First Voice Lessons

This week, we hear from High School Voice Studio soprano, Susannah Bayliss, about her first voice lesson in the Studio.

"I think the first voice lesson you take with any new person is rather scary. You don't know quite what to expect, or if they will even like you. First impressions always seem so critical. As I meandered through the halls of St. Peter's church for my first voice lesson with Karen Reeves, lost and trying desperately to find an open door and the choir room simultaneously, Ms. Reeves came upon me in the sanctuary. Her open and easy demeanor immediately put me at ease, and thus started my first voice lesson with the HGO High School Voice Studio. Every singer has their own issues that they must work with, and one of mine is not breathing low enough- similar to how people breathe when they sleep. Ms. Reeves had me lie down on the floor while she pressed her hands against my stomach, and I tried to visualize filling my stomach with air.

"Soon the summer ended, and after I became better acquainted with Ms. Reeves she placed me with one of the High School Voice Studio's teachers and HGO Studio alum, Alicia Gianni. Lessons with Ms. Gianni are held at HGO, so we work in a much larger room. In our first lesson she tried to make me fill the room with sound, helping me get over my insecurities about being the loudest singer in the room (which can often be the case).

"When I think of the High School Voice Studio I think mostly of responsibility. We have a responsibility to the music and to ourselves to do the best we possibly can. This opportunity is too great for us not to be responsible with it. I think this year will be rewarding to all of us involved."