Tish Oney's Music Blog

Performing with a wide variety of ensembles is one of the distinctly enjoyable aspects of this performer's career. One week I may be fronting a jazz orchestra, while the next I may be playing the piano myself in my own cabaret show in an intimate room. My need for variety and fresh challenges has historically been responsible for my booking certain themed shows before they exist, and then writing the musical arrangements for them out of the necessity of delivering a performance date. Any musician's thirst for new experiences would show this to be the way many of us operate. Along with the theme of the show, I often invite a concert presenter to choose the size of the ensemble they wish to book, which proffers me a great deal of booking flexibility, while giving the presenter some options. Next month I have the distinct privilege of serving the U.S. Army Band, "Pershing's Own," as their Artist-In-Residence for a few days. During our time together, I will teach a ...

Having experienced the joy of singing with the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra over Valentine's weekend, and looking ahead to March 22 when I will perform in Virginia with the Williamsburg Symphonia , I am ever so grateful for the career path I have found. This morning during my prayer time I was faced with a decision--to record a new jazz album while on tour in April or to put it off for another several months, a year, or more? The frequent traveling and touring with constantly different musical repertoire places a limitation on the amount of preparation one can devote to arranging and producing a new album (I do all the arranging myself), but the financial question is usually the primary deterrent to spinning out a new recording every year or so. I am an active enough writer and arranger to have plenty of material that I wish to record, but alas--I am not independently wealthy! I gave up that possibility years ago when I gave up microbiology as my chosen profession... or med...

This past month I spent several exciting and rewarding days in a recording studio in L.A. working on my next album. This is a project I decided to pursue with only John Chiodini on guitar to complement my singing--a duo project all the way through. Lest anyone think the result could be monotonous or predictable, John used several different guitars (electric, acoustic, nylon string and steel string) to create different colors for each song and the songs themselves are extremely diverse in style, mood, theme, tempo and genre. We assembled nine of my original songs (which have never been recorded) and five jazz standards that I had arranged to complete this compendium. The project is still very much in production, but I must say it is highly original...I have not heard anything else quite like it. In the words of my trusted musical partner, John: "The world will be a better place with this album than it would be without it!" Words to cherish, those. I expect to call the ...

April 15 I conducted a master class for jazz students and voice majors at Syracuse University 's Setnor School of Music in conjunction with a concert I performed on April 18: " Tish Oney--The Peggy Lee Project " featuring esteemed guitarist John Chiodini . Having directed collegiate-level vocal jazz ensembles for a number of years, I most often am asked to provide coaching for an entire collective group at once. However, since the SU Vocal Jazz Ensemble (directed by pianist Bill DiCosimo ) had already completed its final concert of the school year, I instead offered a soloist's master class and worked with individual students in the jazz combo setting (accompanied by piano, bass and drums). We focused on jazz stylization, interpretation, mic technique, improvisation and whatever else I felt the students needed in the short twelve minutes I had with each. Most of these students had almost never worked one-on-one with a microphone, which was a...