These two territories were intimately connected.
At one sad point in Irish history, British invaders made it illegal to possess an Irish harp and set out to burn every Irish harp in a failed attempt to kill the “Irish spirit.” Then, the preservation of ancient Irish harpists’ music became a challenge.
- Leading harp maker, John Egan, who worked in Dublin from 1801-1841 - During his illustrious career, he made more than two thousand harps including this beauty!!

Happy International Women’s Day! 🎵👇

"I once believed that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up this idea. A woman must not desire to compose—there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?"- Clara Schumann

Oh, Clara. If only you knew.

They told her women couldn’t compose.
She believed them.
And then she composed anyway.
She played better than most men.
She wrote music that made Brahms weep.
She doubted herself. They doubted her more.

Yet here we are, quoting her.

Women composers exist. They always have.
For example:

Hildegard von Bingen wrote music when women weren’t even allowed to speak in church.

Barbara Strozzi composed more works than most of her male contemporaries.

F***y Mendelssohn’s Lieder were published under her brother’s name.

Lili Boulanger became the first woman to win the Prix de Rome at 19 years old.

Florence Price broke barriers as the first Black woman to have her symphony performed by a major orchestra.

Kaija Saariaho filled concert halls with her ethereal sounds, proving that innovation has no gender.

They were told no. They wrote anyway.
They were forgotten. Now, we remember.
The world of music wasn’t built for them. So they built their own.
They wrote, they fought, they ignored the noise.

They didn’t ask for permission.
Neither should we.

Happy Women’s Day! ❤️

It’s central to life.

Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all! 💘💞 Hope you’re reflecting on all the ways you experience love in your life today. (St. Valentine, 💌 🙏🏻 pray for us, was a real martyr for the Christian faith.) ✝️💗

With so many good songs about love, I must share my favorite for today. 💝🎶

My Funny Valentine Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupMy Funny Valentine · Ella FitzgeraldEssential Ella℗ 1956 UMG Recordings, Inc.Released on: 1994-10-01Producer: Nor...

One of my favorite voices of the 20th century: Marian Anderson! Happy February, y’all! Keep listening, learning, planning and getting inspired for the rest of your 2025. 🎶😁

As Black History month begins in America, I pay tribute to all those who have paved the way for black artists in Classical Music. ( In no particular order. )

Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993)
If contralto Marian Anderson in the 1930s and 1940s represented the first generation of black opera stars, then Betty Allen belonged to the second, along with sopranos Leontyne Price and Shirley Verrett and mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry.

She was born Elizabeth Louise Allen, (or Betty Lou) in Campbell, Ohio, near Youngstown. Her father was a college educated math teacher who worked in a steel mill as racial prejudice prevented him from being hired in the public school system during the 1930s. Her mother earned extra money for the family by washing other people's laundry. When she was 12, Allen's mother died of cancer. Afterwords her father fell into depression and alcoholism, causing Allen to leave home as a young teanager by her own choice. She spent the rest of her youth living in foster homes.

In 1943 Allen entered Wilberforce College in Xenia, Ohio, where she majored in languages. While there she was encouraged to pursue a singing career by tenor Theodor Heimann. Heimann also got her involved with the school's choir, whose membership also included a young Leontyne Price. Price and Allen became friends while singing in the choir together. After graduating she entered Connecticut's Hartford School of Music in 1947 on a scholarship where she earned a bachelor's degree in vocal performance. After graduating she moved to New York City where she continued with further studies under Sarah Peck More, Paul Ulanowsky, and Zinka Milanov.

Watch & Listen: https://youtu.be/xjhhxFsStaM?feature=shared

What a recital, y’all: tenor Travis Hall is one of my most advanced graduate students (Master of Master in vocal performance) now finishing his graduate degree Georgia State University School of Music 🎶 this semester. Yesterday, he and Dr. Kyung Mi Kim presented a terrific recital; truly worth the listen. Handel, Schumann (entire Dichterliebe cycle) and Carter’s Cantata of spiritual arrangements. So beautiful!!! 🤩 Very proud of you, Travis!!! 👏🏻🥳💗

https://www.youtube.com/live/K-qKGhF_u9g?si=sWnHXP9v7wvAMPd6