In 2018, Kat's career was going well - she was singing in Vienna, she had gigs booked in the future, but she couldn't shake a feeling of wanting MORE, of wanting to go deeper. Fast forward to 2021, and Kat is now a business and life coach...and still a soprano! On her social media, she shares her process and picks apart common phrases that singers hear, not only from their teachers and colleagues, but from themselves. We talk about what thoughts serve us (and what thoughts don't), how she started singing, and how she prepared mentally for her one-time, live-streamed, no-audience house debut as Olympia in Zürich.

To follow Kat's career: katrinagalka.com
@katrina.galka

Music:
"Les oiseaux dans la charmille" from Les contes d'Hoffmann by Offenbach, performed April 2021 by Katrina Galka, soprano.
"Till there was you" from The Music Man by Rodgers & Hammerstein, performed April 2021 by Katrina Galka, soprano.

In this episode, I speak with Seth Carico, bass-baritone, on the day before his role debut as Tonio in Pagliacci. Seth first saw Pagliacci when he was 17, and says that as soon as the prologue aria ended and the curtain flew up, he was "hooked." Since then, Seth has sung both standard and new roles and has embraced his identity, both on- and off-stage, as a "weird as hell," singular artist. We also spoke about his preparation for fatherhood, which he chronicled in a web series called SETH LEARN DAD, and his path to sobriety.

To follow Seth's career: http://www.sethcarico.com/
To watch Seth Learn Dad and Stage B: https://www.youtube.com/c/SethCaricoBassBaritone

Music:

"Alles endet, was entstehet", no. 2, Drei Gedichte von Michelangelo by Wolf
"Fühlt meine Seele", no. 3, Drei Gedichte von Michelangelo by Wolf
Both songs performed by Seth Carico, bass-baritone, and Eun-Boram Ahn, piano, recorded in May 2021

Alice Chung is a mezzo-soprano and co-founder of Wear Yellow Proudly, an initiative started in 2020 in response to increasing xenophobia and violence against Asians during the COVID-19 pandemic. WYP spreads awareness about Asian culture through art, music, and education. Alice speaks about her Korean-American upbringing, how she started singing, and why she chose not to sing when the pandemic first hit.

Visit wearyellowproudly.org for more information.

First verse of "The Swing":

The new light blue ramie skirt
The gold-pressed hair ribbon
As I swing up to the sky,
Flutter in the cloud.
The swallow also, surprised,
Stopped flying mid-air and watched.

Music:

"The Swing (그네)" performed by Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano
"Longing for GeumGang Mountain (그리운 금강산)" performed by Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano, and Ting Ting Wong, pianist, recorded February 2021 - this is the piano heard after the end of the Swing underneath the spoken intro.
"Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Samson et Dalila by Saint-Saëns, performed by Alice Chung, mezzo-soprano, and Ed Bak, pianist, recorded May 2021 at the Cooper-Bing Competition

Lucy Fitz Gibbon wears many hats: she's a soprano whose repertoire spans from the Renaissance to the present day, she teaches at Cornell and Bard, and she has been known to dig around in libraries for a manuscript or two 🤓

Naturally then, the reach of this conversation is far and wide, from Lucy's musical upbringing playing violin and watching operas, to her grounding Feldeinsamkeit walks at Marlboro Music Festival. She also gushes over Schubert's long-form songs for 10+ minutes...and that's AFTER the edit, mind you. But I am all about it, because what comes through in this episode is Lucy's eloquent passion and commitment to amplifying the multiplicity of voices, past and present, that are "integral to classical music's future," and I could not agree more. Have a listen; this conversation is an inspiration and a meditation all wrapped in one.

Music:
"Viola" by Franz Schubert, D. 786
performed by Lucy Fitz Gibbon, soprano, and Evren Ozel, piano, at the Marlboro Music Festival in 2018
For the whole recording, go to: https://www.marlboromusic.org/recordings/viola-d-786/franz-schubert/id-7100/

In this episode, I speak with Joanne Hayes Bozeman, soprano and co-author of the book Singing Through Change: Women's Voices in Midlife, Menopause, and Beyond. Joanne began experiencing troubling vocal changes around the age of 47, when "it felt like someone had put a different larynx in [her] neck." We speak about how this personal experience spurred her to do her research, write an anonymous article, connect with her co-authors, and how they went about the process of collecting and organizing these "deeply personal, complex, and kinda messy" stories. We also talk about how her early career as a prenatal educator and her work with adolescent girls' in a choir setting formed the matrix of her interests in female hormonal seasons.

To buy the book and learn more, visit https://singingthroughchange.com/

To join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/singingthroughchange

Music:
"Allerseelen" by Richard Strauss, performed by Joanne Hayes Bozeman, soprano, and Linda Sparks, piano, recorded 2001
"Make Believe" from SHOWBOAT, music by Jerome Kern, performed by Joanne Hayes Bozeman, soprano, Kenneth Bozeman, tenor, and Ted Kehl, pianist, recorded 1993

In this episode, I talk with soprano Jeni Houser about her morning routine of bodywork, meditation, and practicing, why vinyasa yoga was not the best choice for her, and why she's thinking about openness these days. Also FOOD. 

You can follow Jeni's career over at jenihouser.com or see what she's up to @songsofjeni ! The blog posts we discuss are at https://www.singingbodyclinic.com/blog

Follow us @thisembodiedvoice to hear about new episodes and tell us who you want to hear next on the podcast.

Music, both courtesy of Madison Opera:

"Among Trees" from KEEP MOVING, a song cycle written by Scott Gendel with text by Poet Maggie Smith, performed by Jeni Houser, soprano, and Scott Gendel, piano.
"Getting to Know You" from THE KING AND I by Rodgers & Hammerstein, performed by Jeni Houser, soprano and piano, and David Blalock, tenor.

In this episode, I talk with tenor and trans activist Holden Madagame about his story, from when he played Cherubino in college, to his vocal experience taking testosterone, to his ongoing definition of trans activism.

You can follow Holden's career, read his blog, and join his YouTube/Patreon community over at holdenmadagame.com !

Follow us @thisembodiedvoice to hear about new episodes and tell us who you want to hear next on the podcast.

Music:
-
"Would you gain the tender creature" from Acis and Galatea by Handel, performed by Holden Madagame, tenor, and Le Maschere Galanti.
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"Breathe" aria from Good Country, a chamber opera composed by Keith Allegretti, libretto by Cecelia Raker Ehrenfeld. Performed by Holden Madagame, tenor. Conducted by Keith Allegretti. Musicians: Christabel Lin (1st Violin), Phil Davidson (2nd Violin), Meagan Peaco (Viola), Julia Dixon (Cello). 
-
Just Smile by LiQWYD https://soundcloud.com/liqwyd
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/-just-smile
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/lMGw8bTCBww

In this episode, I talk with soprano Maya Kherani about her experience of pregnancy during a pandemic, her struggles with reflux and vocal injury, her spreadsheet where she tracks her practicing exercises, and how she leans into her Indian-American identity. 

You can follow Maya's career at mayakherani.com and see adorable baby photos @mayakherani !

CORRECTION: Reena Esmail's piece that Maya references is called My Sister's Voice, not My Sister's Keeper. 

Follow us @thisembodiedvoice to hear about new episodes and tell us who you want to hear next on the podcast.