Yale Cabaret Conference Auditions THIS SATURDAY!

Hey ALL you cabaret people!!!

Whilst...yes, I said it...I was in Edinburgh the first year I had the great honour of meeting and spending time with Erv Raible who has been running the Yale Cabaret Conference for many many many years. The teachers include cabaret luminaries such as Tovah Feldshuh, Jason Graae, Julie Wilson and Sharon McKnight...it really is an amazing happening.

The Cabaret Conference is auditioning here for it's 2012 session in Toronto this weekend on the 17th at my fave place, Buddies in Bad Times!

Some Amazing Canadians have gone down and done the conference...and loved it...Shawn Hitchens, Teresa Tova and, the Edinburgh bound Michael Hughes.

So, if you want to explore cabaret seriously...this may be the thing for you...here is the info!!

Erv Raible’s

T H E  I N T E R N A T I O N A L

CABARET CONFERENCE

At Yale University

 

AUDITION NOW!

 

CELEBRATING OUR 10^TH ANNIVERSARY

JULY 27 – AUGUST 5, 2012

 

Erv Raible, Executive Director/Artistic Director, takes great pride in announcing the 10^TH Anniversary of the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University.  The International Cabaret Conference at Yale University is being developed in conjunction with the Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theater.  Several conference sessions will be held in the facilities of the Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theater, including the recently opened Iseman Theater.

Alexander C. Kafka of Washington DC’s national publication The Chronicle of Higher Education quotes Dean James Bundy of the Yale School of Drama, proclaiming the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University to be “consonant with our core work.”

The Tenth Annual International Cabaret Conference at Yale University will be held July 27 – August 5, 2012, and is an internationally focused, nine-day teaching program that offers an intensive look at the art of cabaret performance technique, and trains professionals for the live entertainment industry. The Great American Songbook will be addressed and promoted in its entirety, from its origins in the late 19^th century through the classic pop standards of the 1930s and 40s to today’s international contemporary cabaret, musical theater, jazz, pop and classical music. 

 

All classes are conducted in English.  Our students have come from across the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Ireland, Dubai, and the United Kingdom.

 

Our prestigious 2012 faculty currently includes: Tovah Feldshuh, Jason Graae, Carol Hall, George Hall, Laurel Massé, Sally Mayes, Amanda McBroom, Sharon McNight, Erv Raible, and Julie Wilson; piano faculty includes Tex Arnold, Shelly Markham and Alex Rybeck.  Pamela Tate is the Associate Director.

 

The conference consultants/lecturers include: Fred Voelpel (Image Consultant), Tex Arnold (Musical Directors), Matt Berman (Light and Sound Technician), George Hall (English Music Hall), David Finkle (reviewer for Bistro Awards.com, Huffington Post and The village Voice), Michael Kerker (ASCAP, Director of Musical Theater and Cabaret), Carol Hall (Songs) and Pamela Tate (History of Cabaret)..

The award-winning faculty, and renowned consultants, will guide thirty-six students in a collaborative process of critical refining and honing.  The conference will feature classes and lectures covering cabaret performance technique, acting for singers, lyric interpretation, focus and concentration, act structure, act writing, material research, and comedic development, to musical director and director relations, arranging, orchestration, composer/lyricist relations, and image consultation.  Examine the final stages of act presentation through club relations, marketing, press and public relations, to the technical language of light and sound, representation, booking, management and personal networking; with an emphasis on integration into the international live entertainment community.  

Public performances allow the students to observe first-hand the performance techniques of professionals in the industry, while continuing to study those of their peers on a daily performance basis.  At the Stars of Tomorrow Cabaret Conference Curtain Call the students will perform, demonstrating what they have accomplished in their nine days at the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University.

The Cabaret Conference is held on the historic Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut USA, renowned as one of the world’s finest educational facilities, and known for its spectacular architecture, world-class museums and libraries.

Housing for the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University is in Yale’s new Swing Dormitory, and breakfast, lunch and dinner will be taken in the baronial Tudor Dining Hall of Saybrook College or Calhoun College.

Auditions will be held in: New York, Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis - St. Paul, New Orleans, Seattle, Washington DC, Toronto, Canada, London, UK and Jerusalem, Israel.  Audition cities subject to change.  See attached.

To schedule an audition or for additional information contact Erv Raible, Executive Director/Artistic Director or Pamela Tate, Associate Director at 212-629-2000 or visit our website:

 

www.TheCabaretConferenceAtYale.com

 

Use Only This Number To Contact Us

 

212-629-2000

 

Auditions electronically or by email, video, cassette, CD or DVD, please include photo and resume, may be submitted to:

 

The International Cabaret Conference at Yale University

111 Morton Street

Suite 3A

New York, New York 10014

ERV RAIBLE’S

THE INTERNATIONAL CABARET CONFERENCE

AT YALE UNIVERSITY

2012 AUDITION SCHEDULE

Audition by Scheduled Appointment Only

212-629-2000 / New York / USA

 

NEW YORK

JANUARY 21 / FEBRUARY 4 / MARCH 31, 2012                   

Saturday / Saturday / Saturday

THE DUPLEX / 61 Christopher St / Greenwich Village / New York, NY

 

BOSTON

FEBRUARY 11, 2012 / Saturday                                                               

TBA

 

CHICAGO

FEBRUARY 18, 2012 / Saturday                                                   

PIANOFORTE STUDIO

Fine Arts Building / 408 S. Michigan Ave / Studio 825 / Chicago, IL

 

CINCINNATI

FEBRUARY 22, 2012 / Wednesday                                                          

THE SCHOOL FOR CREATIVE & PERFORMING ARTS

At the Erich Kunzel Center for Arts and Education

Room 05 / 108 West Central Parkway / Cincinnati, OH

 

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

JANUARY 31, 2012 / Tuesday                                                                   

AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL

Bella & Harry Wexner Libraries of Music & Song

HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM / GIVAT RAM

 

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM              

JANUARY 27, 2012 / Friday                                                                        

THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC

Room 150 / Marylebone Road / Baker Street Underground Station / London UK

 

LOS ANGELES

MARCH 2, 2012 / Friday                                                                                

ASCAP / DIRECTOR’S GUILD BUILDING

Writer’s Room / 3^rd Floor / 7920 Sunset Blvd / Los Angeles, CA

 

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL

FEBRUARY 25, 2012 / Saturday                                                               

NAUTILUS MUSIC THEATRE

308 Prince St / St. Paul, MN

 

NEW ORLEANS

JANUARY 15, 2012 / Sunday                                                                     

MID CITY THEATRE

3540 Toulouse St / New Orleans, LA

 

SEATTLE

MARCH 10, 2012 / Saturday                                                                        

EGAN’S

11707 NW Market Street / Seattle, WA  

 

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

MARCH 17, 2012 / Saturday                                                                        

BUDDIES IN BAD TIMES THEATRE-CABARET

12 Alexander Street / Toronto, Ontario, Canada

WASHINGTON, DC

MARCH 24, 2012 / Saturday                                                                        

THE ARTS CLUB
2017  I Street NW / Washington DC

 

CD / DVD or TAPE AUDITIONS

For Those Unable To Attend Live Auditions Submit CD / DVD, YouTube or Tape To:

 

THE INTERNATIONAL CABARET CONFERENCE AT YALE UNIVERSITY

111 Morton Street / Suite 3A / New York, NY 10014 / USA

thecabaretconferenceatyale.com

 

Conference Hotline 212-629-2000

Bravura Concert March 9th FREE!!!

Hey All!!!

Hope this day finds you well!

It is raining out here on the West Coast...but lovely...I hear it is freakishly warm in TO!! Can't wait to get back!!!

My last day out here in Vancouver ( I cannot call it Vangroovy...as some have suggested to me...I just can't...it is too classy for that :) )...I have loved the experience of working with Purdy's. They are really one of the hardest working teams we have ever had the pleasure to meet...go PURDY'S!! GO!!!

Now, the reason for this blog is that my dear husband, George Masswohl, has been working on his fabulous bartitone trio, Bravura for a while now and things are turning HOT HOT HOT!!

They are going into the studio later this month record their first album and before that they are heading up to the gorgeous Richmond Hill Centre to shoot a video of some of their show...and they thought, "What a nice thing it would be to offer it for free!"

And so they did....

On March 9th, George along with his band mates Curtis Sullivan and Lawrence Cotton and musical director Anthony Bastinon will grace that lovely in north TO!!

I know I am married to George and all...and you might think me biased...but these guys are amazing...and would love to have a packed house!! It is worth getting in a car and making the trip...really.

I have seen EVERYONE of their shows, and they are a crowd pleasing, handsome bunch of fabulous singers...So, here is the poster...the show is an hour long and is an afternoon concert, starting at 2:00pm....

COME ON UP!!!!

Canada Sings!! Our Teams SO FAR!!! Now I can finally SAY....

Well, not like you all are hanging on my life like it is an episode of the Y and R. (Orin.) But Global has told us we can tell who OUR TEAMS are for the second season of CANADA SINGS!!! Oh lord!!! So happy. It has been hard keeping a secret, you know how I am.

Right?!!
CV and I...pictured here...yes, it was a $4.00 photo shoot at Polo Park in Winnipeg on CV's Birthday...but it is my fave pic...

CV and I are traveling this great land of ours, working with fabulous people...who are strapping on their dancing shoes and exercising their shower voices for CHARITY!!! And what a group we have this year.
WHAT A GROUP!!!
We still have one more to meet...and to be fair...and I don't want to chat them up until I have had the honour to meet and work with them...but so FAR!!!....


In no particular order (For all of those naughty Glee Club members who are working with us right now OR going to work with us, you don't know how we do this...you don't know from here who you are up against!!!) 


The Ontario Science Centre!
Team Name: The OSCillations. (Love it.)
A great big team from Toronto...full of the love of science and learning and, now, a belted C note and a ball change dance step.

They are a dream to work with...and like to ask questions...like scientists...a lot of questions...Marko! What is a chausse? What is my harmony here? What is the cut off? (ALL GOOD QUESTIONS!!!) And they work their behinds off. What a great team...so full of heart and their charity...which intends to bring children who can't afford the Science Centre to them...at no cost...because learning should be affordable for ALL!!! LOVE!!!


THE Royal Canadian Air Force!!!
Team Name: Super Sonic
Yup, I said it...the ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE!!! We went to Winnipeg to meet your men and women in uniform and to teach them to dance and sing...at the same time! It is a fabulous challenge that they are up for! They were hard to crack at first...I was doing some of my best jokes and not getting a laugh...you guys know how that is for me...so finally I enlisted (yes, I said it) one of team to laugh at all my jokes...and then it all went well! These guys and gals worked everyday and night we weren't with them to perfect their number...I love them!!!
I love that Mike visualized himself into his choreo and harmony...you gotta respect that.
I do!
Somehow, I didn't get a picture of us and them...I know one was taken...so the group will be a surprise!!! BUT here is a picture of me and CV on a Hercules....

On the Tarmac....(it was -41 degrees by the way...)

And with some of our fabu production team....the English mover and shaker and question asker, Lyndon and the hardworking and awesome, Meghan!!!
"Super Sonic is representing the Support Our Soldiers Fund, which provides programs and encourages ill or injured Canadian Forces personnel to achieve and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle."


YAY, RCAF!!! Can't wait to see you again!!!


The Stampede Casino
Team Name: Deal With IT!!!
And they do...deal with it, that is! They are an interesting, amazing  and dedicated group of individuals who work it out at the Casino all day dealing the black jack, serving cocktails and the such...and then at night they came to us and learned to shake it and bake it, as it were. This is a group of people from all walks of life from small town Alberta to the big city of Calgary and all places in between...they are all very diverse and have come together for Plan Canada.
Dear Dani, you can sing it...I know you can..you too Sarah!
Here they are!!!

They have got some secret talents...I can't wait for you to see them!!
I learned a couple myself....

And they gave us hats...this is CV and myself with some of our amazing production team...the smiling, tall drink of water Kik...YES, KIK!!! and the fabulous goddess, Maureen!!!
WE GOT HATS!!!! 

The OPP
Team Name: OPP Project Glee

We went up to Orillia!!! Yup...the Ontario Provincial Police!!! Oh my lord!!! What a group of people...the same people who keep us safe...coming together for the Dave Mounsey Foundation. Dave Mounsey was a officer who touched all of these team member's lives and was killed while on duty..and now this group of friends and colleagues are honouring his memory by trying to win $10,000.00 for his foundation...which supports the families of officers killed in the line of duty. 
We have dispatchers, detectives and chiefs...oh my...we have it all! 
And even though their charity is a serious matter, we had a week filled with humour, hearty laughter and hard hard hard work.
Oh Val...the things you taught me...LORD!!!


Wait till you meet 'em.

Purdy's Chocolates 
Team Name: Sweet Day

And CV and I flew to Vancouver and I have NEVER eaten this much chocolate in my life...like..they bring more everyday...we have learned to make chocolate...toured the factory...basically all of mine and Christian's (who is a choco-holic) dreams have come true. These people rehearse 6 hours with us...and working...and rehearsing for hours on their own...I don't know when they are sleeping...I DO NOT!!!
And Gary, you are a master chocolate maker...but lyric learning and foot moving is a whole different thing!! I know you can do it!
They are competing for the MS Society of Canada!
But eating all this chocolate everyday...I am getting a belly...so a walk around the Sea Wall is in order.
Here they are!!!

And here are CV and I making Chocolate with Gary!!!

And, against my better judgement....this is what happens when you eat too much of your chocolate from the filling bag....

Yup...the truth hurts...but it was so good!!!

So, one more team...one more team...who will it be?

Canada Sings Season 2...what a journey...what sticky hands...what an amazing experience...and it is not OVER!!!





 

The people you meet, Gap this and I loves my rehearsal wear...

 

Hey All!

It is early, early, early morn...and because of the time change I woke at like 6:45am. (I know if I put up a picture you will all know everything...and our Glee clubs are getting to sneaky and CSI-like...so...there it is...you gotta respect a bit of sneak!)

Gosh, Christian and I have done some traveling!

We are at the beginning of Week 5 and I cannot believe how fast it has all gone...one more week after this and then everyone goes to stage.

I am constantly amazed and inspired by the people I meet on this show...the people who will do something totally new, more than slightly terrifying and who will go right out of their comfort zone. We have heard that phrase a lot this year. A lot. "Right Out of My Comfort Zone."...and all of our people will try anything.

Yesterday, I gave a young man a solo line to try...he looked at me with terror and said, "I don't think this is for me."....and I put aside my music stand and said, "Why don't you try it anyway..." and he did...and he was awesome...just awesome...and the clapping and delight that ensued!!! Everyone else was inspired to try...how excellent is that?!

And it doesn't escape me that most of these people watched all of our brave first timers from last year, the Canada Sings Pioneers (who had no idea what it was the show was gonna be!)...the Cops, the Wolves, the Junkers, Scarborough,  Boilerhouse and the Energy peeps (and, of course, all of Scott and Kelly's wonderful teams) ...and thought...well, maybe I can do that!! So, again, thanks to the first timers!!

Now, I need to go watch a couple rehearsal vids and give a couple notes (you know who you are...) but before then....there are a couple of thoughts that I had this week and I wanted to pass them on.

Have you seen the new Gap Campaign "Be Loud"?

Well, the campaign...if it was being truthful...would actually be  

"Be Loud...

unless you are over a REAL size 14...

then, please be somewhere else."

Now, I don't have to tell most of you that I have been, and probably will be again, many sizes in my life. Many. Though you may look at me and see some extra pounds...and I never try to justify myself anymore in this vein...but for the sake of argument...I have physicals every year...I am in pretty awesome shape. You can ask my doctor...if devils her every time. 

The fabulous stylist, Lisa Williams, who does me up for Canada Sings, works very hard to style me in the manner in which I really want to dress. And I love her for it! AND THIS year is  super AWESOME!! Together, we did a ton of research online about stores in the GTA that want to help a gal who is curvy celebrate her style ( Gussied Up and Lola and Gigi, to name a couple)...and Magpie (who's dress is featured above!! LOVE!) and Rainbow have been super helpful. And, of course, the one and only Fashion Crimes will clothe me for the production week...as always.

But it is still hard for women of a certain size to buy fashionable clothes...and their is no bigger "We don't like big people" culprit than The Gap...because, you see...they used to have bigger sizes...I know it because I have the clothes...and can wear them.

But if you go in now, the sizings have all changed...for men and women.

There are no clothes for anyone over a real size 12, I reckon.

They used to go to a real size 16 for women.

And their men's XXL was true...no more.

Shame.

Shame.

Shame.

They sell basics...but not basics for all.

If and/or when I ever become a smaller size I WILL NEVER SHOP AT THE GAP AGAIN.

 

 

 

NYC...HERE I COME...IN THE FALL and some Canada Sings SEASON 2!!!

So, I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to go back to NEW YORK CITY, people.

And now it has come...Autumn in New York...just like that fancy songs says...I had to learn that fricken' song in school...though I would never sing it because it ain't my style! 
Now, I cannot wait to tell you all about it...BUT this woman needs to book the rest of the tour first! (Yes, I am working backwards....)
But the dates all look to be exciting!!!
It is gonna be an exciting year for this globe trotting chick!!!
Starting with SEASON 2 OF CANADA SINGS!!!
The press release has gone out...we have a new judge...and CV and I are on the road, people!!! 

And now, off to nap (yes, I said nap...we rehearsed late and I had a business call early...so stop your judging)  before the last day of Week 3 ( I can't believe it is Week 3 already!!) with my team here in Beautiful Calgary, Alberta!!
That is our producer and friend, Maureen Riley!!!
And that is my dear partner, Christian Vincent...who you could put in a burlap sack, and he would look great. 
How is that fair.
The shoot/rehearsals are going VERY WELL so far!! 
VERY WELL!
So happy to be back with Christian...he is amazing...so happy to be competing against Scott and Kelly, again...those Minxes. (Hello, Kelly Konno.)
There are amazing new groups, filled with dedicated, hardworking and awesome people.
The mash ups and medleys are flowing...and we have already worked with groups in Toronto, Calgary and another place....hmmm.....
Next week we move on from AB to another province...and then another....and then another!!!
It is KOOKA!!
And this year...we mean BUSINESS!!!
(We also meant business last year...but I love to say it...)
Do you wanna come to a taping of Canada Sings...hells yes!! 
Come see me sit in the audience in a Fashion Crimes outfit (fancy, as always) and eat my heart out with nerves  as I watch my fabu groups do their things??
Here is the info...

WANT TO WATCH A TAPING OF CANADA SINGS?

The fun, loud and vibrant show Canada Sings is now in production for it's second season. This season brings 12 new and energetic teams as well as new judge, Laurieann Gibson! To celebrate we've got FREE tickets to be in the LIVE studio audience.

If you're looking for passes please email csings2@insighttv.com!

  

So, back into bed...dreaming of pop songs layered over one another...trophies...trips to NY and points beyond....life is grand...GRAND! 

POST SCRIPT

I hear that some of the Glee Clubs from Season 2 are reading my posts and think you know who our teams are...but do you really? Do you really? I like to be sneaky and send out misleading information. Ask my husband...that is how I have kept him on his toes for 20 years!!! BWAH BWAH BWAH HA HA!!! (That is my sneaky laugh...in case you were wondering!) SEE YOU ON THE STAGE!!!

Happy Valentimes to ALL!!!

Dear All Valentines 

and People who would like to be Valentines....

or have Valentines...

or find themselves giving up on the idea of being a Valentine,

I was feeling a little blue this morning because I am away from home...and my own Valentine.

One of my fave things he has ever said to me was on the day we got married... "Now, I have a permanent Saturday night date!"... love that...love him.

For our first Valentines he was in Edmonton and I was in Toronto...now, it is a bit reversed...but if I am not mistaken...and you all know how I am with dates and the such...it is our 20th Valentine's Day as a couple.

What the heck!!!

How time flies.

On that first Valentine's Day I received a box from Canada Post Express...and when I opened it...it had a live rose inside...that he had sent from Edmonton. He had picked the rose himself, packed it up carefully and sent it to me...and it was alive and gorgeous.

It was one of the most romantic things anyone had ever done for me...and still is...

My friend, Ash, who owns and runs the George Street Diner on the corner of Richmond and George St. (Our fave place for breakfast and brunch in the WORLD) found this posted on the side of her Diner this morn....

It made me have a tear up...it is true...so very true.

And though I can't be with my Valentine today...I just wanted to tell him...for all the world to hear...how I love him so. 

That I am still excited every time I know I am gonna see him...every time.

None of us should give up on love...no matter what kind of love it might be...except if it is gross or illegal...and who is to judge what gross really is in this case...so let us just go with illegal.

My husband sent me this pic on the old facebook this morn...

And I was in love...and then I saw that he was in the Shopper's D (we know how I love that place) on the end of my street...and then I wondered...who is holding the camera? He told me, as we spoke on the phone minutes later, that there is no lack of last minute Valentimers in the card section at the Shopper's D on Valentine's Day...one of the 45 guys there asked if George was buying the card...George said no...another asked if he could get a discount on the used card after George was done with it...another said he wasn't late because it wasn't 5:00pm yet. Oh, boys. 

So, the moral to the story today is two fold....

1. Don't Give Up On Love

2. Everyone in the card section at the Shopper's D on Valentine's Day is a Wise Ass.

Happy Valentine's Day TO ALL!!!!

Whitney Houston. How they did you wrong.

Look at how young she is...and she looks like a different person. Almost boyish.

She was Clive Davis' fair haired young lady...he built an entire empire and brand  around her...made millions off of her...and produced her wonderful voice...and as she was taken to the morgue and her room at the Beverly Hilton was cordoned off as a crime scene, his Grammy Party...at the same hotel where she was discovered dead...went on.

Here is an excerpt from Whitney's obit in the New York Times. 

"At Mr. Davis’s party, where Ms. Houston was a regular guest and performer, tourists shot cellphone pictures of a police crime laboratory van parked outside. But inside, the glamour of the event seemed undiminished, even if Ms Houston’s name was on everyone’s lips

The streets in front of the Beverly Hilton, already crowded because of the Grammy Awards party taking place there, swarmed with reporters and fans, drawn by the news of this latest high-profile pop star dying in Los Angeles.

Even after the news of Ms. Houston’s death had been released, celebrities and other partygoers continued to arrive for the Davis event, which went on as planned, while fans stood behind a rope trying to take pictures"

I read this and it made me sadder than I already was.

It is this business of entertainment and music.

And I love music and entertainment...I truly love it...but the business of it can be so insensitive, have such a short memory and be dismissive...and we all have to remember...it is a business and must continue to move forward...as businesses do.

That fact doesn't make the business of moving on any less gross.

The idea of a party thrown by Clive Davis continuing steps and moments from where one of the best voices  of our age (that he produced and profited greatly from) died could not better illustrate this grossness.

Whitney, indeed, was a grown person who made her own choices...some of them very bad...I have to say ( I secretly blame Bobby Brown for all of this...I can't stop myself...no matter how unpopular that opinion might be) the people around her...the people who made money off of her...probably did everything they could to keep her going...I am just guessing...I could be wrong...but do you guys think I am?

How did she end up on all of those world stages in such a state?

How?

Singing in an exhausted voice wracked by drug use and sadness.

I couldn't watch any of those youtube clips where people giggled at her bygone talent and pointed out how she was trying to resurrect her career...and tittered.

The mob of public can be so callous. So very bi polar....so embracing and then disgracing.

They love you when you are up and love to make fun of you when you are down.

And then...when you die...they celebrate you again.

Lord.

Now, I don't mean ALL people...but look at youtube...I love watching Youtube myself... and giggling at some peoples misfortune...we have all done it...let us be honest...but there are times when it moves to a whole other level of mockery.

There are people who cannot wait to capture or watch a moment of someone who is 'great' or 'celebrated' as they tumble down the ladder of celebrity...to the TMZ level.

The truly gross level.

I guess I look at that picture, above, and think of how much promise she had there.

Anything could happen.

And did...the best of the best...and the worst of the worst.

In front of the world, for all to see...and we felt like it was our right to see it.

The 'Being Bobby Brown' reality show.

Their visit to the Holy Land...yes, I remember it all...because I watched and read about it, too.

(Not the Being Bobby Brown...it made me too sad...and mad)

I guess I hoped that she might find herself some how and age in grace...or reality...or something...I don't know...but I hoped for peace for her...

Hopefully, she has it now.

Wherever she might be.

I don't know her...but I admired her....god, how I admired her

Here are some of my very fave clips of Whitney...the fact that they are from Youtube is not lost on me. 

She was one of the first cassette tapes I bought.

All I wanted was to sing like her.

She led the way for Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Pink, Shania...you name them...

She was an amazing vocalist.

May she well and truly be at peace.

Singing 'Home' from the Wiz on the Merv Griffin Show in her earliest days.

Singing with a gospel choir in her teens.

Whitney singing THE BEST version of the Star Spangled Banner at the Superbowl...she seemed confidence and grace personified.

Whitney rehearsing "All the Man I Need" for SNL...she seems so relaxed and she sings the shit out of this.

POST SCRIPT!!!!

And then the Grammy's put fucking Chris Brown on...it is hard to be the Grammy's...they are the victim...WHAT THE FUCK??!?!? Read the blog below...

Having Chris Brown on the show tells every woman that has been abused that after a few years...it doesn't matter...get over it.

Jesus Wept...

http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/66508442.html#ixzz1mHATmzjA

Me and George and the National Post!

Thanks to the National Post (and sweet Grant) for this awesome article about how George and I met!!! Featuring a picture where my hair was dyed brown. Or something...

 http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/02/11/the-one-sharron-matthews-and-george-masswohl/

AND CV and I are on the move ACROSS Canada meeting and working with teams for Season 2 of Canada Sings...but had time to stop for this photo shoot on CV's bday...it was a very glam show at a VERY GLAM location!!! Where are we NOW!?!?!?

So, it is like the worst secret in the land...but I am on a cross Canada tour, working on SEASON
2...yes, I said it...Season 2 of Canada Sings! WE gotta another season, people!!!

A: Super Excited about getting Season 2 of this show!!!

B: Super Excited about going across CANADA and meeting and working with new people...of every shape, description, background, and vocal experience!!! LOVE IT!!

C: Doesn't "cross Canada tour" sound fancy?

D: I love that I never have to wear my down coat because someone drives us to and from work...I am sorry...yes, I am bragging...BUT nothing lasts forever and you gotta love it while it is happening people.

E: The groups I have already worked with are SUPER DUPER awesome...so excited...and hard working...and filled with sass.

F: I can't say where I  am but the pic above is the view out of my hotel window... it is minus 8 million degrees...and sunny as hell.

G: Christian Vincent and I are rocking it...together again! He is so handsome...it is like looking into the SUN!!! THE SUN I TELL YOU!!! And the best part is he is such a dear that his handsomeness is nothing compared to his heart. What an awesome thing to be working with my talented pal again.

H: Kelly and Scott are somewhere else in Canada right now...trying to beat us...huh. Well, Kelly Konno and Scott Henderson...LET US DO THIS!!! SEASON 2!! WE HAVE ALL SET THE BAR HIGH!!!

I: I was reminded yesterday how lucky I am to have such an amazing, creative job. To be doing this for a living. Meeting and working with all these dedicated and fearless people...they humble and inspire me on a daily basis.

J: I am ALSO reminded how blessed I am to be working with Insight and Shaw, again...thanks to you Insight and Shaw. AND our amazing production team!! This is one of my fave parts...seeing the same fabulous people everyday. When you work on your own shows, working with a large group of talented, wonderful people everyday is such a joy.

K:  I am gonna go start my day! HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY ALL!!!