In Remembrance Of Andy Williams

Andy Williams was one of my first "famous" students and it was an absolute delight to work with him both because he was such a lovely, laid-back "rascal" with a hilarious sense of humor, and also because of his remarkable "instrument," which was so much fun to teach. High notes were always easy for him (and the envy of many of his contemporaries); he was more concerned with building power into his overall voice and especially developing a "richer" tonal quality. We proceeded along that path and we both were very satisfied with the result.

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Technology And Beauty

Virtually every area of modern life is dominated by technology, and its omnipresence has invaded modern consciousness itself to the extent that we typically think, reflect, choose, will, intend, and even emote through the prism of technology. Technology, in fact, has become a veritable worldview.

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The Castrati: The First Great Opera Singers

In any field of endeavor there are pivotal moments when exceptionally gifted people arise who shed new light in places where ignorance and darkness had reigned before. To the inestimable good fortune of singing culture, extraordinarily gifted individuals—one could easily say geniuses—came to the fore who created the “art of singing” and took it to such heights as has never been surpassed. The legendary vocal gifts of singers like Farinelli, Caffarelli, Senesino, and Pachiarotti, as well as the teaching masters Caccini, Porpora, Tosi, and Mancini are but a few who were responsible for this lush flowering of vocal opulence. The country was Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries.

What was remarkable about the old masters of voice teaching was their ability to develop vocal concepts and techniques that consistently produced singers with exceptional ability. It is important to know, however, that these masters were helped to a considerable degree by the fact that their students were the astounding castrati, the first great opera singers.

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Freedom And What Is

Human freedom is located, and flourishes, in the precise point in philosophical space where the questioning attitude and what is meet.  Without this direct, head-on contact with what is, one remains forever trapped in a pure, psychological universe, in which nothing exists but the contents of one's mind—in philosophy, this doctrine is called "solipsism." A solipsistic universe can never allow for freedom, because freedom requires that an individual be aware of that which threatens to constrain it, and this can only be what is.

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Sinatra Up Close And Personal

As fate would have it, I went on a nation-wide tour with Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine in 1992. Up to that point, I had never heard Sinatra sing live. Of course, it was rumored that Frank could not sing artistically any more, but the truth was that his voice was deteriorating. Frank was 78 at the time, and many of fans came to hear him not because they expected outstanding singing, but to pay homage to the great man whom they feared would soon retire or die. Many wanted to boast that they had attended one of the last concerts of Sinatra's long and illustrious career.

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