Comments for NATS Ontario Chapter http://natsontario.org Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:30:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ Comment on 2011 Fall Chapter Meeting a Night of FIRSTS! by Torin W. Chiles http://natsontario.org/2011/12/01/2011-fall-chapter-meeting-a-night-of-firsts/#comment-33 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:30:13 +0000 http://natsontario.org/?p=450#comment-33 Watching these photos of our Fall Meeting go flickering by on the website is bringing back happy memories of a very convivial evening together. How wonderful to renew old friendships, to strengthen collegial bonds, to make new acquaintances and professional contacts, and to hear such a passionate and insightful speaker. This is NATS at the chapter level at its BEST!
Thank you to the NATS Ontario Executive for arranging this marvelous weekend – you imagined it and worked hard to bring it to reality. Here’s to many more!

]]> Comment on 2011 Fall Chapter Meeting a Night of FIRSTS! by Jennifer Higgin http://natsontario.org/2011/12/01/2011-fall-chapter-meeting-a-night-of-firsts/#comment-30 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:20:18 +0000 http://natsontario.org/?p=450#comment-30 Well done, everyone! My couple of comments to please consider for next year:
1) Some of the other teachers also looked for a “master list” — it was not on the website. I checked 3 times. So, I missed hearing some people. Please, could we have access to a master list?
2) The timing was done differently (we used to schedule an extra 2 minutes to enter/exit the room). It works fine this way, now that we know that the students have to hit the floor singing! However, in one room the teachers were stopping the students to ask “what will you be singing? What order do you want to sing them in” That took away valuable singing time, and was completely unnecessary, as the songs are listed on the sheet, and within 2 bars you should know what song it is. If you can’t tell what language someone is singing, that’s a big problem!
3) We need the “2nd letter” posted on the website in a way that we can download it and then send it out by email to our students and accompanists. Remember that one? The 2nd letter gives the order of events for the day, where the results will be posted, where to pick up the sheets, what time and where the final concert is, etc. etc. Also, special notes about “no food is available to buy in the building”, where to park, where to buy food, or other such things. Also, it would be most helpful to have the order of the concert listed. Accompanists sometimes really have to plan carefully (not to mention parents and the rest of us). Of course, we strongly encourage them all to stay for the whole thing.
Thanks everyone, it was a blast!

]]> Comment on 2011 Fall Chapter Meeting a Night of FIRSTS! by Catherine Robbin http://natsontario.org/2011/12/01/2011-fall-chapter-meeting-a-night-of-firsts/#comment-29 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:32:46 +0000 http://natsontario.org/?p=450#comment-29 The banquet was indeed a memorable event. I loved having a chance to chat with members old and new, getting to know some people who have only been names on a list to me before, and greeting new members like Sonia Nunes (a former student!) and Melanie Conly whom I recently heard sing some stunning Mozart. Our members are wonderful people doing inspiring work and I’m so grateful that so many of you made time in your busy lives to come out and share with us at the meeting and in the social time that surrounded it.

Of course we also had the opportunity to hear Tom Diamond talk about acting. I was taking notes furiously as many others were. My favourite ‘Tomism” was this: “Your desire to be perfect has nothing to do with learning.” He went on to explain that learning requires risk, and involves getting messy sometimes, “stinking up the place”, as he put it. We all know students who just want to “get it right” right now but they are not wiling to risk really trying something new and possibly uncomfortable. What I’d really love is to take Tom into my studio for few days. Wouldn’t that be fun!

Thanks again to all the executive members who made the banquet such a success. I really hope more members will come next year in Waterloo. It’s so worthwhile! Thanks also to Michelyn Wright for another well-run auditions day and for weathering the first run of online registrations and computer-assisted scheduling. Brava! And one more thank-you to Lindsay Isaac who has made such a success of this website. Great job, Lindsay!

Merry Christmas, Everyone.
Catherine Robbin

]]> Comment on 2011 Fall Chapter Meeting a Night of FIRSTS! by Elizabeth McDonald http://natsontario.org/2011/12/01/2011-fall-chapter-meeting-a-night-of-firsts/#comment-28 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:08:34 +0000 http://natsontario.org/?p=450#comment-28 What a great event! Even after working with Tom recently I really enjoyed hearing his ideas all at once…truly an energized and passionate person!

]]> Comment on NATS Ontario 2011 Auditions – Winners by Elizabeth http://natsontario.org/2011/11/24/winners2011/#comment-23 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:56:02 +0000 http://natsontario.org/?p=429#comment-23 Congratulations to all singers! I was sorry I could not be there….

]]> Comment on Our Fall Meeting Guest Speaker: Tom Diamond by Elizabeth http://natsontario.org/2011/09/19/our-fall-meeting-guest-speaker-tom-diamond/#comment-13 Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:09:13 +0000 http://natsontario.org/?p=372#comment-13 Can’t wait to hear Tom’s thoughts on how to bring yourself to the music of art song!

]]> Comment on Elaine Overholt Workshop: May 7, 2011 by Elizabeth http://natsontario.org/2011/04/11/elaine-overholt-workshop-may-7-2011/#comment-8 Fri, 06 May 2011 14:47:21 +0000 http://natsontario.org/?p=158#comment-8 Looking forward to attending this event tomorrow! I will do a run-down of the event on my own blog “from the voice of…” and link the new Ontario NATS page!

Thanks for this great service!

Elizabeth McDonald

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