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Showing posts from 2015

A New Year

Here we are again... marveling at how quickly time passes and how fast the year has progressed. Reflecting on the past twelve months is a healthy way to take inventory of one's life--an audit, even, and late December seems to be an ideal time for such ruminations. Am I focused on the things that are most important to me and to the dear ones around me? Have I successfully made time for that which is my top priority? Thinking back on the year involves coming to terms with one's weaknesses and losses in addition to recognizing one's strengths, victories and areas of measurable growth. I have found that I must appreciate this balance... Without acknowledging weakness, we never learn and grow in our character and skills. Similarly, without validating our victories we sell ourselves short and cannot achieve our potential for growing and developing steadily through life. Being honest and humble with oneself about such things is something for which one must continually strive, an

Preparation

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One of the challenges of any performing artist's career is the high level of preparation that is demanded for consistently great performances. If an individual routinely has a month or more between concerts, preparation for the next concert may be garnered rather comfortably, but the more an artist performs, the less that type of luxury becomes likely. I consider myself fortunate to have quite a number of highly variable performances on the near horizon, but that, of course requires the discipline to prepare for more than one (or two or sometimes three) concerts at a given time. I believe in taking life one day at a time, so my NEXT performance is always the most important, but if the next one after that is only four days further out, it would obviously be rather unwise of me to ignore that show until the first show has come and gone! How then does one budget time to create the necessary preparation for every performance? Part of the answer lies in knowing thyself. I know that

Teaching the Super Talented

Possessing a dual career, while often daunting, has its perks. My dual career is, of course, performing and teaching. Through the years one or the other has taken more time and priority, sometimes to the neglect of the other, and it seems to happen in waves... for a few years the teaching has been overshadowing the performing, but the pendulum swings back eventually to bring balance back to this soul which yearns to do more than one thing very well... Today I am excited to share news of one of many very successful singers I have had the privilege of teaching... having had no fewer than five former voice students (that I know of) perform in Broadway musicals, not to mention those who have pursued successful careers as stage and film actors, pop singers, opera singers, and music teachers, I am blessed to now sit back and watch their blossoming careers unfold. One such success is Broadway star Jessie Mueller, who garnered a Tony award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 2014 for he

Songs From The Heart

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What an exciting time! The flurry of things to do when an album or recording is about to be released is formidable... and sometimes it's difficult to guess when it will all get done. When I recorded Songs From The Heart with John Chiodini (our third recording project together), it further proved that when you've got a good thing going, it's just silly to change it. The rhythmic interplay, melodic dances and pure improvisational bliss that we experience in the studio or on the stage together drive the point home that I have found my ideal collaborative artist. The title of the collection comes from a press kit testimonial John wrote for me several years ago in which he declared "Tish sings from the heart." The first track, "Follow Me," came out as a country love song. Songs are like children--they are who they are and you cannot make them into something they are not! Since I do not consider myself a country singer (although I do teach country singers),

Music to Accompany Summer Travels

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Wow! The summer has flown by! I was shocked today when I stepped into my blogworld and realized I had not posted anything for over two months. I have been busy, it's true... May was enveloped by my symphony pops performance with the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra on Memorial Day followed by a nostalgic trip north to my high school alma mater to accept an award as a Graduate of Distinction ... Next, I headed to Palm Desert, California for my solo piano/vocal concert, Divas and Masters of Jazz , at the Alfred Newman Theatre at the Joslyn Center, after which I drove to L.A. for a week of recording my EP with the great guitarist John Chiodini. We recorded two original songs which will be released soon... I jumped into my awesome photographer's studio for an afternoon of fun, posing for new head shots, promo pics and album art... and headed back home. In the meantime, I stayed with three sets of California friends and had a grand time visiting, sharing music and catching u

The Jazz Academy

In an effort to spread the love of jazz to my community's youth, I have accepted an invitation to serve as Musical Director of The Jazz Academy in Greenville! The Academy runs from July 27-August 14 and serves junior high and high school students age 11-18. Week A (7/27-7/31) will be for instrumentalists (age 14-18) including brass, winds, guitarists, bassists, drummers and pianists. Week B (8/3-8/7) will feature vocalists and rhythm section players (age 11-14). Week C (8/10-8/14) will showcase vocalists and rhythm section players (age 14-18). Applications are currently being accepted online at BluesBoulevardJazz.com/foundation . This jazz camp runs weekdays only, each camp lasting for one week, meeting from 10am until 4pm Monday through Friday. Campers will enjoy daily exposure to group lessons, music warmups, workshops, jam sessions and rehearsals targeting jazz history, jazz theory, improvisation and performance. A final concert for campers' parents will be offere

Symphony Solo Work on Memorial Day

It is my distinct pleasure to be in tech week for Memorial Day Pops! ...an enormous program of patriotic songs, show tunes and jazz pops music to be performed by the marvelous Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Maestra Sarah Ioannides Monday, May 25 at 7:30 pm at Zimmerli Amphitheater in Barnet Park, Spartanburg, SC. What a treat this performance will be! In addition to myself, the wonderful child soprano, Emma-Brooke Alley, will delight the audience with her lovely renditions of "Over the Rainbow," "You Lift Me Up" and a medley from "Frozen." Our two duets will be highlights of my evening... Jazz lovers will dig Chris Walden's arrangements from my touring symphony pops show including "When I Fall In Love," "It Don't Mean a Thing," "Cry Me a River" and "Nice 'n' Easy." In addition to all that, there will be patriotic favorites and Gene Scheer's wonderful "American Anthem"

Back in the studio again...

... and looking so forward to it! In June I return to Big City Recording Studios in L.A. to record once again with the greatest guitarist on the planet, John Chiodini. We (and our stellar band) are slated to record several original songs, and are considering extending the session to include some originals by friends of mine who are also composers. I have been wanting for several years to put an album (or EP) together featuring beautiful songs my highly talented friends in the business have composed, and my chance has finally arrived! If you are a songwriter and would like me to consider recording your songs, by all means, feel free to send me one or two of your best and I'll consider them for this session... Next month I will have an update about the progress of the recording... In the meantime, we will be accepting album/EP orders in advance to help offset the cost of recording great original jazz works by contemporary composers! If you would like to reserve your copy, please

American Choral Directors Association Conference 2015

Greetings, friends! I am writing from Salt Lake City where I have enjoyed 4 vibrant days of phenomenal music at the ACDA international conference. These conference/retreat experiences are so nourishing to me as an artist, and they are simply good for my soul! Hearing such wonderful ensembles as Voces 8, Sine Nomine, The King's Singers, The Real Group, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra (performing in the tabernacle with its amazing acoustics), the USC Thornton Chamber Singers, the Utah Symphony with Sylvia McNair and the US Air Force Singing Sergeants--all in the same week--leaves one dizzy with beautiful, lush, healing sounds buzzing around in one's head. If only all the sounds in my head were always this edifying! On top of concert after concert of inspiring music (and not just from the professionals--the school and college groups selected to perform here are pretty inspiring too!) there are, of course, the standard workshops that all conferences sport... Being eve

The Big Band Experience...

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I am fortunate to have opportunities to perform a number of different types of concerts in various locales... coming up next will be a Spartanburg, SC performance of my big band show, "Beyond the Sea: Tish Oney's Big Band Excursion" with the Greenville Jazz Collective Big Band (Feb. 10 at 7:30 in the USC Upstate Performing Arts Center, 800 University Way, Spartanburg--864-503-5695 for tickets). This show is a big deal to me--the arrangements were written by Chris Walden, a Grammy-winning large ensemble arranger who has helped me put together not only this show, but my two symphony pops shows as well, Joe Riposo, an acclaimed jazz musician (alto sax), educator, composer, arranger and author of several books devoted to jazz improvisation, and Jason Goldman, another top-flight alto sax player/composer/arranger whose music is lush, challenging and full of reharmonization. This particular show features three Riposo arrangements, two of which are collaborations I have shared