On December 9, CFUV 101.9 FM played four selections from the "In Praise of Christmas" CD which my sister and I recorded in 2005. They chose "The Boar's Head Carol", "the Birds", "Let us the Infant Greet" and "Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming". Our "In Praise of Christmas" CD features traditional British carols, sung in harmony with harp (me) and guitar (Liz) accompaniment, as well as a few lesser-known Christmas art songs: "The Birds" by Benjamin Britten, "Maria Wiegenlied" by Max Reger, and "Along the Little Road to Bethlehem" by Michael Head.
"In Praise of Christmas" gets air-time CFUV 101.9 FM
On December 9, CFUV 101.9 FM played four selections from the "In Praise of Christmas" CD which my sister and I recorded in 2005. They chose "The Boar's Head Carol", "the Birds", "Let us the Infant Greet" and "Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming". Our "In Praise of Christmas" CD features traditional British carols, sung in harmony with harp (me) and guitar (Liz) accompaniment, as well as a few lesser-known Christmas art songs: "The Birds" by Benjamin Britten, "Maria Wiegenlied" by Max Reger, and "Along the Little Road to Bethlehem" by Michael Head.
Opera Idol - video footage
"Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle" from Romeo et Juliette by Gounod. This performance won the People's Choice award and a spot in the "Top 3".
"Aria Ioanna" from Orleanskaya Deva by Tchaikovsky. This performance was part of the "Top 3".
Opera Idol - The results....
the Top 7
Well, Opera Idol was a success! There was a great turnout and lots of positive feedback. Not to mention that I had a blast with my singer friends.
I didn't come away empty-handed, either. I got the "People's Choice" award, voted by the audience - THANK YOU! - and a place in the "Top 3"!
It was a fantastic evening with lots of great singing. I feel very fortunate to have been awarded "People's Choice" and a place in the Top 3, to have had the chance to sing in front of our distinguished panel of judges and also to have been given the publicity in the Times Colonist and the 'A' Channel TV spot.
What a wonderful experience!
Coming soon....lots of harping gigs at Christmas parties and church services, followed by POV's production of Handel's Semele in the New Year for which I will be in the chorus. I'll keep you posted!
Opera Idol TV Spot!
The preliminary round for Opera Idol went extremely well last night - we find out tonight at the start of the show who the final top 7 are. In the meantime, there's a TV spot airing today on which clips of my performance and an interview may be showed:
The spot for The Daily is now playing on Shaw (channel 11). The video clip is now available to watch on Monday Magazine's website (www.mondaymag.com) and is very good. The A Channel piece (channel 12) may have aired on last night's late news, but I didn't watch. However, it will for sure be on the arts report this evening on A Channel. The arts report with Adam Sawatsky will be on between 5:45 and 6:00 p.m., so have a look.
The spot for The Daily is now playing on Shaw (channel 11). The video clip is now available to watch on Monday Magazine's website (www.mondaymag.com) and is very good. The A Channel piece (channel 12) may have aired on last night's late news, but I didn't watch. However, it will for sure be on the arts report this evening on A Channel. The arts report with Adam Sawatsky will be on between 5:45 and 6:00 p.m., so have a look.
Times Colonist spread - front page of the Arts Section!
What an honour! On December 2 I was featured on the front page of the Arts Section of the Times Colonist! Along with quotes from my interview with Grania Litwin last week, there were two pictures of me - one of me auditioning for the Opera Idol panel and one of me warming up before the audition.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
Mezzo-soprano Kathryn Humphries is pumped up with anticipation, but the 23-year-old is also feeling the tension beginning to build as she prepares to compete in the first ever Victoria Opera Idol on Friday.
"It is the most fun thing I could possibly be doing," said the singer who performs in the Pacific Opera Victoria chorus.
"From the social aspect, these are all my fellow singers, and we have a wonderful rapport. But this is also a great chance to test my stage legs, to get more performing experience. Every chance you get in front of an audience is a good time to test yourself under different nerve situations and in different halls."
Humphries is one of 11 contestants chosen to take part in the Victoria Conservatory of Music's Opera Studio event in Alix Goolden Hall. Auditions have been underway for two weeks, and on Thursday night the final seven will be selected in a closed session.
Making it through the first round was the first step for this young Victoria singer who comes from a musical family but only began singing seriously at 18. She did a bachelor's in music at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, and even worked at Macaroni Grill for a while, waitressing and singing for customers. She had only one semester of study with the Opera Studio here, but she hopes to make a big impression Friday.
"It is the most fun thing I could possibly be doing," said the singer who performs in the Pacific Opera Victoria chorus.
"From the social aspect, these are all my fellow singers, and we have a wonderful rapport. But this is also a great chance to test my stage legs, to get more performing experience. Every chance you get in front of an audience is a good time to test yourself under different nerve situations and in different halls."
Humphries is one of 11 contestants chosen to take part in the Victoria Conservatory of Music's Opera Studio event in Alix Goolden Hall. Auditions have been underway for two weeks, and on Thursday night the final seven will be selected in a closed session.
Making it through the first round was the first step for this young Victoria singer who comes from a musical family but only began singing seriously at 18. She did a bachelor's in music at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, and even worked at Macaroni Grill for a while, waitressing and singing for customers. She had only one semester of study with the Opera Studio here, but she hopes to make a big impression Friday.
See the full article here:
http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/curtain+going+Victoria+Opera+Idol/1020513/story.html
glitwin@tc.canwest.com
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