Vocal Arts

Elizabeth Zharoff: The Charismatic Voice

Elizabeth Zharoff is an internationally acclaimed and world renowned opera singer, music producer, AI voice for self-driving cars, YouTuber and proud mother to a beautiful boy.  She has degrees in music and voice from Oberlin Conservatory, Berklee College of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, has sung in over 18 languages across Europe, Asia, and North America, and produced music for over 20 video game titles.  On YouTube, she has amassed over 1.3 million followers analyzing voice across multiple genres, with over 240 million views and 30 million watch hours, focusing on vocal technique, performance and music composition.

Elizabeth and I had a wonderful conversation about her musical training, career as an opera singer, transition in YouTube and all the success that followed, vocal technique, and much more. Please welcome Elizabeth Zharoff.

Analysis Essentials Series: Dimash | ”Stranger”

The episode that launched Peter's career as a musical analyst on YouTube, and the most popular video on his channel until being surpassed this year by Diana Ankudinova's performance of "Can't Help Falling In Love." Dimash's performance of "Stranger" solidly planted his flag as one of the world's great vocalists, and this episode was Peter's first exposure to Dimash, having gotten hundreds (if not thousands) of requests to analyze his voice. Please enjoy this deep vocal analysis of Dimash Kudaibergen's live performance of "Stranger."

MALINDA: Find Your Niche

Malinda is a NY/DC based singer, songwriter and actor with a mission to make community through her art. Her debut EP, Love Letter, and her subsequent singles draw influence from folk, pop, and jazz. With the advent of her own music, Malinda is quickly becoming known for her strong sense of vocal storyline, balancing her pure (to quote her fans) “angelic” tone with a more powerful raw belt.

She began her career as a professional actor in regional theatre, including originating the role of Ella in Ella Enchanted: the Musical and winning a Helen Hayes award for her portrayal of Girl in the DC regional premiere of ONCE.  Her original work is a creative exploration of what it is to be a young person in our world today. Dubbed a “social media luminary” by the Washington Post, her YouTube content ranges from little conversations, to quirky tunes, to fully produced original music videos.

Malinda’s two Celtic EPs, The Folks I Love and Sea to Sky, both hit #1 on the iTunes World Music Charts.  Her debut original album and accompanying visual album, “It’s All True” debut in Cinemark movie theaters across America and she is now headed out on a full US tour.

Peter and Malinda had a wonderful conversation about how to find your niche in music, establishing a unique brand, her life, career, passions outside of music, as well as MALINDA's daily and weekly routines to stay sharp, happy, and productive. Please welcome Malinda Katherine Reese.

Glenn Miller: The Bass King

Glenn Miller is well-known throughout the United States for his unique basso-profundo voice, specializing in Russian liturgical choral repertoire, which began with singing and recording the Rachmaninoff Vespers in 1989 as a member of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers. To date he has performed this work well over 100 times across the country and has made five recordings of the work.

He has performed and recorded regularly with Conspirare (Austin) and was the featured soloist on this ensemble’s recording which was awarded a Grammy in 2014 for best choral recording, “The Sacred Spirit of Russia,” performing Chesnokov’s “Do not cast me off in my old age,” a choral concerto for basso profundo. It is thought that Miller’s recording was the first of the original ending of the work, which requires the singer to sustain a low G1 (the lowest G on the piano).

Glenn is widely respected and regarded as not only one of the greatest basso profundo singers of today, but of all time. He inspires young bass singers and musicians around the world, and believes at all moments of practice and performance that serving the music is the ultimate goal. Peter and Glenn discuss his career, approach to vocal technique, what makes his voice so rare, favorite performances, repertoire, what Glenn hopes to accomplish as he moves forward in his career, and much more. Please welcome Glenn Miller.

Analysis Essentials Series: Diana Ankudinova | ”Can’t Help Falling In Love”

The 2nd addition to the Analysis Essentials Series, please enjoy my full vocal analysis of Diana Ankudinova's live performance of "Can't Help Falling In Love," originally by Elvis Presley. This audio comes from my most popular YouTube video to-date, recently surpassing 500,000 views -- if you'd like to watch the video, follow the link below. Enjoy!

 

https://youtu.be/-A-wAOR4XOQ

 

Geoff Castellucci: Flavors of Bass

Geoff Castellucci is a Bass Singer, Producer, Arranger and Co-Founding Member of VoicePlay. He studied music at the University of Central Florida, but most of his stage experience comes from the school of hard knocks. Geoff performed live shows for many years before starting his YouTube channel in 2019. Aside from his work, he enjoys cooking, gardening and spending time with his family. 

 

Peter and Geoff dive deep into Geoff's career as a member (and major contributor) of VoicePlay, his solo work, approach to vocal technique, upcoming projects, hobbies outside of music, and much more. Please welcome Geoff Castellucci. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/@GeoffCastellucci

https://www.youtube.com/@Thevoiceplay

https://www.instagram.com/geophr3y/

Jennifer Glatzhofer: A Jen of All Trades

Jennifer Glatzhofer has been performing on stages all over the UK from a young age. Her first love being Musical Theatre, she then continued training professionally and has been working in the industry since. Finding her own sound has always been a goal for Jennifer and whilst being a lead singer and pianist for a highly demanding functions band, ‘Joyrider Wedding & Function Band’, she has been able to focus on just that. Whilst learning more about her own voice and how the voice works, she then began teaching voice/singing lessons and now has students all over the world. This includes one to one teaching and even through her reactions and analysis videos on YouTube.

During the pandemic, Jennifer’s channel grew as she began to post reaction & analysis videos of artists, focusing on and demonstrating vocal technique, artistic choices and arrangements. On her journey towards 100k subscribers, Jennifer continues to share informative and entertaining videos whilst also sharing her love of music by posting covers. At the end of 2022 she released a covers album called “Layers” which features musical partner Ian Iredale. The album can be found on all major streaming platforms. The two have more recently released their first original single ‘I’m Not A Fan’. You can be sure to expect more original material coming in the future. 

Peter and Jennifer chat about her history as a musical theater performer, experience as a wedding singer, being a voice teacher, approach to vocal technique, upcoming solo projects, finding a healthy work/life balance, takeout food preferences, and much more. Please welcome Jennifer Glatzhofer.

Analysis Essentials Series: The Commendatore Scene from Mozart’s Don Giovanni

Peter Barber's full vocal analysis of one of the greatest scenes in opera, the Commendatore scene from Mozart's iconic opera, Don Giovanni. Peter recently had the immense honor of performing the title role of Don Giovanni at The Academy of Vocal Arts, which inspired him to share the audio of this analysis on designated podcast platforms. The sharing of this audio has thus created a new series (the "Analysis Essentials Series") within the larger podcast umbrella, where Peter will choose his favorite musical and vocal analyses to share in between interview episodes. Please enjoy this extensive breakdown of one of the most famous moments in opera history.

Lauren Paley: The Stairwell Siren

Lauren Paley, otherwise known as “The Stairwell Siren”, is a music and lifestyle content creator best known for her haunting covers she records in her garage stairwell. When her husband’s job went remote as a result of the pandemic, recording music in a one-bedroom apartment became a challenge. It was during this time that Lauren stumbled upon the incredible acoustics of the stairwell - now her recording studio away from home. Since dedicating her time to growing her social media presence, she has amassed a total of over 12 million followers across all platforms. When she isn’t posting covers, she is sharing glimpses of her personal life as a new mom with her fan base. 

Tim Foust: A Life of Bass

Tim Foust is a sardonic, yet sensitive, singer-songwriter who doesn’t take himself too seriously.

As an established performer with all-vocal country band, Home Free, Tim is known mostly for a bass voice that reaches notes deep enough to shake arenas. Now, as he begins to release new recordings as a solo artist, the world will be introduced to a master craftsman who can build a wall of sound using the unequaled range of his voice alone. An accomplished songwriter, Tim has achieved recognition for his compositions on Home Free’s Billboard Chart-topping albums, “Timeless,” “Dive Bar Saints” and So Long Dixie.” With an unmistakably authentic writing voice, Tim uses his clever wit to tell stories inspired by both fact and fiction. He enjoys being a wordsmith as much as a musician, and each piece is an opportunity for him to pen lyrics that stir emotion as well as entertain with originality and, at times, humor. Onstage, Tim is known equally for his voice and his personality. Like a big brother, he shows affection to his audience through jokes and teasing, and he’s built a community of fans who travel from far and wide just to be in the same room with him. Tim is a true musician’s musician, which is why he feels at-home in Nashville. Born and raised in the small town of Nederland, Texas, he went on to live in Los Angeles, Boston, Minneapolis, and At-Sea as a guest entertainer aboard cruise ships, before joining Home Free in 2010. In 2013, the group found international success after competing on, and winning, the NBC series “The Sing-Off”. Tim finally found a home in Tennessee in 2014, which is where he also met his wife and frequent musical cohort, Jenika Marion. Collaborating with friends is a huge part of what makes Tim happy and one of the ways he prefers to spend his time. He has been featured on releases by Peter Hollens, VoicePlay, Straight No Chaser, The Hound + The Fox and more. This year, he plans to use new platforms to share the stage and screen with his talented cohorts via stage and backyard shows, destination experiences, livestreamed events, exclusive recordings and more. He recently formed the supergroup, Sweet + Low Music Co., with some off his favorite vocalists, writers and multi-instrumentalists. Tim has two solo albums - “The Best That I Could Do,” a collection of country originals, and “Pieces of Me, Vol. 1,” and all-Tim, all a cappella Doo-Wop project.