Starting on Alderney

Well, Kate and John have done us proud. Excellent coffee as soon as we arrived on Alderney, and not one but two home-made cakes.

Looking forward to an evening off. Setup in the hall at lunchtime tomorrow before the piano tuner arrives, then rehearsal in the afternoon and concert in the evening. Apparently we're sold out again.

Hatstand Opera has been doing this particular show (Love, Lust and a Damn Good Chardonnay) for a year now, so we'll really only need to do a reminder rehearsal. Mind you, having said that we have done several different shows since the last performance of this one. The Wales concert was 'Opera Can Be Murder' preceded by a 'Well Wicked Opera' workshop for the under 10s. And the one before that was one of the ubiquitous Golden Moments programmes.

This particular programme is a real mix of stuff, from Cosi fan Tutte through Bizet, Orff and Britten to Lehmann, Sondheim and Fascinating Aida. I really enjoy doing different music, and changing style half-way through a concert doesn't faze me. I'm glad to see that the music colleges are now expanding their repertoire to include training in musical theatre and jazz for their singers. We now live in a commercially-savvy world, and there is so much more to being a professional musician than just good playing. Even in the early 80s it was always my intention to be as flexible and employable as possible, and that meant hard work and a very wide repertoire.

I remember eavesdropping on Trevor Wye (flute teacher at the Royal Northern College of Music). Trevor was talking about what it took to be a good musician, particularly an orchestral player. "Everybody expects you to be able to play. Turn up on time, buy your section principal a drink, and be pleasant and smart. That's it."

Excellent advice, I think.

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.