The Operapreneur Podcast: Recent Episodes
Liesl McPherrin
A program that gets to the heart of the modern opera singer. The business of singing, the art of making music, singing and techniques. Staying inspired as an artist in a world of selfies and freelance gigs. How to stay an artist when you have to figure out how to be a music business.
Soprano Chelsea Hollow talks about creating a recital to lift up the voices of the marginalized. Voice for the Voiceless features commissioned work by modern composers as well as serves to be a platform for political activism.
Visit her website to hear her beautiful singing! www.chelseahollow.com
Today we chat with Autumn Allee, creator and producer of Exquisite Corpse productions, a multi-media video production project lifting up the work of female artists. She shares with us her singing journey, some great advice, and tells us about her journey into producing art.
Today we chat with fabulous singer, yogi, kinesiology afficionado, and professor Shauna Fallihee about singing, movement and physiology, and life about navigating singing and teaching in the time as Covid.
Maybe you've been cooped up and considering offering programs for kids in the virtual realm? Maybe you've been figuring out how to convert to online teaching, but you're ready for the next steps into group classes. Today we speak with an innovative educator about creating a virtual opportunity for kids to learn music!
Interview with Monica Ramich, Soprano, who started the Virtual Summer Arts Program with a colleague, incorporating dance/movement and music into an online learning platform for kids age 6 and up.
Visit Virtual Summer Arts Program at www.virtualsummerartsprogram.com - also on Facebook at Instagram.
Visit Monica's professional website: www.monicaramich.com to see clips of her singing and connect with her as a voice teacher!
Today we chat with my long-time amigo, Brandon Higley, on composing video games, exploring audio software and hardware, and lots of great information about working on digital audio and mixing and editing your own music in your home studios.
Mentioned in the show:
Books - The Complete Guide to Game Audio - Aaron Marks - Game Sound by Karen Collins - A Composer’s Guide to Game Music - Winifred Phillips Affordable Audio Software & Plug-Ins - Reaper Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) $50 - Garatin Personal Orchestra (Plug-in) - Convology XT Free Reverb Plug-In - Izotope Mixing/Mastering Plug-Ins
Affordable Audio Hardware - Don’t buy brand-new, check out refurb options! - True-Signal or Monitor Speakers — No Bass Boost! - Shure 840 Headphones - Audio Interface (Any! Just 2 inputs/2 outputs) - UR 22 Steinberg Interface Audio Interface
Youtube Channels (if you’re teaching now, these channels may offer fun ways to engage music students in learning theory!): - 8-Bit Music Theory - Become a Game Composer with Steven Melin
What equipment I've been using, how I'm putting together recordings & what I'm expecting for the rest of 2020/aka the year from hell.
A lot of stuff going on when there's nothing really going on!
The equipment I mentioned: Zoom H2n Handy Recorder (as a mic) Blue Yeti desktop mic (condenser) MainStage (Apple Software) Audacity (FREE audio editing software) LogicPro (Apple Audio Editing Software)
So some changes are going through in California in regards to tax law and employment law. This is my explanation of what's happening around the arts and the impact on both musicians and studio music teachers. I hope I've helped you understand what the two designations are. If you're looking for work, you should be aware of what you're getting into.
Don't walk into an audition with a hot mess of a resume. Make sure that they ALL know just how fantastic you are on paper, as well as in the audition room.
KonMari is the hottest show on Netflix for organization lovers and messy people alike. Do you need to Tidy Up your music collection? I did! Make sure your aria package Sparks Joy for you.
The age old question: What the heck am I gonna wear?!
Opera is a business, whether we like it or not, and we have to present our most professional self. This podcast also includes my favorite tips for shopping for investment clothing AND secondhand shopping!!
This week I am telling you a little about my trials and errors in putting on a show! You need to take a number of steps when putting on an opera, so here are my basic to-dos. I'm sure there is even more, but you're an Operapreneur, and you'll figure it all out!
Keep singing, opera lovers!
This week's episode is a very real, very open chat with San Francisco Bay Area tenor, Michael Orlinsky. He is in the bands Your Stray Dog and the Rabbit Hole Orchestra, as well as an operatic tenor, composer, and recitalist. Learn more about his shows on Facebook or Instagram, and follow Michael Orlinsky on YouTube to hear some of his songs written for the song a day project.
Why do so many opera companies feel the need to cast based on beauty standards from Vogue and Cosmo magazine instead of looking at the singer's actual voice!? The Fach system has many singers stressed about finding repertoire that they will be cast in, not to mention feeling anxiety around body shape and size. Let's get away from that idea and sing what we love to sing. Forget how the media thinks we "should look" XO
Jealousy and fear of missing out become negative little green (with envy) monsters in our heads. Where are they coming from and what can we do to let go of these nasty feelings??
Short and sweet this week. Some books I have really enjoyed as an artist/entrepreneur/opera singer & highly recommend to you.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert It's Not JUST About the Gig by Dana Fonteneau
Influencer by Brittany Hennessey
The 21st Century Singer by Susan Mohini Kane Awakening Your Business Brain by Jennifer Rosenfeld and Julia Torgoviskaya The Musician's Breath by James Jordan, Nova Thomas, and Mark Moliterno Autobiographies by Renee Fleming, Jessye Norman
Connect with me and let me know what your favorite books are! What inspires you as an artist!
Find me on IG @theoperapreneur or email me at lmmcpherrin@yahoo.com
Today we sit down with two of my very dear friends, The Letterboxers, a ukulele duo featuring classical singers Winona Hendrick and John Mansfield.
Check them out on Instagram @theletterboxers and be sure to check out their Youtube channel and like and subscribe!
It is so hard to walk into an opera audition and know what is going to happen. We have to be touch yet vulnerable and sometimes that can really take a toll on our musicianship. I hope you will join me in today's Operapreneur Podcast in talking about the opera audition and how to deal with rejection so that our egos don't become so damaged we lose our sense of artistry.
It's hard to find the right voice teacher or vocal coach to work with. Here are some of my red flags when chatting with new coaches and teachers, and some of my advice for searching for someone to work with! Opera singing is such a specific field and there are so many "voice teachers" out there - how to find the right one and BE the right one.
Some ideas for getting the most out of the YAPs and Summer Programs for young opera singers.
A message for those of you finishing school and heading out into the big, wide world to pursue your dreams and be an operapreneur.
Personal response to the NATS Independent Studio Teacher article from May/June issue. Unpacking what that means. If you are a member of NATS and have already received your JoS, go ahead and read that before listening to the podcast. Thanks!
What it's like to be an introvert and perfectionist but still command the opera stage. How to navigate challenging feelings around being in groups. It took a lot of bravery to confess all of this, but this little butterfly is spreading her wings. You can, too.
I was supposed to release this at a different time, but here ya go!
What to do if you didn't get into a summer training program! How does a young artist continue to grow and bloom? Create your own YAP!
It's another discussion about the freelance life for an operapreneur. This time, I geared my chat to the teaching artists and those on the beginning of their freelance musical artist journey!
What is your mission statement? How do you find the devotion in your yoga &/or singing practice?
Today's podcast is a discussion of what it means to embrace your music wholeheartedly and to let go of this idea that we have to be perfect all the time as musicians... (yeah, I know... hard to think that we can let go of that, isn't it?) Allowing ourselves to be who we are without apology.
Books mentioned: A Standard of Grace & Grace, not Perfection by Emily Ley It's not (JUST) about the Gig by Dana Fonteneau Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Tips compiled from many sources for using the internet to put your personal brand as a singer into the online spotlight. You are a beautiful operapreneur, and you should share it with the world!
Negative thoughts and doubt about your self-worth as a singer are harmful to creating art. Some encouraging words and strategy for overcoming that sneaky impostor syndrome.