Today I am talking to flautist Angela McCuiston. In our chat Angela passionately shares her story of how a series of playing-related injuries have caused her to become a Fitness Trainer for Musicians.Angela McCuiston is a NASM-CPT, CES, SFS and CETI-CES (Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist, Senior Fitness Specialist and Cancer Exercise Specialist) and owner of Music Strong, a business that specializes in personal fitness training for musicians. Winner of the 200...
Today I am talking to baritone and entrepreneur Brian Witkowski. In our chat we talk about the path that brought Brian to starting his own business called the Lucrative Artist, a platform where artists are helped to identify their purpose, to recognise their worth, and realise their value.Brian Witkowski is a singer, actor and voice teacher turned business coach for entrepreneurial artists and educators. As the Founder and CEO of the Lucrative Artist, where he provides boutique business...
Today I am talking to soprano Henriikka Gröndahl. In our chat we discuss how career trajectories can change over time and the possible influence of relationships and parenthood on negotiating a singing career. Henriikka Gröndahl is a versatile lyric soprano with one foot firmly in the chorus of the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, and the other foot happily freelancing. Her career began with a boom at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 2004, when she stepped in as the cover of Mimì in La Bohèm...
Today I am talking to mezzo-soprano Carolyn Dobbin. In our chat we discuss Carolyn’s career trajectory from art teacher to opera singer, and how her creativity carried her through loss and grief during the Covid-19 pandemic.Northern Irish mezzo-soprano and Samling Scholar, Carolyn began her career as a teacher of Art and Design before graduating from the Opera course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Carolyn was Associate Artist at Welsh National Opera in 2010 and spent two ye...
Today I am talking to baritone Duncan Rock. In our chat we are discussing how Duncan’s dedication to fitness, nutrition and a healthy lifestyle influences his international career as an opera singer and how by developing his own nutrition brand Duncan combined health and art through his involvement with the Voice Care Centre in London.Duncan Rock MMus, PGCert (nutritional science) - has an active international career as an operatic baritone. He has performed roles at the Metropolitan Opera, t...
Today I am talking to Hendrik Vermeulen, a South African Couturier, fashion designer, singer-songwriter and producer. In our chat we talk about the importance of time management and structuring in order to enhance creativity and we discuss how careers develop through honest and good personal relations.At the atelier of multifaceted artist, Hendrik Vermeulen, it is not merely about fashion… It’s about expression, it’s about art.The garments are made with the utmost care by expert hands, with l...
Today I am talking to pianist Peter Jablonski. We discuss piano repertoire in and outside the canon, how careers take time to develop, and wonder about the influence of social media on the longevity of a career in music.Peter Jablonski is an award-winning internationally acclaimed Swedish pianist. Discovered by Claudio Abbado and Vladimir Ashkenazy, and signed by Decca in his seventeenth year, Jablonski went on to perform, collaborate, and record with many of the world’s leading orchestras an...
Today I am talking to countertenor Daniel Keating-Roberts. We discuss the importance of creative minds channeling over linear matter, we consider potential ways in which the pandemic has left a positive mark on the performance industry, and Daniel shares his enthusiasm and interest in performance psychology.Daniel studied in Sheffield, before completing his Masters at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with awards from the Foyle Foundation and the Countess of Munster Trust. He also won ...
Today I am talking to Frederick Robin a composer and perfumery artist. In our chat Frederick talks about the synergy between his music and processes that brought about creating a series of nine fragrances as well as his passion to collaborating with other artists across the boundaries of various disciplines. A strong sense of minimalism guides the artistic philosophy of Frederick Robin as he creates contemporary-classical musical and olfactory works in synergistic collaboration with othe...
Today I am talking to tenor Karl Marx Reyes. During his studies as a pre-med student he was scouted for the chorus of Seattle Opera. Karl now holds a hybrid position performing compramario & featured roles. In our talk we discuss the career from the perspective of the opera chorus and how Karl’s experience in medicine not only enabled him to maintain a long career in opera but also how it created a safety net for him particularly during the pandemic.Karl Marx Reyes is a Filipino/Ame...
Today I am talking to mezzo-soprano Lydia Jane Haynes. In our chat she shares her story of how suffering from cancer influenced her work and led her to becoming a teacher before embarking on her postgraduate studies to become a professional singer.Lydia Jane Haynes is a 25 year old Mezzo-Soprano currently studying voice on The Guildhall School of Music and Drama Vocal Masters programme. Lydia's journey into Music has been a remarkably complex one that saw her overcoming the diagnosis of Thyro...
Today I am talking to the Irish composer Fiona Linnane. In our talk we discuss her experiences of collaborating with various singers as she is often drawn to composing operas and song cycles, or any works that specifically involve the human voice. In 2020 she was recipient of the Art Council of Ireland Music Bursary Award.Current projects include No.2 Pery Square, a site responsive opera, in collaboration with Limerick based production company Opera Workshop (funded by the Arts Council of Ire...
Today I am talking to baritone Jonny Venvell who is the Head of Artist Relations at Encore, a UK-based musicians booking platform that brings together clients with Musicians to make their events as special as possible. In our chat we talk about Jonny’s experience working for, and developing, Encore as well as the impact that the pandemic has had on the music industry.Jonny Venvell graduated with a music degree from Cambridge in 2015, specialising in choral singing and oboe. He joined Encore a...
Today I am talking to Micah Coston, an associate consultant at Perrett Lever, the leading international executive search firm that brings together diverse and visionary leaders to mission-driven sectors worldwide. Micah has had a varied career path that started in music, moved on to the dramatic performance arts, then travelled through research and now is developing through his consultancy work. We discuss how the seemingly disparate aspects of Micah’s experience come together in propel...
Today I am talking to Alexander Simpson and Helen Daniels who are both classical singers and presenters on the podcast “Where’s My Freaking Dressing Room?!” In our chat we talk about a variety of topics regarding the impact that the pandemic has had on young singers and how a shift in time management has revolutionised the way in which Alexander and Helen approach their work.British countertenor Alexander Simpson is a versatile young singer who enjoys performing a wide range of repertoire and...
Welcome to Caroline Miller and Elizabeth van Os of the Pleiades Project that is based in New York. Their project focuses on telling the various different facets of women’s stories which are often neglected in the general operatic canon. Caroline Miller is a “warm soprano [with] emotional bite,” praised as a compelling singer-actor with vocal flexibility and dramatic intensity, who is “especially adept at comedy.” In the 2019-2020 season, Caroline was a Resident Artist with Toledo Opera, appea...
Today I am talking to soprano Emily Thorner who specialises in contemporary classical music but is also the CEO of moon rising, her company where she helps people as an intuitive healer. In our chat we talk about various issues, highlighting similarities between growing as an artist through the process of learning and performing music to the process of healing and being fulfilled in life.International "ultra-soprano" (Second Inversion, WA, USA) and "new music rising star" (The Stranger, WA, U...
Today I am talking to contralto Cindy Sadler. In our chat Cindy talks extensively about the various issues that affect creating and maintaining a portfolio career in the arts and she highlights the importance of accepting the responsibility of being the CEO of one’s own career.Cindy Sadler’s eclectic operatic career represents the benchmark of entrepreneurial artistry. A standout performer in any cast with her rich, abundant contralto and charismatic characterizations, she has made herself in...
Today I am talking to Tessa Marchington, a businesswoman, entrepreneur and pianist. In our talk we discuss Tessa’s extensive work of transforming the corporate business sector through music participation and highlight how she transferred the skills typical to her work as a collaborative pianist to the world of business and management.Tessa Marchington is a businesswoman, entrepreneur and pianist. After finishing her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, Tessa set up Music in Offices (MIO) in...
Today I am talking to Noah Reitman who is the assistant principal bass of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In our chat Noah and I are talking about the influence that Covid-19 has had on our work as performers and teachers, and how the music industry is changing. Noah also talks about how his interaction on social media, his new found skills in accountancy and sound technology continue to prepare him for the future.Noah Reitman has been assistant principal bass of the Vancouver Symphony sinc...