On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 11:05:59 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:


On Wed, 22 Jan 2014 13:00:07 -0500, "F.O.A.D." wrote:


I'll be watching the singing of the National Anthem at this year's
stupor bow.

Renee Fleming will do the honors.


Finally, someone who really can sing.



Sorry, but I can't handle opera, especially sopranos. Like fingernails
on a chalkboard. I appreciate her talent but nothing I'd voluntarily or
pay to listen to.

I have arranged a Valentine's Day Concert event at the Performance Venue
associated with the guitar shop and have booked a really nice swing jazz
group led by Amanda Carr who I met a while back at the shop.
We're going to have tables, appropriate center pieces for Valentine's
Day and allow BYOB for wine and beer.

Amanda is an accomplished musician and singer. She has performed
several times with the Boston Pops and with leading Big Bands across the
country and parts of Europe. Big Band and jazz swing are her specialties.

She also has done the National Anthem several times at Fenway Park.
Here's one performance early in her singing career. The second link is
an example of one of her CD recordings:

National Anthem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpUWSED0Tc0

CD recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Q-jb3OlCo


Hopefully Fleming won't be an embarrassment, like these folks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YMc87XQ4gM

Not too wild about Amanda, either, but I'll chalk it up to nerves. She got much better as she got
into the song. Glad she didn't try to jump the octave on the 'free'.