Hatstand Opera by tractor on Sark

Hatstand Opera are on tour in the Channel Islands. Today is Wednesday so it must be Sark.

We have a number of items that we travel with to make up the set. On a tour like this we can't pack the furniture, so we have curtains, various bits of set dressing and of course the pink fluffy fairy lights (see the first blog Village Halls and Fairy Lights).

Once the space is set up, we start with the children's workshop. We have the little ones today - from age 4 upwards, with a few 7-14 year olds thrown in. We did a recap of last year's workshop to begin with, and its amazing how much they remembered. Where their vocal folds were, how they vibrated, and what sort of noises you could make.

Then we moved on to some theatre games: following rhythms, clapping, and finding a single pitch together. We finished by creating a special Sark anthem - words by one of the pupils, and melody created by 12 people.

Then the joys of an afternoon off - walking in the sunshine and the silence (no cars, and at night no streetlamps!) and sitting on a bench overlooking the sea for an hour. The primroses are all out and I spotted four different colours in one verge. When I'm on tour I really value these snatched moments of sanity. I call in on Margaret (my host for the previous few years) and check in with Molly, my host this time around and a gold-medal winner in the Jersey arts competition.

Half an hour of television to unwind then back to the Island hall for the evening concert. Chairs set out cabaret style around tables, which makes for a friendly atmosphere even before we start. And there are bottles of wine available during the performance.

We usually find that works well too...


Jeremy is the co-author of Successful Singing Auditions

Visit http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/ for the latest downloads:
the Vocal Process eZINE (free electronic magazine)
86 things you never hear a singer say (free ebook)
Looking at a Voice (endoscopy video download)
Constriction and Release (opening the throat on video - the latest endoscopy video download)

The Vocal Process website has a series of free articles on vocal technique and style, memorising and different musical genres.