Blog

It’s been an amazing month. 478 auditions, over 9,000 miles, more than 800 arias. We are privileged to do this work, and I am regularly gobsmacked by the amount of talent, goodwill and personal courage exhibited by the artists who come into our audition rooms and then into our lives. The singing is over, but the

As we near the end of our audition tour, we are thinking about resolution, and offer this #ASQoD* “You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf.” Swami Satchitananda I came of age in the 60’s and the 70’s, when the Serenity Prayer was already becoming clichéd. That powerful mantra that helped so many people get

Day 2 of NYC auditions. Today’s #ASQoD* comes from the iconic American musician whose centennial we honor in 2018. “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” Leonard Bernstein We know we need a plan. A method in the middle of the madness. Both on the micro level (how to

Before we get to today’s #ASQoD*, I want to mention that we’re holding the first of four audition days at the National Opera Center in New York City, and today is the first day of National Opera Week! Take a moment to check out this video message from mezzo-soprano (and WTO alumna!) Denyce Graves. And now, on to one of

On our way from Houston to New York today, landing just in time for tonight’s premiere of The Exterminating Angel at the Met! Today’s post is as much for me as it is for you. I’ve reached the flash point in our audition/casting process where my anxiety dreams are playing out both sleeping and waking. :)  We all need

It’s the second day of Houston auditions, and we’re on our way tonight to the dress rehearsal of Julius Caesar at HGO’s Resilience Theater @ George R. Brown Convention Center (featuring 5 WTO alumni!) Today’s #ASQoD*… “For every complex problem there is an easy answer, and it is wrong.” H.L. Mencken Don’t underestimate the value of creativity in solving

Today’s the first day of auditions in Houston, and we are at Christ Church Cathedral. We miss being on the 6th floor of the Wortham for sure, but we’re grateful for this beautiful temporary audition space with abundant natural light and lovely people! This is a bit of a sobering#ASQoD*, but don’t take the first quote at

Flying to Houston today. We won’t be in our regular audition space at the Wortham, because our friends at HGO are away from their home for this entire season in the wake of hurricane Harvey. Not a bad day for this day 15 topic of #ASQoD* “Reculer pour mieux sauter” I have no idea where this