by Rachel | Uncategorized
One of the best decisions I ever made was moving my private practice from “the road” (traveling to my students’ homes) into my own home-based studio. This has allowed me to work with many more students on a daily basis, because no longer do I need to build commute time into my schedule. I can honestly admit that I don’t miss packing my car every morning with the necessary equipment, hauling it in and out of my trunk, and spending all of that extra money on gas.
I love that I have everything I need at my fingertips, especially when an idea strikes in the middle of a music therapy session. I also love that I can neatly organize my materials in advance of my students’ arrival, as evidenced in these photos taken before a recent session:
But as anyone who spends time with children knows all too well, neatness isn’t high on their list of priorities. I’m a self-admitted neat freak, but that flies out the window when I’m working with a child. Half the time, I’m creating most of the mess by bringing out different instruments, visual aides, and other items during our session. I was glad I captured the “before” shots on that particular day, because the “after” scene was just too funny not to document:
My favorite part is the opened drawers…I couldn’t have staged it this well! My student and I used every last one of those instruments and items, and ended up running out of time at the end of our session. Otherwise we’d have put everything back in its place while singing this song :) My next student was a few minutes late, which gave me just enough time to tidy up before his piano lesson. Good thing, because I doubt he’d have appreciated this mess as much as I did!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
A Fender Passport 500 Pro, that is, which will hit the road with me for gigs and performances from now on. I was so excited for it to arrive that I immediately took it out of the box and tried it out. My new sound system has completely taken over one of our spare bedrooms, as you can see:
The sound is a little overwhelming in this space, but it’s perfect for the bigger venues in which I perform around Springfield. The Passport is quite an upgrade from my little Ibanez amp (which I actually featured as my first-ever Friday Fave). Here’s my previous set-up:
It looks so very sad in comparison! But there really is no comparing the sound output of the two systems, not to mention the capabilities of each. The Passport has an eight-channel mixer, CD-quality .wav and mp3 file playback, and even a port that lets me record my performances with CD quality (.wav) straight to a USB flash drive. How cool is that? The best part is that the speakers attach to the mixer, which makes it super easy (and surprisingly light!) to transport:
I’ll be posting a few more pics on my Facebook page, so be sure to stop by and check them out. My next gig just happens to be next weekend, and I can’t wait to put my new sound system to use. Speaking of, I’d better go rehearse (in my newly converted rehearsal space). Ciao!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Yesterday’s post about Glee! got me feeling pretty nostalgic about the “good old days” of high school show choir. So nostalgic, in fact, that I went over to my parents’ house and dug out my box of photo albums. I graduated from high school in 2001, the days before digital cameras became the norm, but I did find a few snapshots of my show choir, Seven & Senators, in action. Can you find me in the picture above? (Hint: click the picture to enlarge it.)
We actually called ourselves a “swing” choir rather than a show choir, because we performed mostly jazz songs. In this picture, we’re doing “Moonglow” – that’s me in the back, getting dipped by my sophomore year crush. We never dated, but almost all of my high school boyfriends were musical types. So it surprised lots of people when I went and married a non-musical soccer player :)
My junior year, our choreographer taught us all how to tap dance. And by the end of the year, we were GOOD. At our spring concert, we performed this awesome arrangement of “Bill Bailey” and seriously wowed everyone with our dance skills. That’s why we all look so happy in this picture!
Part of what made being in Seven & Senators so much fun is that I was surrounded by my best friends. We spent a LOT of time together, so over the years we became very close. Two of my fellow sopranos were even bridesmaids in my wedding.
There aren’t many life experiences like being a member of a tight-knit performing group. Of course, we had our share of drama (questionable directors, upperclassmen jealousy when as lowly freshmen, my two friends and I made the group instead of them, arguments over solos and dance partners) but we were quite low-key compared to the hijinks that ensue on Glee. We might not have made for very good television, but we still had a darn good time!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Seriously, how cute is this? Illustrator and graphic designer Naomi Robinson sent me an email last week, asking for my permission to use part of the lyrics from my song “Maraca Rock” in this adorable picture, and of course, I said yes. We’re already talking about more ways in which we can collaborate! To see more of Naomi’s artistic creations, visit her flickr stream.
by Rachel | Uncategorized
I’m not talking about the old song; I’m referring to my wonderful husband of one and a half years! Even though we haven’t been married for very long, we have a very interesting history that goes back to before either of us hit puberty. And in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to tell you our story.
Zach and I started dating as 21-year-olds in 2004 (September 16, to be exact) but we first met at the age of 11. Fifth grade. We became friends, and would hang out in big groups after school and on the weekends. The next year, Zach asked me to be his girlfriend. We were each other’s first kiss, and he even told me he loved me. Needless to say, he was heartbroken when I broke up with him a month later. He still gives me a hard time about that!
Zach and I remained friends through our sophomore year of high school, but at that point, we drifted apart. We still had lots of mutual friends, but he was too much of a party animal for me. After graduation, I didn’t see Zach again until I ran into him the night of my 21st birthday, at a bar of all places. We were inseparable the rest of the summer, but didn’t make it official until the fall.
In 2005, Zach graduated from college and returned to Springfield to start his career. I still had a year of graduate school left, so we only saw each other on the weekends. It was a tough year, to say the least, but we still managed to have a lot of fun.
2006 was another challenging year, because I spent most of it in St. Louis doing my music therapy internship. Luckily, I was able to live with Zach’s sister and brother-in-law, and I went home on the weekends to see him. Zach took me on my first trip to Las Vegas (the picture is of us on the plane…can you tell I’m excited?) and we bought our first house.
In 2007, I finished my internship and finally got to live in Springfield permanently. I got a great job, and soon after that, Zach proposed! He took me completely by surprise, luring me to the Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis on false pretenses and asking me to marry him in a room filled with rose petals, candles, and “our” song playing. When we went down to the lobby for a celebratory drink, we found our entire families waiting to celebrate with us.
On August 8, 2008 (8-8-08…can you guess my lucky number?) Zach and I had the most beautiful, perfect, and fun wedding. After a week in St. Lucia on our honeymoon, we returned to real life as a married couple. Turns out 2008 was the year of weddings, including Zach’s brother’s just a few months after ours.
2009 started off with a bang: we bought a new house! We spent the next few months decorating and nesting, and I moved my private practice from the “road” into my new home studio. In May, we added a new member to our family…our golden retriever, Sadie. Career-wise, we both had amazing years; Zach earned the prestigious title of AAA’s “Agent of the Year” while I successfully raised money to record a professional CD, presented at the AMTA National Conference, and was featured in the media several times.
2010 has only just begun, but so far it has been great! We took an exciting trip to New York City and attended our friends’ gorgeous wedding last month, and we are already looking forward to a few days of sun and fun in San Antonio this April.
Tonight we are going out to dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day…our 6th together, with many more to come! I feel so lucky to have such a supportive, successful, and loving husband, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.
