One thing helping me through this season of challenges is the beauty of the music I’m working on. I’m thankful for every note I get to sing. Every poem I get to embody. Every artist I get to collaborate with. Every student I get to witness.
"A simple thing of beauty" mailchi.mp/aaa5f1338dc5...
Of course I have no verification from an MD or NP (because of allllll the reasons) but I do know it's a thing that happens to me every other month now and never used to happen. Like ... all these other unpleasant things that have no apparent medical explanation 😫
This has been an especially hellish and reoccurring feature of my perimenopause experience. I am not a fan.
Yes! So good. And Pixies too! This show had a consistently excellent soundtrack.
Insert every Janet Jackson video here
Reaching out to singers / voice teachers / vocal health people - a dear friend is having polyp surgery next month and would really like to talk to someone else who has been through it. Can anyone help me make a connection? Feel free to direct message me!
post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't nirvana, pearljam, soundgarden or alice in chains
My holiday wish this year is for the time and energy to deep clean my kitchen. That's where I'm at, if anyone was wondering
I just had to replace my 2015 MacBook pro. I knew it was coming but a series of particularly poorly timed crashes forced my hand. I wound up getting a 2025 MacBook Air from Costco and now I have 60 days to see if I like it. Already I'm thrilled with how much lighter it is!
I realized today that my walking pace when I'm covering ground - like moving through not-too-crowded city sidewalks - perfectly matches the tempo of "I Wanna Be Your Lover" by Prince. What pop song best syncs up with your gate?
I designed my December newsletter for anyone who felt overwhelmed by the deluge of emails this week. It's just too much! Anyway, here's a tiny update and a pretty song:
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Perfect album (one of many) that came out when I was 16:
*1992 was an amazing year for music I'm now realizing
I haven't been on here in a minute, just dropping by to share my latest, somewhat melancholy newsletter:
"California Dreaming"
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Question for music engraving folks: When Finale announced their discontinuing around this time last year, what way did most folks decide to go? Dorico? Sibelius? Musescore? (Asking for a MT composer friend who needs to transfer a large piano-vocal score from Finale into a supported platform)
Thank you for listening, Shana! We had a such blast playing together yesterday, and of course we can't help but immediately start planning our next program 😂 The Art Song repertoire is just an embarrassment of riches!
My colleague Hillary Nordwell and I are celebrating 20 years of collaboration this season! Join us today at 3pm PDT for our recital program "Nature, the gentlest mother" streaming here: www.youtube.com/live/cugAooL...
It's my birthday today! If you feel like celebrating with me, give a listen to my favorite thing I've ever made:
youtu.be/a8numSieQ-g?...
Skeet a PERFECT album from the 90's that isn't Nirvana or Pearl Jam
There's this area where dogs can go swimming and they have this adorable "library" of sticks and I literally had tears welling up behind my eyes as I watched their joyful paddling and fetching. It didn't feel appropriate to take pictures of the dogs but there were so many! My glee was overwhelming.
lovely summer view looking across the pond to the opposite shore, with trees and goldenrod in the foreground
I just walked around Fresh Pond in Cambridge while I waited for my car to get fixed and there were so many dogs and I had to restrain myself from outwardly expressing my glee and it was like having a mild panic attack for 45 minutes. So many dogs! I want to pet them all!!!
Hungarian is a super fun language to sing in. I can't believe I've been afraid to try it for all these years! Grateful for performance opportunities that push me out of my comfort zone. #bartok #folksongs
When your calendar reminder says "Crown Fitting in 5 Minutes" your life is about to be way less glamorous than it might seem.
I'm still reverberating from this concert - it was SO GOOD. I basically wept silently through the entire Copland, pulled myself together during intermission, and then silently wept through the Mendelssohn 😭🥰
It was cleansing on a profound level.
#musicheals
#livemusic
#chambermusic
Very excited to take in the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra's "Light & Landscape" in Chatham, MA later today - Mendelssohn Octet and Appalachian Spring for 13 Musicians on the same program, and with my true love playing viola?! Be still my heart!
www.tickettailor.com/events/capec...
I just witnessed my 70 y/o voice student sing her first ever solo recital and she KILLED. A full hour program of art song in three languages, brilliantly and skillfully delivered. What a rush! We've been working together since September 2024. I couldn't be more proud!
It only took 6 days in the Bay Area for our rental car to have a window smashed. Luckily nothing was in it because we know better. Broad daylight, bustling neighborhood. Grr
This Sunday in Berkeley CA I'm moonlighting with quite frankly some of the best musicians on this here planet. SF Bay Area folks, I urge you to come out for this swoon-worthy (and FREE) program of music from the Baroque period!
www.annmosssoprano.com/calendar/202...
When I went back to school for a postgrad degree at 27 the undergrads were agog, exclaiming across the lounge in their big singer voices that I was "soooo old!" and also "not married??" which seemed to mystify them even more than my age.
Milestone Reached:
today was the first day someone replied "they're on your face" when I was freaking out and couldn't find my glasses.
Cooking (when I have ample time for it) is a creative outlet for me. The whole process - from procuring ingredients to prep to clean up (seriously!) puts me in a great headspace. It's similar to the flow state of music practice, particularly when time is open-ended and I'm alone in the kitchen.
