Category: music to my ears

The Tony Awards were Sunday night, and I am still on a high from watching them. Though, to be more accurate, it’s a mixture of awe and jealousy. As I’ve written about before, my desire to be a star on the stage far outweighs any singing or acting ability I possess.

Still, I love any opportunity to embrace the actor that is embedded deeply inside my soul. At MSU, I took an Acting I class my senior year and loved everything about it, from the improv games to memorizing and performing a monologue as a final project. I performed Angie’s monologue from Steve Martin’s Patter for the Floating Lady, by the way.

And a few years ago, I discovered Take It from the Top at the Wharton Center, which offers week-long musical theatre workshops for kids as young as seven all the way to a one-day workshop for adults. The workshops are led by world-class Broadway artists; past instructors include Laura Bell Bundy (also TIFFT’s co-founder) and Billy Porter, among others.

Here is Take It from the Top’s mission:

Take It From The Top is a national arts alliance dedicated to providing quality education enrichment through music, dance and theatre to students and other organizations worldwide. Our primary goal is to serve as a catalyst for creativity for aspiring artists through professional mentoring, workshops and structured programs that will inspire confidence and provide students a pathway to attain their highest potential.

Continue reading “Embrace your inner actor with Take It from the Top”

In the last decade, the art of a cappella has reached new heights in pop culture thanks to TV shows like “Glee” and “The Sing Off,” as well as the “Pitch Perfect” films. I was first exposed to a cappella thanks to the amazing and informative 90s game show, “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?”

Then, at Michigan State, I remember when the Spartan Dischords visited the sixth floor of Holmes Hall my freshman year and sang us a song in the hallway. My friends and I followed their roaming concert down each floor until they did a final performance in the lobby.

Another group at MSU, Capital Green, holds a special place in my heart. My sister-in-law, Lynn, was a member when she was at MSU; she and the group performed a song at my brother and Lynn’s wedding in 2012, and she also arranged a performance with the group at our baby shower for Stella in 2013. I have other friends who were members of Capital Green, including my friend Andrea Poole.

Andrea is an incredible singer (she sang Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” for karaoke on Mackinac Island and I’m still shook) and self-proclaimed lover of “organized nerd singing.” She walks the walk as well as sings the song, so to speak, thanks to her involvement with Varsity Vocals. Continue reading “Love a cappella? Check out Varsity Vocals”