PERFORMANCES
(Upcoming performances listed first. Read on for recent performances.)

UPCOMING EVENTS

RECENTLY PAST EVENTS

2 February 2008

Igor's Egg threw a CD release party at Castaways.
Four former students in a great fun band with music that tuh'd my nyeh.

IT WAS A HELLUVA PARTY
9 January 2008

Djug Django celebrated their one year anniversary playing a weekly gig at the Lost Dog Lounge with a great evening of music. Neat, too, that it coincided with my birthday so several of my current and former students were present to wish me a happy and sit in with the band. They even let me sing! There I am, right by the ever present Djug, singing "The Joint Is Jumpin'" with the guys.

See that cute guy in the orange shirt back on drums? That's "Babyface" Nate Smith, a former student who came up from Manhattan for the fun. You can catch Nate playing with the house band at Birdland every week. Also there and singing that night, but, alas, I was too far away to get good photos with my tiny digital camera, were former and current students Laurie Rubin, Rob Bloomfield, Donna Brescia, Allyson Eller, Tavis Flanagan, and David Flanagan as well as others who attended but didn't sing.

Jessica Dee, another student who was just a December graduate from Ithaca College, also travelled, with her Mom, from the Hudson Valley to join the fun. She closed the evening with a swinging version of "We'll Meet Again."

The neat thing is Djug Django does this every week at Ithaca's Lost Dog Café in the upstairs Lounge. Come hear Ithaca's most singer-friendly band play jazz standards. Who knows, you, too, might get hooked. And you might even work up to sitting in with the band yourself.
This is Djug Django:
Brian Earle, clarinet, and, occasionally, egg,
Eric Aceto on six string violin (that he made),
Harry Aceto on guitar,
Doug Robinson on guitar and vocals,
Jim Sherpa on one-string bass, and
Dave Davies on guitar, trombone, vocals, and high hat.
and Babyface Nate in the back shaking his stuff. .

Summer 2007

I appeared as the Ghost of Hamlet's Father
in the Red Bull Players' al fresco summer production of HAMLET
I got to make my first entrance from the hill behind the audience,
coming out of the stand of pines that served as mine orchard.
The tree in front of which I am standing above
is the large tree in the middle of the photo below
before the Guy Nearing Summer House at the Cornell Plantations.

29.04.07

A WHOLE LOTTA RUMP SHAKIN'

(I taught Minden the singin', not the rump shakin'.)

Minden Jones returned to Ithaca for a one-night-only gig at Felicia's Atomic Lounge. She makes me so proud! And the sweet thing even asked me to sit in on a song. She rocks. She soothes. She croons. And she has one very talented pelvis.

09.12.06

STUDIO JAM

Molly MacMillan and Doug Robinson joined me and a dozen students in the studio for a jam. With the genius piano and bass duo holding forth, everyone got just a taste of what it is like to sing with a combo and without rehearsal. We did a little improvisation on the prepared tunes and explored different styles and feels for each singer and each singer. After that, there was a whole lot o' eatin' goin' on.

NOT-SO-RECENTLY PAST EVENTS

30.07.06

A WHOLE LOTTA RUMP SHAKIN'

(I taught Minden the singin', not the rump shakin'.)

Minden Jones played her last gig in Ithaca at Felicia's Atomic Lounge before leaving for the Boston area. Her 12.07.06 performance at the Chapter House bowled me over. I worked with her about two years ago on technique and such, and then suggested she take the technical improvements to coaching sessions with Doug Robinson. Minden has blossomed to a seasoned performer in an amazingly short time. I've not enjoyed a performance that much in ages. Every song was stellar and not a bad note in the bunch. I'm proud just to know such an artist, much less to say I might have had something to do with her development!

12.07.06

ON AIR TIME

I got to play the Piano Puzzler with Fred Child and Bruce Adolphe for National Public Radio's Performance Today broadcast on July 12. I got both the tune and the composer's style on the first go (whew). You can catch the archive of the show on the NPR Piano Puzzler page or even listen to the podcast.

29.04.06

STUDIO DAY AT THE STUDIO

Current students ended the semester with a program of jazz, musical theatre, folk-inflected, and classical songs. Go to the Studio Day page to view Program

07.05.05

CENTRAL NEW YORK ASSOCIATION OF MUSIC TEACHERS
2005 HIGH SCHOOL VOCAL COMPETITION
Student Jodi Zhao placed first in the ninth grade category.
You can hear part of her performance on the CNYAMT website.

30 MAY 2005 THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED For years Djug Django, the wonderful Gypsy Swing band made of up Ithaca's best musicians, played every week at Moosewood Restaurant. I would listen and often sit-in with the band on a classic jazz standard. More than any band I've known, these guys were singer friendly and would often allow my students to sit-in and try out new techniques and new songs. Diana Leigh with Djug Django at Moosewood Brian Sforzo with Djug Django at Moosewood Minden Jones with Djug Django at Moosewood But that's all over now. In one of the world's classic bad business decisions, Moosewood decided not to continue its ASCAP and BMI licensing and cancelled all live music - they'll be playing sirius radio in the restaurant now. Can you imagine? Did the really think we went there for the food? Moosewood is famous for cookbooks, but locals know the food there is only mediocre and not really worth the visit. There is no more live music of any kind at Moosewood. Jerry Attardo no longer has a place to play his classical dinner hour. Friday night fiddling is gone. Djug Django is without a home. The music scene in Ithaca has suffered a great loss.

Spring 2005

I participated in a Survey of Voice Teachers looking into the teaching of range and resonance conducted by D'Arcy Smith at York University in Toronto. Some of the responses are pretty interesting and show the differences in thought between singing teachers, drama teachers, and other voice specialists. Hmmm....

Student Gaelyn Walker and I travelled to Syracuse to hear her buddy Josh Groban in concert. They got to visit a bit (but she had to be back to study for finals) and I got to hear his concert. He was giving a really fine performance, but he was not all that healthy. His command of technique and knowledge of how to get a sick voice to give a fine performance was impressive.

20.03.03

CLASSICAL SONGS OF LOVE (requited and un)

The program originally scheduled for Valentine's Day Eve comes along in mid-March. Singers from the studio perform with pianist Jerry Attardo for the Saturday Dinner Hour 6:00 to 9:00 at Moosewood Restaurant. Go to the Studio Day page to view Program.

In the photos above, left to right, are Brianna Fohrman singing an English folk song, Gretchen Poulos and Laurie Rubin doing the Barcarolle duet from the "Tales of Hoffman," and Jonah Johnson singing Tchaikovsky's At the Ball. Below, left to right, are Rob Bloomfield singing Lascia Ch'io Pianga, Martha Armstrong (with Teo) and I singing the Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento duet, and then that's me, singing Torna a Surriento.

31.01.04

DEBUT RECITAL at the Studio for students who began last semester. Go to the Studio Day page to view Program.

19.12.03

Students Martha Armstrong, Johnathan Chittuluru, and Vivien Rose performed with pianist Jerry Attardo for the Classical Happy Hour at Moosewood Restaurant.

07.08.03

Student Laurie Rubin and ethnomusicologuitarist Jorge Torres performed an evening of Brazilian music to a packed house at Moosewood Restaurant. I could not have been prouder.

Student Vivien Rose and her group of summer rangers at the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls performed an afternoon of parlor music which might have been heard in the area during the Women's Rights Convention era as part of the Convention Days Celebration.

Photo courtesy of Women's Rights National Historical Park.

Studio Alumus Doug Robinson and other members of the Johnny Russo Band performed as the opening act for two Vocal Jazz Concerts at Carnegie Hall. Doug sang, but Carnegie Hall's rules preclude showing you those pictures. And yes, he did practice, practice, practice.

Left to right:
Bernie Upson, Doug, Drew Frech, Brian Earle, and Johnny.