About Masterclass Lady
Rosanne (Giallonardo) Simunovic began her musical career in Timmins, Ontario. She studied piano with Anne Pizzale and later, at an advanced level, with Soeur Anita Vaugeois (Sister Cecile of Les Soeurs De L’Assomption in Timmins). Her vocal and accompaniment skills were nurtured by her aunt, the late Dorothea Mascioli.
When Rosanne graduated from O’Gorman High School, she moved on to the University of Toronto where she continued her piano and vocal studies while attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She was hired as a piano accompanist for several musical companies, most notably, the National Ballet Of Canada. She presently holds an A.R.C.T. Teacher’s Diploma in Voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Rosanne has studied choral conducting with numerous well known Canadian Conductors, including Wayne Riddell of Montreal, Quebec and the internationally renowned Dr. Elmer Iseler.
She has been a founding member of numerous community-based arts organizations: the Timmins Arts Council, later known as Arts & Culture Timmins, the Timmins Symphony Orchestra, and, the Timmins Youth Singers…as well as the TYS Alumnus choir, the Timmins Concert Singers. In 1987, she was also selected to be the conductor of the Timmins Board Of Education Choir, comprised of talented students from Grades 5 to 8.
In 1988, she was elected to the Board Of Directors of the Ontario Choral Federation (now known as Choirs Ontario), where she served as Chair of the Festivals Committee for six consecutive seasons. In 1996, in honour of the Ontario Choral Federation’s 25th Anniversary, Rosanne was selected as one of 25 recipients of the OCF’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the choral art. The ceremony was presided by Lieutenant Governor, Hal Jackman.
In November 1997, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Rotary Club Of Timmins to receive the prestigious Paul Harris Award for her years of dedication to the artistic development of young musical talent in Timmins.
In August of 2002, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Board Of Directors of Choirs Ontario to serve as Conductor of both the Provincial Junior and Teen Choir Camps, now renamed in honour of the Camp Benefactors, Don and Lillian Wright.
In November 2002, Rosanne was the one of the recipients of the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, honouring her work in the development of the arts in Timmins.
Under Rosanne Simunovic’s direction, the Timmins Youth Singers and the Timmins Concert Singers have been featured in numerous choral festivals and performing opportunities outside of Timmins. In 1985, they were selected to partici
May 27, 2009 
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Stunning, simply stunning. I think the acoustics made the song sound even more ethereal than it has in prior performances.
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You know, MCL, I am glad you agree with me on something. I also believe that this was Adam’s best performance of this song. I liked seeing him perform without a fancy stage, crazy outfit, and immense band. I got to appreciate the sheer, penetrating power of his voice without all of those distractions getting in my way (which I admit sometimes happened on Idol). He did an EXCELLENT job, and I look SO forward to seeing Danny on there tomorrow!
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I love that we have seen three different versions of this song — all very similar, but all appropriate to the time they were sung. It makes me think of how different the studio versions of Adam’s songs are compared to the live versions. Because they are lengthier and do not have the visual performance factor, he approaches them entirely differently.
I imagine this applies to the other Idols as well (in terms of the studio verisons) — just haven’t had the chance to listen to them yet.
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Galen, I agree that Adam’s Mad World performance on Regis and Kelly was absolutely beautiful. As he was singing, I was really appreciating his voice with just the piano accompaniment and without the eerie stage setting. Wonderful!
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This type of exposure will surely add new fans for Adam. This is wonderful news!
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Yes. This sounds really really good.
Did you notice Adam commenting on himself in Larry King Live when he saw his live performance of Mad World where he was kind of shocked to hear that he was singing the wrong notes at the end. He said he was singing the harmony notes above the melody?
…so honest and funny.
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I listened to Kris’ performance on the show, too. It was good. too. Sounds really clear. The studio must have excellent acoustics.
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I could not believe the sound of this performance of “Mad World”. I have it recorded on my dvr in HD and it is positively mindblowing. Just when you think Adam cannot possibly get any better, he delivers an incandescent performance like this and makes you feel that visceral rush of excitement, as though you are hearing it for the very first time.
I can only imagine that many who may be hearing it for the first time are now understanding why there has been so much buzz about Adam. He is introducing himself to new fans, those who don’t watch Idol. This is exhilarating to watch. Go Adam!
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Amazing performance by Adam. I agree that it is his best to date…
I am so looking forward to Adam’s album.
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Here are also links to Kris’s and Danny’s visits to Regis and Kelly:
http://mjsbigblog.com/kris-allen-live-with-regis-and-kelly-video.htm
http://mjsbigblog.com/danny-gokey-live-with-regis-and-kelly-video.htm
Also a great link to an interview with Danny speaking about Adam:
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For your consideration for your Kris article–Kris performing “Heartless” on Jummy Fallon’s show–an excellent rendition of the song; he starts singing around the 7:50 mark :
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Ah, meant Jimmy Fallon. 🙂
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I LOVE Kris’ version of “Heartless” on Jimmy Fallon. His voice is so clear and gorgeous in this rendition, and the big “me” note is absolutely flawless. Seriously, flawless.
I also love the effect of the echo. Apparently, his microphone was still set to speaking levels while he was singing, so the result is that his volume was quite loud, but I happen to like the effect. It feels as though Kris’ voice is filling the whole room. =)
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Now I am a longtime fan of AI and think Adam is a great talent at what he does but I will state that I am not happy that AI has grown form a place where young talent without much if any professional experience was allowed to be nurtured and grow and become someone much more skilled than when they started on the show and we as viewers got to decide who …along with our personal preferances …. best stepped up to the challanges. Adam is the new model that AI for some reason has been pushing the last few years…contestants older with more professional experience…to declining ratings…but really what is someone of Adams skill learning by his time on AI …not much but it is as he said a way for him to showcase himself. Now I am glad that Adam had a chance showcase his talents however this is not what I nor I think the majority of the 20 million or so fans that have been watching AI since the first season tune in for. If all the contestants are at a professional level then it just becomes a ..Star Search…or a America’s Got Talent…. or a variety show. If many on here who can’t believe that someone of Adams skills did not emerge as the winner. This more than anything …the pimping …promoting …blind uncritical praise…his sexuality…the voting prodcedures …would explain why he failed to win. New viewers may be mystified how he could not win …but longtime viewers are not happy with the changes the show has gone thru.
Glad to see the boys making the rounds on the talk shows. Shorn of all the hype and stagecraft you can seen that these guys are fairly evenly matched talents…different yes..but both very talented. The last few years the production level on the show has risen…bigger stage …stairs ..live band most of the year…lighting …special effects..smoke mirrors . I do think that Adams knowledge of the stage helped him greatly on the show to sometimes enhance his performances sometimes so that is covered up some of his less than perfect moments. Most telling example of this is probably his best rememberd performance MAD WORLD…and now my beloved Master Class Lady …I might have to take you to task on this one and say that you may have fallen a bit under Adams charm and gushed a bit too much and let your critcal eye slip …just a tiny bit. While I agree with you on much of what you said about his performance…very skilled..artistry ect.(but your love for a theatrical style you must understand is not universally appreciated on a pop/rock setting ) alot of the power of that performance and many of his performances comes from his stagecraft ..which gives him an advantage …and good for him he has studied well …but your critque was a bit on the gushing side and your critque really wasn’s one …you said that there was nothing to say as perfect as it gets on this show. Well I must say when I was watching it I too was pretty spellbound and glad that for Adam he scaled it back somewhat from being to overtly theatrical and didn’t his trade mark high holler and thought his did a great job …up untill that last note which..was really about as wonky as I have heard this season from any contestant…so when I read your critque days later I thought I must of remembered the performance wrong. So it was interesting to see Adam make fun of that last note and cringe and laugh about it on Larry King. Yes even the best of us can make mistakes and be blined to them.
Now I wish both Kris and Adam the best in thier careers but AI is not strickly a best vocalist most professional winner show…not even a academic one…other wise it would just a song …a piano and the vocalist and if it were just the best techincal singer wins ….well I am sure there are many opera singers who on a techincal and artistic level could blow away anyone who has been on the AI stage but would america embrace them as the American Idol I think not. As Randy Jackson said …the voters never get it wrong …they chose who they chose to be that years American Idol and this year they chose Kris by whatever margin. They both now have the opportunity they have dreamed of .
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Really enjoyed seeing/hearing Kris on Jimmy Fallon. He sounded great. No mix. The guitar wasn’t even miked. Well done, Kris!
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So glad that American Idol brought Adam to us.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/05/30/entertainment/music/zd53ca84f1e94dc6c882575c100676ed0.txt
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Oh my Lynn – just as I was responding to another reader about how I wish we could see or hear Adam as a child, I click on your link and voila -pictures of a young Adam. Check out his round mouth – someone trained him correctly! Now we just have to find some audio and we will be all set!
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Hi masterclasslady,
You might want to check out his two other performances of Mad World post-idol. I love the way he changes up the song in all his renditions. Can’t decide which is my favourite!
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Richard Wrote: “New viewers may be mystified how he could not win …but longtime viewers are not happy with the changes the show has gone thru.”
And This also:
“and now my beloved Master Class Lady …I might have to take you to task on this one and say that you may have fallen a bit under Adams charm and gushed a bit too much and let your critcal eye slip.”
Richard, I have followed American idol off and on since season 3. While I can appreciate that Idol has been a vehicle to discover ‘raw talent’, I can’t say how amazing it has been for me to enjoy and ‘get to know’ Adam Lambert. I feel that the gushing over Adam is about his ‘rare’ talent, not just his stage skills. Add to that he’s a marvelous individual as is Kris and many of the kids. If you have not listened or downloaded Adam’s studio version of Feeling Good, it is a must listen. This amazing vocal has not been talked about enough, the AI performance was so chopped up in comparison. I can’t rave enough and if not for Idol, we wouldn’t have Adam so yes I’m very happy. mho.
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To Richard Lee –
My question to you is, what would you have suggested Adam do – toil in obscurity forever? The producers of Idol obviously felt that Adam qualified under their rules and was allowed to compete. My sense of American Idol is that the show is a vehicle for undiscovered talent. That would include Carly Smithson and Michael Johns, both of whom already had record deals before they came on the show last season. It would also include David Cook, who already had his own band and had already released a cd. Kris Allen has performed with a band for a while now. So where do you draw the line as far as professional versus amateur?
As far as Adam’s so-called advantages due to his training in theater and stage, I can just as easily turn your argument around and make the case that this was a weakness. Adam himself said that he had to retrain himself to perform in front of a nationwide TV audience, as opposed to performing on stage in front of a live audience. In his early audition rounds, the judges mentioned his theatricality and felt he wasn’t connecting. Adam is a smart young man and paid attention to the criticism. The truth is that his theatrical background proved to be a liability in this type of competition. It’s true that he was able to develop good vocal technique, stamina and the ability to conserve his voice while working in the theater. That would be a plus if Idol was truly about singing. Now that contestants can play instruments, sometimes pure vocalists are at a disadvantage. Also, the best pure singer rarely wins on this show. I learned that the hard way watching the likes of Tamyra Grey, Jennifer Hudson, Latoya London and Melinda Doolittle, go down to defeat.
This show is never about the best singer. It’s about a lot of other things, like popularity, likeability, image, religion, and what state a contestant comes on. Most of the Idol winners have come from the south. That can’t mean that only the south has talented singers. But it does mean that there is a geographic advantage if you come from that area of the country.
The simple truth is that Adam was always a dark horse, never the frontrunner or favorite. His appearance, the guyliner, hair and outfits all made him unconventional, an outsider. He still managed to stay true to himself and acquired a large enough fanbase to get to the final two.
Adam deserved his spot on the show this season. He brought excitement and originality. This show gave him the chance to finally get the exposure he needed to break through to stardom. He deserved that chance. The very idea of even implying that he should not have been there merely because he had stage and theater experience, makes absolutely no sense to me. Everyone deserves the chance to realize their hopes and dreams.
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