My Summer Finale

My family went to Glasgow for the bank holiday weekend in order to set up my living accommodation ready for the new college year.  We went to Ikea to get some odds and ends and  I bought two picture frames to make my own pictures for £6 each, I’m going to work on them this weekend.  I’m there for three years so we white washed a couple of walls, cleaned from top to bottom and I painted one wall bright pink, there’s only so much white a girl can live with, well I started the wall and my parents did the edges and the second coat :).  I suggested blowing glitter from a paper plate on to the wet paint of the second coat but my parents frankly weren’t impressed!  I even showed them the You Tube video of how to do it.  B&Q had a three for the price of two on paints and I spotted glitter glaze in a tin so that went in the trolley and on the wall, Mum ended up using the paint roller on the wall to stop me making a mess, it looks fab.  Stardust and Sparkles strikes again.

Tuesday, I’d volunteered to help out in a summer school master class at the Conservatoire (RCS) and left my parent’s window cleaning, mopping and putting up a bookcase, sadly I really wanted to help ;).  Dads now an expert on putting up Ikea Expedit furniture.  I bumped in to one of my best friends from school, Oscar, who was doing a musical theatre summer school class, he thought I was at home.  I went on a week’s vocal summer school at RCS the August before I started in September last year, it was such a great experience.  This Tuesday the master class was for trainee music teachers.  Stephen Robertson, the Head of Vocals, put me through my paces and I had a fabulous experience working with him and watching him working with the other volunteer students.  As soon as I finished we drove back to Cheshire, it’s a three and a half hour journey, so I promptly fell asleep in the back and the journey went fast for me.

Wednesday, today, my last concert  with Russell Lomas for 2013, also featuring Elliot Gresty on clarinet.  I was thrilled to see some familiar faces in the audience, people I remembered from my concert there last year, Caitlin Griffin and her Mum from Jayne Wilson’s singing classes and school were there, Dennis and Helen Kay from Tideswell MVC, Gill who took photos and video, Tim Kennedy a fabulous pianist who had accompanied me at several music festival competitions and John Powell.  I must admit when I first saw John a tingle of competition nerves went through me, as John is a professional adjudicator but fortunately he didn’t have his head bowed and a mark sheet in front of him today. Actually when I finished I wished he did have the adjudication feedback sheet for me, I always found this an excellent way to improve future performances.

I finally had time to catch up with my blog this afternoon and evening.  I broke off to try out a couple of new songs.

I’ve got to plan a couple of Christmas songs do you have two favourites, preferably in my range to suggest ?  I have performed O Holy Night and Silent  Night (in German) and would love to hear your suggestions.

The song I have posted from today’s concert is Per la Gloria d’adorarvi.  The aria is from the opera Griselda by Giovanni Bononcini and is probably one of the best known from the opera.  I hope that you enjoy the performance 🙂