I met Matthew last spring when I received a phone call from his mom saying that she was looking for singing lessons for her son because he liked to sing.  The minute I heard Matthew sing, I knew he was gifted with a beautiful voice.  He wanted to audition for KIDStage's 2014 summer production of Tarzan. After hearing him sing, I knew he had a great chance of being considered for the role of Young Tarzan.  We picked a fabulous song for him to audition with and he ended up getting the role. His role as Young Tarzan made way for larger auditions at Village Theatre and 5th Avenue.  He was invited to sing at a voice seminar and was noticed by a representative of the Seattle Opera. 

Seattle Opera wanted Matthew to audition for the role of the Shepherd Boy in their upcoming production of Tosca. Matthew and I worked together for a little over a month to prepare for the role. We worked on breath support, open vowels, and the Italian language.  Opera style singing is a little different than Musical Theatre, so we had to make some adjustments to make him sound like a classical singer.  His hard work paid off and out of the four children that auditioned, Matthew was chosen for the role!

 I saw Tosca on closing night and it was so amazing watching Matthew perform with the chorus on stage and his solo was angelic. The most amazing part for me was watching him come out for the curtain call and bowing with all of the leads, opera singers all over the world!  I tried to imagine what the view looked like from where he was standing for his bows....all those people!  When I asked him what it was like to come out for bows, he exclaimed, "There are so many people! I think tonight was a full house too!"  I am so proud of this 5th grader, he's accomplished so much already!  

I can't believe its already 2015!  Last year was a great year and the studio continues to remain at 50 students. Many of my students performed in musicals and plays, sang for assemblies, and sang the National Anthem for school events.  I am very proud of the growth I've seen in each student. 

My goal this year is to share the successes of my students on this blog. Here are two videos of some of my students that I've seen great growth in:

Juliana is a 2nd grader and has been taking piano with me for a year. Check out Juliana's form - I love her hand positioning and posture! Great job, Juliana!

Sophia is an 8th grader who started taking piano with me in April.  I have been focusing on note reading for my piano students and encouraged her to learn "If I Ain't Got You " as written. It's a very challenging piece, and she did a great job with it!