Two Springs ago I had the idea, while listening to some classic French popular music as I watched my daughter in her gymnastics class, to do a revue of French music. I had never performed songs in public, except as part of the Worship Team at church,and once in a cabaret as part of my acting conservatory program (Circle in the Square). But I have sung privately all my life. I had also been inspired by the example of friends and mentors (hardly older-than-I enough to be that, but still, trailblazers in my eyes) award-winning singers Jean Brassard and Karen Oberlin. I don't think it had ever particularly been a vision to do anything like this. But somehow, the desire to share these songs persisted. I searched for an accompanist, I needed someone who would believe in me, in my project, and I must say I kissed a few frogs in that respect. Until one day, through Craigslist no less (who knew!) I found the delightful Alexandra Frederick, a fellow Brit-American herself, and fan of French Chanson. She believed in me, my idea and my ability to carry this off (with her precious help). Fast forward to Monday Night, December 4th, we debuted "Chanson Populaire" to a sold-out audience at legendary Don't Tell Mama in the Theatre District (we had reserved the smaller room at first but the day of, when reservations kept pouring in, had to move to the larger room). We were given (by our producer Sidney Meyer) the most wonderful technical director, Armando Bravi, (a native of Brazil and fan of French Chanson himself, particularly Francoise Hardy), who calmed our angst and made us look truly smashing. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Having not been on stage for more than a few minutes at a time in over a decade, I had had anxiety and panic attacks galore, the middle of the night kind, the daytime kind, you name it, at the idea of holding the stage for an hour as I presented these songs.
The morning of the show, another amazing thing happened. I got news that my 5th audiobook to be sold on Audible. come (and itunes) "Far Horizons" by Kate Hewitt, this one my first recorded and edited from home (with mastering done by Brandon Bujnowski at If and Only If Productions) has been approved and released just in time (and I write this on St. Nicholas' Feast Day!) for the filling of virtual Christmas stockings. To tell you that recording and producing an 8-hour audiobook (learning and using Reaper.com) from home with much time spent in a tiny closet with a nasty shoulder injury (incurred ice skating last New Year's Day), was both a massive challenge and huge learning curve, is an understatement. "Far Horizons" ( The Emigrant's Trilogy , Part 1) is a historical romance set in the 1800's which tells the story of Scottish migration through two different families (after the terrible Clearances) to Newfoundland. It is absorbing storytelling , appropriate for both the young and the old (would make a fantastic homeschooling resource). And how funny therefore to learn today from my cousin Ciaran, visiting from UK, that our ancestry includes a Scottish sea captain from the Orkney Isles, who ran the route to Newfoundland! Funny how in life things really do come full circle.
You can get "Far Horizons" free with a free 3 month trial from Audible.com (see link below).
https://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Far-Horizons-Audiobook/B077TG9QTS/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1512616195&sr=1-1
