Tenor Sensation's Solo
I was planning to leave early to avoid driving over the pass in the dark again, but it looks like I might be staying because…
O. M. G.
Tenor Sensation was SENSATIONAL!!!
His solo was even better than his duet. He looked very, very, nervous this time. He was clenching and unclenching his fists. His face was bright red-it looked like he was blushing, but it didn’t fade. And his breathing was shallow and fast. He kept trying to take deep breaths (and everybody around him was trying to breathe for him), but it didn’t seem to help. They were a little ahead of schedule (how’s that for a surprise!), so he had to wait about four minutes before he got to sing, which didn’t help the nervous thing any.
My heart just sank. It didn’t seem like there was any possible way he would be able to sing. For those of you who don't sing...if you’re nervous, your diaphragm tightens. And the diaphragm has to be flexible, like a drum skin, to produce a solid sound. Imagine a drum with a metal top. It's not the same sound. Also, if you’re nervous enough, the diaphragm can start spasming, which leads you either to have the hiccups or to giggle uncontrollably (sometime I’ll tell you about the girl’s quartet I was in that tried to sing “Chopsticks”).
The accompanist started, and he had a long introduction. And the whole time, Tenor Sensation was visibly nervous. But when he opened his mouth, like a switch being thrown, all sense of nervousness disappeared like it had never been there. His sound was controlled and supported and beautiful. His dynamic range ran the continuum from pianissimo to fortissimo. And…this is the most amazing part. He emoted!!! He sang with passion and fervor, and I believe he moved everybody in the room. One of the room helpers was a friend of his (graduated from our high school last year), and he said the other helper in the room, who “doesn’t even like vocals," was visibly moved. He also said it was the finest performance he’d heard all day. Tenor Sensation turned a performance, into an experience, for all of us.
Usually when he sings, he's a little stiff. He was classically trained, as a young boy, and they were encouraged not to sway with the music or do anything with their face. And that's been a hard lesson for him to learn. Plus, he's a pretty low-key guy anyway. If my emotional range is 1-10, his is probably more like 1-3 or 1-4. He's just…placid. I said afterward to his teacher, "He sang with emotion! Where did you find it in him?" The teacher laughed and said, "We had to dig pretty deep."
Me? I was blinking for the whole first song, trying to both clear my eyes so I could see him and keep tears from falling down my cheeks. But on the second song, I gave up and just silently wept. OK, I looked like a foolish Mom, but how…tell me, how could I not?
I am SOOO proud of him. Like I told him, even if he doesn’t even place, to give a performance like that IS to win.
Plus...he's a junior. He's got another year to try!
Edit: he did not place. I didn't get to hear any of the three boys who did place (nor did anyone in our group), so I don't know if they were slightly better, head-and-shoulders better, or simply had a different sound the judges liked better. Tenor Sensation has a light, lyrical tone, and some judges prefer a bigger sound with lots of vibrato. But he scored "All Ones," which is as high a score as you can get. And his comments were fabulous! One of the judges said his voice was like "sweet butter."* Another said his performance was "profound." I've never seen comments like that!
Of course, I never got anywhere near this far either. I sang at the Regional S&E Festivals and earned "All Ones," but I was never close to even placing at Regional, much less State.
Anyway, I could not be more proud of him if he were wearing a medal on a blue ribbon. My son made music Saturday.
*Hey! I could call him Sweet Butter! Get it put on a T-shirt for him!
O. M. G.
Tenor Sensation was SENSATIONAL!!!
His solo was even better than his duet. He looked very, very, nervous this time. He was clenching and unclenching his fists. His face was bright red-it looked like he was blushing, but it didn’t fade. And his breathing was shallow and fast. He kept trying to take deep breaths (and everybody around him was trying to breathe for him), but it didn’t seem to help. They were a little ahead of schedule (how’s that for a surprise!), so he had to wait about four minutes before he got to sing, which didn’t help the nervous thing any.
My heart just sank. It didn’t seem like there was any possible way he would be able to sing. For those of you who don't sing...if you’re nervous, your diaphragm tightens. And the diaphragm has to be flexible, like a drum skin, to produce a solid sound. Imagine a drum with a metal top. It's not the same sound. Also, if you’re nervous enough, the diaphragm can start spasming, which leads you either to have the hiccups or to giggle uncontrollably (sometime I’ll tell you about the girl’s quartet I was in that tried to sing “Chopsticks”).
The accompanist started, and he had a long introduction. And the whole time, Tenor Sensation was visibly nervous. But when he opened his mouth, like a switch being thrown, all sense of nervousness disappeared like it had never been there. His sound was controlled and supported and beautiful. His dynamic range ran the continuum from pianissimo to fortissimo. And…this is the most amazing part. He emoted!!! He sang with passion and fervor, and I believe he moved everybody in the room. One of the room helpers was a friend of his (graduated from our high school last year), and he said the other helper in the room, who “doesn’t even like vocals," was visibly moved. He also said it was the finest performance he’d heard all day. Tenor Sensation turned a performance, into an experience, for all of us.
Usually when he sings, he's a little stiff. He was classically trained, as a young boy, and they were encouraged not to sway with the music or do anything with their face. And that's been a hard lesson for him to learn. Plus, he's a pretty low-key guy anyway. If my emotional range is 1-10, his is probably more like 1-3 or 1-4. He's just…placid. I said afterward to his teacher, "He sang with emotion! Where did you find it in him?" The teacher laughed and said, "We had to dig pretty deep."
Me? I was blinking for the whole first song, trying to both clear my eyes so I could see him and keep tears from falling down my cheeks. But on the second song, I gave up and just silently wept. OK, I looked like a foolish Mom, but how…tell me, how could I not?
I am SOOO proud of him. Like I told him, even if he doesn’t even place, to give a performance like that IS to win.
Plus...he's a junior. He's got another year to try!
Edit: he did not place. I didn't get to hear any of the three boys who did place (nor did anyone in our group), so I don't know if they were slightly better, head-and-shoulders better, or simply had a different sound the judges liked better. Tenor Sensation has a light, lyrical tone, and some judges prefer a bigger sound with lots of vibrato. But he scored "All Ones," which is as high a score as you can get. And his comments were fabulous! One of the judges said his voice was like "sweet butter."* Another said his performance was "profound." I've never seen comments like that!
Of course, I never got anywhere near this far either. I sang at the Regional S&E Festivals and earned "All Ones," but I was never close to even placing at Regional, much less State.
Anyway, I could not be more proud of him if he were wearing a medal on a blue ribbon. My son made music Saturday.
*Hey! I could call him Sweet Butter! Get it put on a T-shirt for him!