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It’s DeLovely!
Cole Porter duet with Matt Ruehlman ? Today’s #WeeklyWednesday is a throwback to last fall’s “Anything Goes” auditions! Thanks so much to my cohort friend and all-around lovely person Matt Ruehlman for singing this duet with me! Matt and I were called back as a pair for Billy and Hope, and despite having only known each other for a few days then, it was so fun (and audition-stress-relieving) to get to sing together! We recorded this a couple week’s ago after completing our first year in #NYU’s MM in Vocal Performance program! I’m so grateful for the fantastic people I get to work with every day! Cole Porter composed “It’s…
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“Tea for Two”
This #WeeklyWednesday is certainly the most special, eventful, and personal one I’ve shared! I hope you enjoy being part of our news! “Tea for Two” was written in 1924 and featured in the Broadway musical “No, No, Nanette,” with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Irving Caesar (though I modified the second verse from his original). My accompaniment is from a player piano! It’s US Roll 42296, originally played by Robert Billings. An especially big thank you to my exceptional #NYU dance instructor, Natalie Wisdom, for her original choreography! We learned this soft shoe for our musical theatre dance course this past semester and I modified it here to…
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Julius Caesar excerpts!
I’ve often recorded duets with myself, so why not a whole scene? ? I wanted to share something from the (very abridged) production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that my #NYU grad acting class performed this past semester (“Teeny Tiny Caesar”) – so for today’s #WeeklyWednesday, I’m bringing you a couple of excerpts! It was a lot of fun to work on this together (and to take a ‘stab’ at a Shakespearean tragedy), especially under the instruction/direction of the very talented and clever Jessica Bashline! If you’re in NYC and looking for coaching, I’d highly recommend her! In our production, I played Decius Brutus, a conspirator who convinces Caesar to come…
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For Good
Duet from “Wicked” with Emily Starnes Charleton! My dear friend Emily is visiting NYC right now and we managed to squeeze in an impromptu duet!! And such a special one to celebrate a decade of friendship! ? Today’s #WeeklyWednesday is “For Good” from Stephen Schwartz’s “Wicked” ☺️ It meant a lot to get to sing with Emily again! She’s a big reason I’m at NYU right now (she’s an alumna of the program)! We were planning to get together today and decided to sing this! I hope you enjoy it, even though we didn’t have time to polish it (we literally ran through it once and then recorded this one…
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Si mes vers avaient des ailes
My first year of grad school at #NYU is done :-0 While I’m ready for a rest, I’m also sad for most of my courses to be over! My voice jury was yesterday (it went well!) and I began it with this piece, which I hope you enjoy hearing! Music is by Reynaldo Hahn, poetry by Victor Hugo, and my accompaniment is from Free Pianist. You can also download my version for free 🙂 One trick with art songs/poetic lyrics is that you don’t have outside context and often the lyrics aren’t the way you would naturally speak – so interpretation can be harder than with something from a book…
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“Like Other Girls”
It’s my last #WeeklyWednesday of the #NYU semester! I hope you enjoy this really sweet song from the musical “Daddy Long Legs,” with music and lyrics by Paul Gordon and book by John Caird, based on the charming 1912 novel by Jean Webster! You can sing along to the accompaniment I used here: https://youtu.be/VB0bWun_Vbk Thanks to MusicalPracticeTracks for the great track! Thank you for watching, and see you next week!#AshleyWagnerArts
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They’ll Know We Are [Human] by our LOVE
“They’ll Know We Are Christians” by Peter Scholtes; arranged, performed, and produced by Ashley Wagner. The initial sound clip is from the documentary “Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison,” recorded in March 1966 by Pete, Toshi, and Daniel Seeger, and Bruce Jackson. The inmates are from the Ellis Unit at a Huntsville, Texas, prison. The political, social, and emotional turbulence I felt during the fall of 2016 is what brought this (highly personal) arrangement into existence. I altered the lyrics (particularly from “Christians” to “Human”) because I wanted to convey a universal message. I appreciate your letting me share some of my experience with you this way. Please know…
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End of NYU semester Vlog
Hey, guys! Getting over a cold ? so in today’s #WeeklyWednesday, I’m just chatting and linking to a previously-shared video that means a lot to me: It was a beautiful spring day in #NYC, so my kitties and I spent a little time out on the fire escape – (I see now why that’s a “thing” ?). My second semester of grad school at NYU is coming to an end ? so I thought I’d share what that’s looking like (realized I left out another paper I have due; accepting tokens of sympathy ?)! Can’t believe my first year is nearly done! Books I mentioned: The Curious Incident of the…
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“The Fear” (Lily Allen cover)
I recorded today’s #WeeklyWednesday a little over a year ago when I needed a pop song for an audition. Finally sharing it (on this stressful/emotional/sore throat kind of day). I think the cultural messaging is important to consider. “The Fear” was released on Lily Allen’s album “It’s Not Me, It’s You” and was written by Allen and Greg Kurstin. My accompaniment is on YouTube and you can also get my version free. Thank you for continuing to support my channel and me as an artist – I hope this finds you well ? #AshleyWagnerArts
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NYC Studio Apartment Tour + Murphy Bed!
Happy #WeeklyWednesday! Today’s video is a tour of my studio apartment in NYC, featuring my Murphy wall bed, which has dramatically improved my quality of life!! I find videos like this interesting, fun, and helpful (especially when looking for tiny living tips, where every inch and item owned matters!); I hope you do, too, and thanks for taking the time to watch mine! Products in the video (none of this is sponsored!): Murphy bed – Expand Furniture MurphySofa Minima in Eco Leather IKEA Kallax bookshelf (complements the lines and finish of the Mimina model and is much less expensive than custom options) IKEA Friheten sleeper sofa: Giantex full-automatic portable washing…
