CABARET ON SUNSET JULY 7, 2024

Hello fellow Book Dragons and music lovers! I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. In the middle of rehearsals and working, I unfortunately came down with a severe pinched nerve that’s affecting everything I do. It’s very painful to sit at a computer and type. However, I did post earlier about my recent harp recital and upcoming cabaret in a video on my channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9VABcIGfv0. In honor of the July 4th weekend, our Cabaret on Sunset is a Tribute to American Composers at the famous Catalina Jazz Club. I’ll be singing some group pieces, including a duet with one of our Artistic directors, Charlie Kim. Come and support this amazing company of singers this Sunday July 7, 2024 @ 7:30am. Go directly to https://www.sfvmc.com/ for tickets and additional info on dinner and our Program https://www.sfvmc.com/cabaret-on-sunset-program-2024. Getting tickets early guarantees you a table reservation. Tickets may still be available for the VIP seats in the first row (that is if you don’t mind loud music from our band.) Any questions, write to Julie at execdirector@sfvmc.com.

The Next Loreena McKennitt?

Hello fellow Book Dragons. For those of you just tuning in (literally) I began harp lessons last year after almost 40years. I’ve loved the harp since I was toddler, and I bought a harp on Amazon back in 2017. (This was after I secured a teaching position and an apartment near my school in Victorville, CA at the time. I was promised a $400 Amazon gift card with Frontier (the apartment only used their company) as part of this ultimate package; they did nothing but screw up my account several times, and I spent almost a year screaming my head off and crying on the phone demanding to talk to a manager, what I wanted, what the original price was, and what they owed me in the end. Long story, and too much aggravation for me to indulge in.) On a brighter note, the first harp arrived, and I didn’t see anything wrong at first. I was too elated to finally have this instrument in front of me. That’s when I looked over and saw that the harmonic curve was split in half. (See Pic Below). So, I had to report it to the seller, repackage it, wait for them to pick it up, and they sent me a replacement. The second harp is the one I currently have. There were no harp teachers anywhere in the area except downhill in Pasadena almost an hour away.

Cut to 2023, when I was determined to find a harp teacher after much needed music therapy and the harp lay dormant for almost 6 years, and EUREKA!!! Enter Stephanie Bennett, a local harp teacher. To my surprise, the harp is harder to play than it looks, and with mine, I had to compromise with what I had and was able to play. The harp is a Roosebeck Heather Harp (Lever, not pedal) with 22 strings, C3-C6 range, which makes it 3 octaves. The first song I wanted to learn to play was “Why” from (Tick, Tick, Boom), but I also wanted to sing it simultaneously. (Loreena McKennitt is the only harp songstress I know, and I love her music so much.) Solution: Ms Bennett rewrote the piano score to be one half-step higher since most harps are tuned to Eb, and therefore G and D sharps/flats (included in the original score) can’t be tuned to that key. We tuned it to D major, and then switched it to E major mid-song by pushing 3 levers up.

I auditioned with the song “Why” twice: once last year for our Cabaret in the Valley performance (they chose first song “Nobody’s Side” (Chess)), and once again for this Cabaret on Sunset (Upcoming on JULY 7, 2024- Tickets are available now!) The song was too long, and I’ve yet to practice performing a duet with our Artistic Director Charlie Kim. However, I decided to give it my all, and perform this song for the Harp Recital with Harp Society LA (the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Harp Association). I edited a video together using both recordings both my recital piece in my library room setting, and my parents recorded my Stage performance (using my real name, as I use the same for the choir).

I posted it on YouTube- now here’s the weird thing. I got a ‘copyright claim’ for the first recording, but not the second. So, I went in to dispute it as fair use, and since there’s no combination of cover-recital piece type, I chose “Cover Song”, but I explained in detail that it was not to monetize the channel, no copyright infringement intended, and it was just me showcasing my recital piece. To make sure I was going about this legitimately, I emailed the copyright office and to Universal Music Publishing Group to explain in detail what the video was about, and to ask if there were any steps I needed to take so I wouldn’t get docked or get a copyright strike. I made a second video to upload just in case, omitting my first recording. The Link to the current YouTube video is here: https://youtu.be/qgQXQoD0-8s. I just posted the shorter one with the stage recording only: https://youtu.be/VFowZmcukpw. I believe I found my niche to be a harp-songstress.

2 Upcoming Performances

Hello my fellow Book Dragons. I want to give a shout out to my new subscribers, and I’ll be sharing the drawings with you as promised. At this time, I also wanted to inform you all that I created a video promo for my two upcoming performances, which you can view here. https://youtu.be/g9VABcIGfv0?si=IkFiz35PHkLiCYnA

As new beginner harpist, my harp teacher informed me of the Spring Student Recital on June 8th 2024 at the First Baptist Church, Pasadena, CA @ 1pm. https://www.harpsocietyla.org/calendar/icalrepeat.detail/2024/06/08/186/-/student-recital-2024

I loved the film version of Tick, Tick, Boom, and Andrew Garfield blew everyone away with his outstanding performance as Jonathan Larson. I had no idea that the late composer created 2 musicals before Rent, and Tick, Tick, Boom was his biographical account of his failed attempts to bring his first musical to life. During that time, Larson was watching his closest friends succumb to the AIDS epidemic. The song “Why” is a ballad, but its also a song of hope (I cry as I write this) of how life should be valued as time is precious. I decided to take up the harp this last year, and spent a few months learning how to play the song (I’m still technically plucking it, with some intermediate level), and so I’m singing and playing my heather harp as accompaniment. (I will be doing a future of why the harp is my favorite instrument.)

I also auditioned with this song the year before, and auditioned again with the harp and vocals for this upcoming Cabaret On Sunset: A Tribute to American Composers with our San Fernando Valley Master Chorale. I was hoping to perform a duet with one of the members and guest artists who I went to high school with as secondary choice. At the last moment, I saw a YouTube clip of two members from the acapella group Pentatonix, Scott & Kristy, perform a duet mash-up of Go the Distance and Defying Gravity that blew me away. Such Powerhouses those two alone! I suggested it to our music director Charlie Kim, and I was waiting for feedback. I was surprised to see that it was selected and not “Why” since I didn’t get a chance to audition with Charlie prior to the program setup. Who knows! Right now, it’s not on the shows program, but who knows! It might if something changes. Our choir show is at the Catalina Bar & Grill Jazz Club, a famous venue in Hollywood, CA at @7:30pm on July 7, 2024. If you’re able to come, the dress code is Hollywood Glam Cocktail, dinner is at 6pm, and there are VIP tickets for the first 30 front row seats. Other Important details follow in the link provided. https://www.sfvmc.com/

Butterflies Abound + Update

My latest video of my latest junk journal creation was posted on YouTube yesterday. You can view it here. https://youtu.be/YkBFEJu5m1o?si=5jqwcPImSmtgAhfP Please click like, subscribe, comment and share for more videos. I’m hoping to gain more subscribers to help grow my channel.

My review of Audible’s Premiere of 1984 https://youtu.be/wsbpYocmpYc?si=qph3KYbSCDFlhCzN has reached up to 118 views so far, and I’d love to have more people view it. You may share it on social media platforms, but I’m still adamant: do not share it on Facebook. Later in the video, I explain what happened, not too much in detail, but to the person I’ve been trying to reach out to. I got scammed twice, without having the proper direction at the time, and nearly a few more times in believing the person I was messaging, and was trying to determine from other sources for clarification. It’s been now over a year and a half since I first reached out, and there’s been no resolution.

Dreamscapes- Upcoming Choir Performance

While I continue to read and practice the harp, I’m also a member of the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale. Our next performance is coming up this weekend. If you’re local and in the valley, come out and watch and support us as we take you on a ‘musical journey to the stars.’ Video link is here, and posted online. https://youtu.be/uwihZHlOX_g Enjoy.

Oops…Video Premier Error

Hello Book Dragons, if you’ve seen the latest change to the original “BookWorm” Blog. It’s now the BookDragon Blog. Also, I didn’t realize the YouTube premier had been set for tomorrow (5/5) at 11am. I made the immediate change to the premier from the last post, and it will premier today at 11:30am. Not the ideal time, but I’m trying to keep up.

LA Festival of Books 2024

I recently uploaded a video about my trip with one of my girlfriends to the Los Angeles Festival of Books on April 20, 2024. Besides my book haul, I managed to attend two lectures: the Fabulous RuPaul and Contemporary Gothic Fiction Author Panel, which included Alix Harrow. You can view the video here when it makes it’s premier today at 11AM, and take notes. https://youtu.be/EpiAT-l9y3s.

However, due to recent events that have escalated across the campuses, it’s apparent that the future of this campus playing host to this public event is now in question. I decided to wait, and will record a separate video, which will be both an informative piece and a call to action. Stay tuned for updates.

Updates & Audible Original 1984- My Review

You can watch the video here, but I’m ADAMANT: Do Not Share this post or video on any other social media! I prefer to keep this video off those platforms. See Details below: https://youtu.be/wsbpYocmpYc

Hello everyone. It’s been a while since I wrote. I’ve had some personal issues that have really affected me as of the year before, and haven’t been resolved. It was a traumatic experience that I didn’t intend to happen, and that’s why I decided to seek help. Between televisits (no, not BetterHelp) and physical therapy for my chronic condition, it’s kept me busy. As of late, I now have two part-time positions that are taking up the majority of my time during the week, which is why I’ve had little time for reading, and having to postpone videos for the weekends. I’m trying my best to complete an online writing course, working on my stories, and reaching out to other avid readers and authors to hopefully get my podcast up and running again. When one door closes, another one opens. ‘. I’m trying my best to complete an online writing course, working on my stories, and reaching out to other avid readers and authors to hopefully get my podcast up and running again. When one door closes, another one opens.

That’s what happened as of late. One author was kind enough to reach out to me earlier in January, and had the publicists send me the arc of this recent publication. I was in the middle of reading and was hoping to hear back as this author was abroad and seemed to agree to be interviewed. Suddenly, I was told this author was completely booked throughout the year. I wrote them and the author back to let reiterate what was stated, and I hope to finish the book and be able to interview this author once there’s an availability. Out of the blue (literally), I heard back from another author of many months ago in silence, and we’re looking into a future interview in late July. (fingers crossed). Hearing back from this author in particular made my evening last night. Her first story is one of the best stories next toe Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”.

On April 4, 2024, the Audible Original of 1984 premiered. This audio drama- I can’t express how incredibly AWESOME this was to listen. I’m not a fan of audio book recordings, but this novel was “dramatized” by Joe Wight, and had the best performers as the main characters- my favorite actor, Andrew Garfield as Winston Smith, (the use of “exaggerrated breath” is his specialty to add emotional trauma); Cynthia Erivo as Julia (like the character “Trinity (The Matrix) she’s very direct and precise); Andrew Scott as O’Brien (like the late actor, Cyril Richard as “Hook”, sinister voice choreography on his part); Tom Hardy as “Big Brother” (Commanding Dictatorial Voice); I was just introduced to this actor-comedian, Romesh Raganathan as Parsons (character appears to be positive, but like Winston, very unsure of his position. Like Carol Burnett in “Friendly Fire”, I didn’t see this coming. A comedian has just as much power to make people laugh, and even more powerful to make people cry.) The music was cowritten by Matt Bellamy and Ilan Eshkeri- this reminds of music by Hans Zimmer- very apocalyptic, epic themed techno-orchestrations that build-up to cliff hangers.

I read this story to my former students, and so after listening to the audio drama, I decided to make a video combining both of them together. I introduce the viewer with a performance “hook” based on a rhyme the character Winston Smith recalled, and sings in this version. Then I go into the story, including how certain story elements relate to other sci-fi stories, like “The Hunger Games” and “Fahrenheit 451”. I then tell a little of my own history growing on the audio read-along stories, and the power of voice actors behind the microphone, both for audio and animated films. I then go briefly over radio drama history before discussing my review of the Audible Original premiere, detailing each actor’s unique theatrical power to their character, and a brief stint on the power of propaganda, a universal tool for empowering division amongst people. As I state in the video, “they pulled out all the stops” and this was “a stellar performance”. I give this 5 stars.

The last part I posted was the hardest for me. I just hope the right person reaches out as I got scammed twice, which caused me emotional trauma.

Messiah 101- An Educational Choir Concert

Come join me as I sing with my local choir, the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale, to Handel’s Messiah. Our artistic director decided to take an educational and interactive approach with this concert, and we’ve been singing high notes that will reach to the heavens. Here’s my latest promo https://youtu.be/w7HmPlMa8kY and you can also view the choir’s promo here at https://youtu.be/8rqShZYjbaM?si=2AUpDLGELaLADRlv. Tickets available at http://www.sfvmc.com