August-itis

Where did the year go? We're almost 3/4 of the way through...Sydney has become that much colder...complain or don't complain, at least I get to go coat shopping and wear them all without having to think about 4 seasons in one day :)

The last few weeks has been crazy hectic with the National Concerto & Aria Competition in QLD, followed by the 'Rising Stars' Concert Series - Chris and my debut at the City Recital Hall. All I can say is that place has such great acoustics, not to mention a piano which is so devine to play on - Steinway of course...it's one of those pianos which I say anything can sound good on, even Mary Had a Little Lamb!

I've started my Graduate studies @ Sydney Con so that's exciting news for me. Finally onto a music degree...something which I've always wanted. It's just even better now that it is purely performance.

In other news, the Singing & Songwriting Workshop in Sydney was a great success and we are bringing it down to Melbourne on August 15th.

I'm also starting at Screenwise in october as well which I totally can't wait for! I missed Drama in yr 12 due to Music but loved it so much for the time that I did do it. Things have aligned and many people have suggested to pursue that department of on-screen so I can't wait to do that!!!

That's all from me for now. Really looking forward to the rest of the year. There is excitement in everyday...never one the same...never a dull moment.

Hope to see you all soon somewhere around the world :)
love and light,
Always,
Van-Anh (athough Vee-Ay seems to have stuck a fair bit!! haha)
xx

LBD time

Aloha!
Time for a little black dress revamp....I always like to stay away from the black and i'm getting an amazing hot pink Leonardo Salinas dress on Monday but I can't resist the simple black dress...funk it up with colored heels or throw it on with ballet flats, these are some of my fav at the moment:




1. Karla Spectic, from maximillia.





Love the back! Not to mention her heels!

2. Simple, casual or chic, and so sass & bide! Love the frills!!! :)

Signing out for now :) I'm off to QLD next week for comps, then back for concerts in Sydney. The City Recital Hall, Angel Pl debut with Chris Pidcock (cello) is Thursday 30th July, 12 noon so please do pop by.

love and light xx
always,
Vee-Ay :)

Tiger Airways never again!

So I book a tiger flight because it's the cheapest one out by far...I was already hesitant because it is a low-cost carrier but I thought, heck, try it once. it could be alright like Virgin.

In the booking process, you had to purchase your SEAT. yes, $5 for a seat. I thought to myself - now, if i didn't buy a seat, what would happen? stand? obviously that was not an option. Standard seats were $5 and premium seats were $25.

Then of course, there was baggage fees and then creditcard fees. What started out as $98 became $130 but that is beside the point. What came next was TOTALLY UNECESSARY!

I get to check in desk for the 45 before departure check in (rather than 30 minutes like other normal airlines). The queue is quite large, only 3 desks operating...but ok, they are a low cost carrier. Be patient. Get to the counter and my bag is 20kgs.

"That will be $75 for excess baggage - $15/kg." WHAT?!?!?! THey only allowed 15 kgs, or apparently the ticket only paid for 15kgs. So....alas, I walked around, took out my laptop and all my toiletries which ended up equating to 7kgs (HAHAH! hair products, skin products, make up, etc) and i was through.

The girl next to me was 0.3kgs over and she was made to pay $25. When the lady behind the counter said 'no, that's not possible, the bag has already gone through', she chucked the biggest tantrum!! God, this was going to be an interesting flight....

The flight was generally smooth and we arrived early as well, however when we landed, it seemed to land in the middle of the entire airport and we had to get out, walk for like MILES and MILES (ok, maybe that is exaggerating a wee bit) but more like walking for about 5 minutes til we reached this area which honestly looked like a cage - i thought i had walked into a 3rd world country or more like a 3rd world detention centre! The wire fencing around the entire thing with barb wire along the entire top of it... People were everywhere, it was outside and cold and there was a conveyor belt...but nothing on teh conveyor belt. To get out of this cage, there were those revolving doors, of course being outside, it was the gated type, those ones where manually spin your way out and then can't get back in because they bar it.

I had no idea where the bags were...it said baggage pickup was terminal 4 with an arrow to the right and people seemed to be streaming out with not much luggage so I looked left, looked right and decided that terminal 4 was the building to the right...

I got out and turned around and the conveyor belt started moving!!! NO FRICKIN WAY?!?! That was where the luggage was going to be! How was i meant to get back in?

Oh. Em. Gee!

I stood there helpless...what was I going to do? there were no groundsmen who would help me. The people picking up their relatives/friends/family were standing on my side of the fence, speaking through the holes to the people they were picking up! It honestly was like a jail situation. I stood there thinking 'oh, man, i feel like a blonde'. I walked to the fence, asked the lady next to me 'Is that your daughter there?' pointing to the girl on teh other side of the fence. 'Yes?'

'Can I ask a massive favour? I know this sounds really weird but I walked out thinking that luggage claim was in that building rather than here so now my bag is on the conveyor belt...the one with the pink ribbon and pink shoe...could she get it for me?'

The lady laughed and said in her proper English accent 'Is that right? (eyebrows raised)'. Her daughter helped me and I finally got my bag. Of course, she hadn't gotten her bag so she had to push my suitcase through the spinning doors, and on our end, we had to manouevre it to make sure it would come out and she wasn't stuck or the bag.

Dramas Dramas Dramas!!!

NEVER AGAIN will i travel Tiger Airways. Totally not worth the pain, effort...

If anyone else has had a pleasant trip with Tiger, I'd like to know... because it was the worst experience ever!

Singing & Songwriting Workshop

I can't help but mix work with play sometimes so here is a spot of marketing for those who aren't aware already :)

SINGING & SONGWRITING WORKSHOP

SYDNEY EDITION

SATURDAY JULY 18th 2009

Want to write your own songs and be the complete performer?

Want to know what makes a good song structure?

How important is stage presence?

Want good foundations to good techniques?

Led by Gold-record songwriter, and Australian Idol 2008 Finalist - Thanh Bui along with one of Australia’s top concert pianists Van-Anh Nguyen, this exclusive one-day singing and song-writing course will cover aspects vocal techniques, Speech-Level-Singing, improvisation, microphone techniques, stage movement, intention, song-writing structures, chord progressions.

Whether you’re wanting to audition for the next musical or Idol, consolidate on your song-writing skills, preparing for Senior Music @ school or just curious, this is for YOU!Complete with worksheets, writing your own song and a performance at the end of the day, this one off opportunity is not to be missed.

SCHEDULE

9:30-10:00 Registration

10:00-12:00 Session 1: Vocal WorkshopCovering vocal health, speech-level-singing, breathing, foundations to good technique, vocal exercises and improvisation

12:00-12:15 Tea break

12:15-2:00 Session 2: Performance TechniquesCovering microphone techniques, movement, understanding the song you’re singing (intention). Technique + Performance craft = Great performance!

2:00-2:45 Lunch

2:45-3:45 Session 3: Song StructureCovering structure, what makes a good song, analysis of 3 chart-topping songs, chord progressions and improvisation

3:45-4:00 Tea break

4:00-5:30 Session 4: Song-writingHaving foundations from session 3, groups will write their own song followed by a performance. The top 2 groups will enter a song ‘write-off’. Winners will receive special vocal and song-writing sessions.Worksheets are included for all participants.

FEE: $90.00

LOCATION: Held @ Vivo Studios, Sydney

STRICTLY LIMITED TO 15 PARTICIPANTS

Full payments of $90.00 AUD must be received by July 14th to secure a position in the course.

THANH BUI www.thanhbuimusic.com

Thanh Bui, last year’s Australian Idol Top 8 finalist, comes back to Sydney having spent the better part of 3 months in LA writing for his new record, scheduled for release early next year. Writing with Grammy-award winners such as Charlie Midnight (James Brown, Britney Spears), Jim Marr (Hilary Duff, Anthony Callea), Michael Jay (Eminem, Kylie, Celine Dion), Andy Goldmark (Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Paige, Michael Bolton), Thanh’s craft for song-writing is seeing him work with great Australian acts such as Paulini, Dean Geyer.

VAN-ANH NGUYEN www.vananh.com.au

Having performed in Germany, Austria, USA, Taiwan, Vietnam and across Australia, Van-Anh Nguyen is one of Australia’s finest concert pianists. Making history as the youngest of her generation to receive her A.Mus.A (aged 9) and going on to winning several national and international prizes, 2008 saw the release of her first classical solo piano album ‘Mise-en-scene’. Van-Anh is currently working on her second album, taking on an exciting new direction, writing originals and collaborations with DJs and other instrumentalists. Van-Anh is the Ambassador of Heart Reach Australia.

ONLINE REGISTRATION OPEN NOW:

http://www.vivomusicschool.com.au/main/page_singing__songwriting_registration.html

For other details, visit www.vivomusicschool.com.au & www.internationalartistacademy.com or for further enquiries, please contact Van-Anh Nguyen on (02) 8824 4884 or email: vananh@vivomusicschool.com.au

Hope to see you all there xx

on the hunt for the patent bootieee

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! does one get excited when winter comes along and it's all boots and coats...and don't forget the hot chocolates with melted marshmallows :) Anyways, I'm on the hunt for the black patent so here are some of the boots i'm loving:

1. Sergio Rossi - Gisella

It's conservative but killer heel and beautiful leather!

2. Christian Louboutin

Fine fine fine is all that comes to mind. Peep toe, layers and just absolute bliss!

3. Givenchy ankle heels/boots

I love the stitching detail an criss-cross strap. Subtle but oh so fine!

4. Gia Lorenzi

11cm heel (even though it looks WAY higher than that), hidden platform .. sigh.. beautiful!

5. Rupert Sanderson

Fold down, trimming, belt, this boot has it all. 4'5 (11cm) heel. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
So, they are my hot 5 picks. Of course these are all internationals, so if anyone knows Australian designers who have amazing patent ankle boots, let me know :)

As usual, my breakdowns for the blog:

FASHION

On a general fashion front, loving the Australian designers as usual. This week's highlights for me are Trimapee (http://www.trimapee.com/) and Lost Pigeon (www.lostpigeon.com.au) particularly for urban menswear.

MUSIC
Pletnev's performance of Rachmaninoff-Paganini will always inspire me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9Z-HCq5EeU

Lovin' Beyonce's 'Diva' as well :)

Signing out for now :)
xxxx