Tish Oney's Music Blog

Over the past month I have spent many hours churning out arrangements for a new live show and a new studio album... Neither project duplicates any songs, so the volume of new material I am performing while in southern California this month may well be setting a new record! My new tribute show, "Going My Way! The Songs of Jimmy Van Heusen," contains sixteen arrangements of Van Heusen goodies like "Swinging On a Star," "Moonlight Becomes You" and "It Could Happen To You," as well as practically unknown songs from the various films to which Van Heusen and his best-known collaborator, Johnny Burke, contributed scores of ditties and tunes. I highly recommend all the "Road To..." movies that Bing Crosby filmed with Bob Hope for those seeking to enjoy these beautiful and witty songs in their intended comedic medium. "Going My Way," "The Bells Of St. Mary's" and "And The Angels Sing" are other golden oldies wi...

A working artist always seems to be adding dates to their concert calendar, regardless of the time of year, but the late summer and fall seem to be crucial times each year to make contact with concert presenters who are preparing their concert seasons more than a year in advance. Currently my DTG Productions intern and I are busily preparing press kits, demo recordings, print materials and more to send to interested concert presenters for consideration. My career in performing a variety of different types of shows makes this process complicated, as I am sending out information regarding my symphony pops concerts (both holiday pops and jazz pops), my jazz trio shows and my solo cabaret shows all at the same time to both large and small venues. I am currently planning a big band show in Spartanburg next spring, a solo piano/vocal cabaret in California next summer, and symphony shows for the following 2015-16 season (among other concerts in the works). Concert presenters interested in ...

Next week I will be so pleased to be on tour with the wonderful symphony organization called Symphoria--the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. Two and a half years ago I was deeply saddened when the SSO filed for bankruptcy and ended their 50th season early, before the long-awaited Yo-Yo Ma concert. Imagine my glee when the successor organization contacted me this past summer to invite me to perform as their Holiday Pops soloist in their inaugural season as they gathered their troops back together for more music-making! What a privilege to help usher in a new era for my hometown cultural institution, our beloved symphony. This said, I am inviting every friend, family member, fan, former student and music-lover in central New York to join us in celebrating and supporting "Symphoria Pops Open the Holidays"--our Holiday Pops tour through Jamestown, Auburn, Herkimer and Syracuse, NY. We kick off the tour at the RegLenna Civic Center in Jamestown on Wednesday, December 4 at ...

I am very happy to announce that I will be collaborating with my hometown orchestra, Symphoria (formerly the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra) in their Holiday Pops tour throughout Central New York in December. Conductor Sean O'Loughlin graciously invited me to debut my new holiday pops symphony show at three venues (December 4, 5, and 6) in addition to a culminating performance December 20 at the premier concert space in the greater Syracuse area, the Crouse Hinds Concert Hall in downtown Syracuse. The tour includes performances in Jamestown, Auburn, Herkimer and Syracuse (see my website for details) or call 315-299-5598 for ticket information. This is a particularly special tour for me, as it represents an opportunity to rejoin my friends, family and former colleagues in Syracuse for a celebration most joyous. I last sang with the Syracuse Symphony when I was twelve as a member of the Syracuse Children's Chorus--we sang Mahler's Eighth Symphony (The Symphony of A Thousan...

...is usually the title of my solo touring show when I spend the evening alone on a stage behind a piano (most of the time) singing and playing. My upcoming concert on September 11 will be a bit different... instead of going solo I will be joined by four wonderful musicians--Dr. Gregg Akkerman at the piano, Adam Knight on guitar, Shannon Hoover on bass and Tony Christopher on drums. We have set out to give the University of South Carolina Upstate community a taste of my various touring shows--there will be selections from "Jazz Seasons," my NYC cabaret show performed at both the Metropolitan Room (twice) and the Triad Theatre in Manhattan, "The Peggy Lee Project," performed nationwide at performing arts centers, regional theatres, jazz festivals and university concert series, and "Sweet Youth," my latest critically-acclaimed CD of originals and a few standards. We'll be trying different permutations of the band which will be fun... I'll be doing...

I am pleased to be joining acclaimed pianist Michael Royal for my next tour performance May 6 at 2pm at The Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota, FL. Michael is a dynamite musician who has built quite a resume of performing experience. I am excited to explore Peggy Lee's music with him for this one-afternoon-only matinee! The Peggy Lee Project is a celebration of the songwriting talents of the late pop/jazz diva, Peggy Lee. While Lee was well-known for countless major hits including "Fever," "Is That All There Is?" and "Big Spender," she also contributed 270 original songs to the Great American Songbook, collaborating with songwriting giants Duke Ellington, Johnny Mandel, Harold Arlen, Victor Young, Quincy Jones and Sonny Burke, among many others. I am proud to announce that this production is the only Peggy Lee tribute concert in the world endorsed by The Peggy Lee Foundation, Peggy Lee Enterprises, Peggy Lee Associates and the family of...

Welcome to another installment of my blog! It seems the months fly by... This past month has been busy--I started it with a wonderful and fun recording session at Red Rock Recording Studios near Stroudsburg, PA with Alfred Music Publishing. I am honored to sing with some of the finest session singers in the country a couple of times a year to update the Alfred choral music catalog offerings. I plan to return for more recording at the end of October. It's a nice diversion from touring and teaching and gives me a chance to periodically refine my sight-singing skills! Session singing moves very quickly--for this session we rehearsed each song once through (if that) and then recorded it, and I (along with a few other singers) performed all the women's parts on separate tracks (first and second soprano and alto). Having several excellent singers with well-developed ranges and sight-singing skills is crucial to make the session run efficiently. Each "take" must be ...

Registering copyrights, purchasing mechanical licensing, paying royalties, registering new titles, searching for publishers, answering questions about public domain...so much to do before releasing a new album! Now that the recording, editing, mixing and mastering are done, I must be close, right? Not necessarily! But seriously, we ARE close and I expect I will have the final product in my hands within another month. The cover art and liner notes are currently in the design/production stage and that is an exciting process. I absolutely treasure being the producer of my own albums and being able to have the strongest influence on every aspect of the recording, including the artwork design and development. I have hired wonderful photographers and a graphic designer with a gifted eye and a sense for creating something beautiful to match the intent of the music. I am blessed! Another exciting bit of news is that this new album, "Sweet Youth," will be my debut recording on ...

I am thrilled to be putting together my first-ever full length big band show which will be taken on tour this coming fall season. I have compiled a show of songs arranged by some of the greatest big band arrangers of our time--Chris Walden, Joe Riposo, Jason Goldman and Jim Hughart. I am tremendously thankful for their time, talents and energy in writing these wonderful charts and sharing them with me for this tour! The tour will be under way in late September with my first big band outing back where it all started--Ithaca College School of Music. Several years ago as a Masters student I fronted the IC Jazz Orchestra on a number of occasions, most notably when Les Brown came and visited the campus for our Commencement Eve gala concert. In September I will return to the Ithaca campus as their 2011-12 Robert G. Boehmler Visiting Artist to teach master classes and workshops, to do some guest lecturing and to give two evening performances in their main concert venue. At this moment, ...

It's a new year and time to look forward to new shows, new music and new opportunities! I am excited about a few nascent projects coming around the bend...in particular, my next album, "Sweet Youth," will be released this spring. The project features the one and only John Chiodini playing several types of guitars, reflecting the varied nature of repertoire I selected to record. The project includes thirteen songs (eight originals) and a few different genres... John and I incorporated Latin, jazz, folk, blues and a bit of pop nuance throughout the course of this album. Jazz lovers will be right at home, as improvisation weaves itself throughout the project while the five non-original songs display my persuasion to arrange challenging, less well-known "standards" to suit my preferences, abilities and ensemble. John and I will enjoy performing material from "Sweet Youth" as a vocal/guitar duo on tour throughout the coming year. I am particularly im...

I am thrilled with the relatively recent news that I have been selected by Ithaca College School of Music faculty to be their 2011-12 Robert G. Boehmler Visiting Artist ! Each year this faculty selection committee chooses only one outstanding international performing artist to visit the campus and provide a week or so of workshops, clinics, master classes, lectures and concerts for the Ithaca music community. While the details of this artist residency have not yet been finalized, I look forward to providing this performance/teaching package during the first week of October 2011, and I am greatly pleased and humbled to be the recipient of this distinctive honor! Having previously served as a voice and vocal jazz professor at several universities and colleges, and now a full-time touring/recording artist, I feel particularly qualified for artist residency work. I have loved teaching music since the first day I attempted it. I also have personally experienced the joy and wonder of bei...

I am blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love, to share my gifts with others, and to have an outlet like music to express what cannot be otherwise expressed... 'Jazz Seasons' is my latest cabaret show which I'm sharing with my friends and fans in New York City this weekend. It encompasses many things--first, a celebration of seasonal songs from a variety of sources--my originals, classic jazz and musical theater. We'll have jazz waltzes, swing tunes, standards delivered in a bebop style, bossa nova and samba, and the classic ballad. There will be songs that guide the listener through life's seasons--youth, pain, joy, grief... and even a tribute to the one and only singer/poet/lyricist/activist Abbey Lincoln, whom we lost in August. Since Autumn is Cabaret Season , I can't think of a better show to attend! This presentation also marks my first one-woman cabaret show. I'll be singing from behind the piano (on most songs). I have performed this...