Musical Serendipity
Sunday, 22. June 2008, 03:36:43
It all started with doing the usual worship practice at church this morning...
Once the practice was done, it was mentioned there was going to be a recital this afternoon. It was organized by the daughter of the man who was instrumental in opening the door to getting the job I now have (he gave me his business card after a previous recital last fall). The woman was going to be there around 12:30pm to begin setting up for the recital — mostly music students of hers. When she came in, I began asking her what sort of set-up she wanted for microphones, monitors and so forth. I began asking pertinent questions about placement, types of music to be done and any additional music to be used. Some problems surfaced in playing the burned CD music. It meant it had to be played on the computer; a tricky proposition to juggle 4 music CDs on 2 machines with the sound board in between. When she mentioned her father was planning to run the sound board, I had grave reservations about his ability to run all of the sound equipment effectively — in such a way that the performers would not be afraid of what was going on and that their voices would be heard clearly. I offered to run the equipment; much to her relief. When he was told I would be doing sound, I reassured him that he could just sit back and enjoy the recital (which is kind of tough for a man who is very used to getting his “hands dirty” and helping out).
But the very best part of the whole recital was this young lady (couldn't be more than 22; looks a lot younger..) who was doing a jazz number entitled, The Girl in 14-G. We rehearsed the song a couple of times to ensure a decent mix for the monitors. She was just so innocent and down-to-earth and likeable and demure and charming and well...just so nice. Her name was Elana Laing.
But when it came to her song near the end of the recital — she just blew me away, and everyone else that was there
. She has a stellar clear voice courtesy of years of operatic training, and is now turning her musical talents toward jazz music. I don't think I could say enough good things about her and I hope her MySpace spot changes soon from “unsigned” for a record label to “is now signed with (insert big name music company here)”. A renowned jazz pianist (see below) who was also at the recital was dumbfounded that this young lady hadn't done any serious CDs for release yet. Today was like being at the turning point of someone's career where they get launched from obscurity to fame — stay tuned!
Check out her single on her MySpace area (or the other one) and make no bones about it: what you hear is exactly how she sings!
Now at the other end of the spectrum was a young teen lady, Corinna Griffiths, who sang One Bright Candle from the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. This gal had a speech impediment from what seemed to be neurological damage to one side of her face. The courage it took for her to sing this song in front of a crowd of parents, kids and peers was amazing. I almost cried when she finished
.
A jazz pianist (who does tuning on the side — or maybe the other way 'round) by the name of John Sherwood did a couple of numbers on our church's baby grand — just before running off to Toronto to open for a jazz festival.
What a cool afternoon. Totally shaweet.
Once the practice was done, it was mentioned there was going to be a recital this afternoon. It was organized by the daughter of the man who was instrumental in opening the door to getting the job I now have (he gave me his business card after a previous recital last fall). The woman was going to be there around 12:30pm to begin setting up for the recital — mostly music students of hers. When she came in, I began asking her what sort of set-up she wanted for microphones, monitors and so forth. I began asking pertinent questions about placement, types of music to be done and any additional music to be used. Some problems surfaced in playing the burned CD music. It meant it had to be played on the computer; a tricky proposition to juggle 4 music CDs on 2 machines with the sound board in between. When she mentioned her father was planning to run the sound board, I had grave reservations about his ability to run all of the sound equipment effectively — in such a way that the performers would not be afraid of what was going on and that their voices would be heard clearly. I offered to run the equipment; much to her relief. When he was told I would be doing sound, I reassured him that he could just sit back and enjoy the recital (which is kind of tough for a man who is very used to getting his “hands dirty” and helping out).
But the very best part of the whole recital was this young lady (couldn't be more than 22; looks a lot younger..) who was doing a jazz number entitled, The Girl in 14-G. We rehearsed the song a couple of times to ensure a decent mix for the monitors. She was just so innocent and down-to-earth and likeable and demure and charming and well...just so nice. Her name was Elana Laing.
But when it came to her song near the end of the recital — she just blew me away, and everyone else that was there
. She has a stellar clear voice courtesy of years of operatic training, and is now turning her musical talents toward jazz music. I don't think I could say enough good things about her and I hope her MySpace spot changes soon from “unsigned” for a record label to “is now signed with (insert big name music company here)”. A renowned jazz pianist (see below) who was also at the recital was dumbfounded that this young lady hadn't done any serious CDs for release yet. Today was like being at the turning point of someone's career where they get launched from obscurity to fame — stay tuned!Check out her single on her MySpace area (or the other one) and make no bones about it: what you hear is exactly how she sings!
Now at the other end of the spectrum was a young teen lady, Corinna Griffiths, who sang One Bright Candle from the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. This gal had a speech impediment from what seemed to be neurological damage to one side of her face. The courage it took for her to sing this song in front of a crowd of parents, kids and peers was amazing. I almost cried when she finished
.A jazz pianist (who does tuning on the side — or maybe the other way 'round) by the name of John Sherwood did a couple of numbers on our church's baby grand — just before running off to Toronto to open for a jazz festival.
What a cool afternoon. Totally shaweet.
WIDGETIZE