I practiced today for a concert of Strauss and Sondheim I’m doing in a little over a month.
I chose a lot of new music for myself. Today I panicked for about seven seconds wondering if I could not only learn the notes, text, translations, but make meaning of them, and sing them well.
I’m just going to believe that I will and show up every day to rehearse.
How many times do I lead my students through this process?
“Start with text. Be patient. If it’s another language, take time with the diction, the music of the language. Don’t rush to integrate all the elements yet. Piece them together. Then the house will be stronger.”
And there I hunker behind the music stand staring at Strauss in my snuggie with my brain yelling, “You don’t read as well as you should. I don’t know, that note is going to be tricky. Jonas Kauffman makes it sound easy–you’ve deceived yourself.”
Then I have to teach myself, remind myself to “build the house” as I say to my students.
I’ll be here tomorrow making the house stronger and more beautiful.
