Studio 5: The August Intermezzo is now underway...

Welcome!

The August Intermezzo is now underway, and you're still very welcome to join us.

Week One is exploring Arrival: giving ourselves time to prepare well before we sing. New material is added as the month unfolds, and you'll continue to have access to everything as it develops.

A simple way of staying in touch with your singing through the summer weeks, while also keeping a sense of connection and conversation going through the month.

It’s a space you can dip into as August unfolds, whether you have ten minutes or a little longer. Alongside the weekly focus and video reflections, there will be opportunities to meet up informally online, ask questions, share ideas, and stay connected with singing without it becoming a formal lesson or session.

There’s no pressure to keep up, and no expectation to do everything. It’s simply there, ready when you are.

It’s more like having a place you can return to across the month — something light and familiar that sits alongside whatever else August brings.

The Intermezzo will open over the weekend beforehand, so you can arrive and have a look around, and we begin on Monday, 3rd August. From there, each new week begins on the 10th, 17th and 24th, with a natural rhythm to how the month develops.

New material and informal chats will unfold during the week, but everything remains available for you to return to at any time.

Each week will have a focus. There is a clear place to begin, a short Voice School video to watch and listen to, and a ‘postcard’ to take away — a short written focus from me to you, connected to the work of the week.

It's a movable feast. We'll take it as it comes.

Arrival

3-7 August

Taking more than a moment to notice how you feel physically and mentally before you begin to sing each day.

Trust

10-14 August

Learning to ease off unnecessary effort and begin to trust the voice you have to respond more naturally and freely.

Living

17-21 August

Exploring ways to keep your singing journey connected to everyday life, even during the busyness of Life.

Meaning

24-28 August

Exploring how singing becomes more communicative when attention moves beyond technique alone.

Some weeks may feel more spacious, others may open things up a little more, but the intention remains the same throughout: to give your singing presence and be active in your life. 

I’ll be around once a week for a relaxed online meet-up. Nothing formal, just a space you can drop into to listen, to chat, ask questions, share ideas, and stay in touch with your singing and with other singers through the month.

If you can’t make the live chat, you won’t miss out. You’ll still be able to send questions or thoughts into the group space during the week, and I’ll respond to them as part of the ongoing conversation.

If something catches your attention during the week — a piece of music, a performance, something you’re working on, or even just a thought — you’re very welcome to send a 'postcard' back.

In practice, that simply means sharing it in the group chat: a link, a recording, or a short note. Over time, these postcards begin to form a shared thread across the month, something we can all dip into and enjoy.

The whole idea is that The August Intermezzo sits rather informally.

It’s there to keep momentum and ideas moving inherently, so that when September comes around, you don’t feel as though you’ve stepped away from your singing, but that you’ve stayed intentionally connected to it throughout the summer break.

Studio 5 Intermezzos will return...

The first Studio 5: August Intermezzo has now come to an end.

Running throughout August, it offered a different way of remaining connected to singing during the break between terms: a lighter, reflective space with a weekly focus, ideas to explore and an informal Studio Conversation.

Most importantly, this first Intermezzo has shown that there is real value in having something to keep our singing and thinking ticking over during those periods of the year when our usual routines and regular contact are interrupted.

So the August Intermezzo will not be the last.

Studio 5 will return with The Festive Intermezzo in December, offering another interval between the main events of the academic year, with a new focus and its own character.

Full details, including dates, booking period and closing date, will be announced nearer the time.

Count me in for The August Intermezzo