AIMS Update 14: 4/6

July 30th - 10:15am at The Heim in Graz, Austria

Busy. Busy. Busy.

This past weekend was crazy busy, starting with our two Spirituals concert. Saturday night we performed in this beautiful church high on a mountain top that was overflowing with people. In addition to our usual group numbers, I sang my solo 'O What A Beautiful City' which I was able to have videotaped and will atempt to put up a bit later. The concert was a great success and we even sang two encore numbers before attending a small reception and then headed back home.

And then came Sunday...

Early in the afternoon I headed downtown to the Odelian-Institute to sing for Soprano, Patricia Craig! All singers here at AIMS are guaranteed to sing on one masterclass and we are assigned our masterclass by the faculty and powers that be. I was very excited to be singing for Ms. Craig as she was one of the foremost leading American Sopranos some years ago. I sang 'Deh vieni, non tardar' for her and we worked on some vocal things, textual elements and played with some tempos. Since I was the last singer before a short break, I also had the chance to speak with her about my vocal growth and future plans. I am so glad that I was able to be a part of this masterclass, and as always, I wish we had more time to work together.

Immediately afterwards I raced back to the Heim to change for Spirituals Concert #2! This second and final concert was held at a church closer to the Heim, and like the first, it was packed with people who couldn't get enough of our Spirituals. While I was not selected to sing my solo that night, most of the faculty and fellow AIMS-ers who were not able to attend Saturday night were there and all loved it! It was a great weekend filled with LOTS of singing.

Now week four is almost over, and we only have a little less than two weeks left here in Graz. It's crazy to think that this program has gone by so fast and I only have a short time left here in Graz. Though we are nearing the end, I plan to make the most out of these last few weeks and participate in as much as possible. Viva la AIMS!