What a week, MBE service at St Paul's, Storm Abigail and two more days of teaching, and my boiler broken..... - like the old days except it was most definitely a one off week !
As the exams loom ever closer the preparations become more intense. Actually these preps are going well, and when my young man J came over from the Black Isle he pleased me very much, and he withstood a 45 minute lesson. He is only 11 or 12 ( I can't quite remember !!), so quite a feat of concentration for both of us !
He is singing a very entertaining programme, so even if all the technique doesn't quite fall into place he will give the examiner a smile and a half ! He played a funny Italian pizza chef in The Gondoliers, and built up his part as each performance went by, and on the final night he was playing a small Harrison Ford style chef !
His Grade 2 songs are that Sound of Music classic, Doh a Deer, which he swings along with great gusto, The Miller of Dee, and his final .....'I care for nobody no not I, and nobody cares for me' is worthy of a panto villain ! His third song is the delicious Caribbean calypso 'Mr Coconut Man' and this is positively Jamaican in its verve and life ! He knows it all very well, and although I suspect, as with all small boys, the practise is somewhat sporadic, it is so worth the long 2 hour journey in the dark, dank, wet and windy months of November and December. His voice is going places without doubt. When I first taught him there was much tone that was fluffy, low and a little asthmatic. It has grown, found its centre and now really flies. He reached a top G on Thursday - a note he has never before managed, as I feel he really is a boy alto naturally, and he was so excited he high fived me !
Our concert is next week but sadly J will not be able to sing with us, at the moment the travel home after a rehearsal or concert is just too much - but watch this space, I am sure as he gets older we will relish his wit, humour and intelligence as part of Inner Sound productions once more !
Keep it up J - give the examiner a big beam at the end of her morning - she would have to have a heart of stone not to smile !
PS - I am reliably informed by his lordship that having read this post, he says it was a top B flat !!! I stand somewhat corrected (possibly....)
The chef with flair and a penchant for building up his part !
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