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
August 10, 2010 
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MCL, I could just picture you jumping up and down with glee and awe when Jackie sang!! She is an absolutely amazing young lady with a voice like an angel. Wouldn’t you love to have her as a student. I couldn’t believe that mature, developed voice came out of that little girl! Whew! Jackie WILL be in the TOP 3!
I was also impressed with Maestro Alexander Bui. Very talented young man. He may get through tomorrow night.
How are you feeling? I was wondering if you could “jump up and down” after I wrote that!
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Oh, I am so disappointed to read in Wikipedia:
Jackie Evancho has performed onstage with producer David Foster[3], was an invited performer on the PBS Special “Celebrate America” with conductor/composer Tim Janis, sang the National Anthem at an event honoring aviation pioneer General Chuck Yeager[4], and has performed many times at the invitation of Pennsylvania Senator Jane Orie[5]. Jackie also performs at numerous events and charity functions in and around her hometown[6].
Jackie Evancho sings in the “classical crossover” style of singers such as Hayley Westenra and Sarah Brightman. She studies singing with a voice coach,[7] and also plays the violin and piano.[1]
On November 1, 2009, Evancho released her debut album called Prelude to a Dream.[8][9] The album features mainly covers of songs such as Martina McBride’s Concrete Angel, Josh Groban’s To Where You Are, and a cover of Amazing Grace among others. Several opera covers also appear on the album.
On December 2, 2010, she is scheduled to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City and will be the youngest female vocal soloist ever to have performed there.[10]
On Aug 10, 2010 she performed on America’s Got Talent performing O Mio Babbino Caro by Giacomo Puccini, which is also on her debut album. She received a standing ovation after her performance, and was awarded a trip to Universal Studios in Florida for being the favorite from YouTube[11].
SHE’S ALREADY A WINNER! Not fair to the other contestants! MJ’s Blog reported this.
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Well, she can do with a million dollars.
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I watched her sing and at some points during her song I wasn’t sure if she was actually singing or if a voice over was being piped in…am I the only one who saw that???
I agree Grammi Kari…but I think a couple of the singers have cd’s out as well, so maybe they will give her a run for the money, just doesn’t seem fair to the acts that really are raw!
I liked Pup last night! That was about my favorite, I wasn’t to impressed with the You-tube thingy!
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Grammie Kari – first of all, thank you for your concern and, yes, I can indeed jump up and down. I am back to brisk 40-minute walks every day and it does feel good. I am seeing my cardiologist on Friday for a follow-up!
I thought Jackie was absolutely amazing but, like you, was extremely disappointed to read her Wikipedia information. Her inclusion in the show just seems so wrong now. She obviously has a manager, an agent, enviable exposure to milliions of fans. That’s why her YouTube videos are so popular!
I know of a young man – a brilliant baritone – who was approached by AGT during the winter to audition. He, as well, has performed all over ther place, including with David Foster.
A friend told me he was signed and I said: “Well, I guess we won’t hear him on AGT and we didn’t. He is already making a name for himself via conventional routes.
So, yes, Jackie’s participation on AGT does seem a tad unfair to the other contestants. I hope Maestro moves forward. I am sure he will, but it didn’t help that Sharon buzzed him. I found that incredibly rude and unbelievable, actually!
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MCL…do you think she was really singing or do you think she could have possibly been Lip Syncing?
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Vonnie – you know? I suspected the same as well. Something about her voice sounded a little suspicious to me. Now that I know she has recorded “O Mio Bambino”, I wonder if they used the recording. Her voice didn’t sound “live”. Check out her video with David Foster – her voice sounds less perfect, beautiful, but more real and natural:
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Okay, they definitely did not use the cd recording, but still, I think there is a slight possibility that it was pre-recorded. I am still on the fence. She si a remarkable find, though.
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Reading through all these comments, I must say that I am disappointed to read about Jackie. I thought she was absolutely brilliant last night (although I also suspected a recording of some sort). But it puts a damper on reading that she is making a name for herself already.
I agree that it was rude of Sharon to buzz Maestro…and I was quite shocked. He was absolutely amazing! I would love for my fingers to fly like that when I play piano! Although he chose to do a classical piece, I am sure he also knows pop songs (as Sharon wanted him to play) and that a mix of both types of music would attract all kinds to see him. I remember seeing Frank Mills live when I was a kid, and was entertained the whole two hours. He put on a remarkable show!
I was so sad to miss the meltdown/laugh by Howie and Sharon! I flipped away from the channel for a few minutes and when I came back, I saw Sharon laughing histerically. I will have to find it on YouTube somewhere too see.
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MCL…I just watched Jackie’s performance again! I also watched Nick Cannon’s reaction to her singing, and at the end when he said, “Wow! Where did that voice come from”…I think he was a whole lot suspicious. Her voice strength and her facial (mouth and throat)strength did not match and the way her mouth formed for some of the words…I dunno, I’m not buying it!!!
I may be wrong…but I think she was not really singing live last night!
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She does however, look like a young Jodi Foster!
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Howie’s Freak-Out! Enjoy!
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MCL, what do you think of this article?
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5676716/did_jackie_evancho_lipsync_her_americas.html
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Louise – I don’t know what to make of it. I think she may have had some help via the sound technicians and that may be why her voice sounded so rich and vibrant. Her technique sort of “came and went” throughout the performance but, generally speaking, the technique is secure.
There is a relaxed projection to her vocal sound. It just sounded too perfect compared to anything I have heard on YouTube but maybe that is because she is truly excellent at her vocal craft. Time will tell.
And she does have a Carnegie Hall performance. Isn’t that going to conflict with the AGT agenda? Or maybe it’s all part of the AGT plan. 🙂
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Louise…Thank you for the article! I am more confused now than ever! I hope this little girl is on the up-and-up, cause if she is, she has an incredilble instrument, but if it’s not, well…nothing I can do about it, but it would be a shame.
I can’t listen to her via you-tube, cause I have dial-up! So I can’t compare the you-tube -vs- last night!
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She is very talented. Beautiful voice, I hope she doesn’t ruin it.
Again, why do people call someone who cannot sing in live operas (maybe yet) “an opera singer”. No 10 year old however talented is an opera singer. Do people no longer understand the difference between singing an aria (and in this case it was transposed and a few notes were omitted) WITH A MICROPHONE is very different from singing in 2-4 hour opera in a 3800 seat theater over 60 piece orchestra WITHOUT MICROPHONES and at a highest standards of perfection and artistry required by classical music? I don’t know if Jackie would become opera singer or if it’s even something she wants to pursue. But she sure isn’t one now.
“It just sounded too perfect compared to anything I have heard on YouTube”
Check out Ekaterina Shelehova. She is 15 now, I think, but there are videos of her going all the way to 5. .
This is her at 11, I couldn’t find 10:
And this is how Beverly Sills (for those who don’t know, she was a world famous coloratura soprano) sounded when she was 8:
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Wow, I’ve no idea, how I managed to post an actual video, I was going to post links only for all of these videos….
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MCL…I am curious to see what you thought of the results show tonight when Jackie was asked to sing live…to me, it didn’t sound any where close to last night.
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That’s strange – I posted last night that I thought Jackie was singing WITH a taped version of her voice. Many artists do that, especially at concerts. Thank you for expressing an opinion I have. I can not listen to YouTube either! Darn.
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Congratulations, Kitty!
Vonnie, I am confused. I watched SYTYCD, so I didn’t know about this. Did the show admit she wasn’t singing live last night?
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kitty – Thank you for those links; they provide very useful reference points! =) What I particularly enjoy is how Ekaterina Shelehova and Beverly Sills both have the lighter tone color of youth in their timbre. Ekaterina certainly has more clarity in her voice than Jackie, and Beverly is adorable!
I agree that Jackie has a lovely voice, but the shaking in her jaw is very worrisome! Did anyone else notice? I saw her jaw quivering all over the place, and in conjunction with her overly darkened timbre (and her sometimes subtly unstable vibrato), it’s very consistent with the symptoms of an overly depressed larynx and tongue. (See the following articles: http://www.voiceteacher.com/tongue.html | http://www.voiceteacher.com/heavy_repertoire.html)
A girl her age really needs to be careful with her voice. She’s young, and her vocal folds are resilient, I’m sure, but I really wouldn’t want her to incur vocal damage because of using too much breath pressure. (Unfortunately, this is all too common. Too many opera singers have damaged their voices and/or shortened their careers in pushing their voices too much.) At this age, especially, I think it’s potentially dangerous for a child to try to sound more mature than she is because that desire for a bigger sound may come at an expense.
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I apologize; WordPress accidentally included the closing parenthesis ) in the second link. The correct link is here: http://www.voiceteacher.com/heavy_repertoire.html
😉
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Hi J…!
Grammi Kari,
Last night, Howie said that people were asking if she was really singing, so he asked her to sing a couple of notes live so that everyone would know that it was really her…but when she sang, I didn’t think it sounded anything like her the night before.
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J – I saw the quivering as well. She does loosen her mouth and jaw for the sustained upper notes at the end, but, generally, the quivering worried me during the other sections of the song. Why do people push these children? She shouldn’t be singing Puccini at her age – she needs to focus on composers from the baroque era like Mozart and Rossini.
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David Sperry Paraody – America’s Got Talent
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Dan Sperry Parody – America’s Got Talent
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So which is it? is she too talented and proffesional to be on the show or is she a total fraud? Is she ruining her voice or is she just not good?
I also love how singing a couple of notes is compared to a 90 second performance…..this girl is doing carnagie hall in 3 months. How many lyp synchers do Carnagie hall?
There are many singing experts not employed by nbc who have said she was NOT lyp synching, and also that if you notice her breathing into the mic. Oh, and she went HIGH note at the end when its supposed to be a low note……..
she was not faking no matter how much the haters will have you believe it.
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i also find it convienent none of you can watch her youtube videos but didnt mention you couldnt watch sperry’s
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Hi Scott,
I can’t watch anyone on you-tube…wish I could!
As far as Jackie is concerned, I don’t know if she was lip Synching or not…it just could have been the way the mics were set up, as to what I was hearing or lack there of…I have read at different places where some are saying the mics seem to be delayed on AGT…so that could be why she looked as if she wasn’t singing. She is an adorable little girl…I wish her the very best in her career on AGT, and beyond!
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hi vonnie, thanks for your response!
what i found intresting was the nbc representive who categorically said the lip synch claim was false, also said that during rehearsals the crew thought she was lip synching until they realized it was her real voice. I think her style of the way she sings, and possibly because of her youth she has to use her voice diffrentley so the sounds dont match the movements.
I will admit when i first saw her performance i thought it had to be faked…..but that wasnt because i saw or heard anything out of place. It was because i didnt think anyone that young could possibly sing like that. But instead of dismissing it as bogus (as a lot of people have without digging any deeper) i did my research and rewatched the performance both on youtube and when nbc re-ran the entire show monday night. Imo it is totally authentic. Maybe, as has been questioned, she is possibly ruining her voice in later years. I dont know.
But i think she is a 100 percent authentic. I also think that despite her obvious experience and exposure that she is gonna win AGT easily……the rest of the show has nothing on her.
Btw if anyone does watch youtube, there are maybe 5 to 10 videos of her performance that night. one is so badly dubbed that it appears that she howie piers and sharon are lyp syching too 😉
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Hi Scott,
You could very well be right about Jackie winning the whole thing, especially if she becomes America’s Sweetheart!
I really like Michael Grimm and hope that he does well in the competition also! I think there are alot of talented people, which should make the show alot of fun to watch…this is actually my first year of watching AGT!
I also had read that the mics for the show were not always the best and that at times it does appear that the person is talking behind the mic sounds (not sure that makes sense, sorry! But hopefully you get what I am trying to say, LOL).
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Hi vonnie.
I know my first post was kinda angry so i appreciate you responding again and again. 🙂
first would like to say i think jackie sounds diffrent then on the earlier version of this song both because she’s a bit older and has a new singing coach. i also dont think she would risk a budding career to become the new ‘milli vanilli’ by lyp synching one of the biggest performances of her life. she had performed the national antheminfront of 40,000 people at a pirates home game, so i dont think nerves were an issue either.
also i kinda dont agree that she is already well known or famous. yes she has had some recognition, yes she will be playing carnagie hall in december. But the ‘album’ she released was done by finacial backing from her family and friends. It was not even a decent seller until it sky rocketed after her AGT Performance. If anything, AGT Has launched her career rather then already enhance it imo. I also did some you tube research that showed her video ‘hits’ were about 20,000 on average per video before her AGT performance last week. Now they have reached into the millions (the whole unedited clip featuring jackies introudction and the judges reactions is already over 4 million alone.
i do think, despite the criticisims and slander against her (and her family in some circles) that she is america’s sweetheart. the voters overwhelmingly voted her into the semi-finals from the looks of it.
She does have some stiff competition. the one i find intresting vonnie? because of the way they seperated the contestants in the semi-finals, we could very well see prince poppycock and jackie go head to head in the finals 🙂
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Hi Scott,
No problem!!! I can get very emotionally involved with the contestants on these shows too! So please think nothing of it, and it’s great having you posting! 🙂
I don’t get to hung up on the competitors past as far as albums go…Michael Grimm has also put out a CD I think, I think this and the Idol platform is a great way for struggling artists to get the boost that they need! It does sound like Jackie is well on her way to becoming a very popular little girl…I think she looks like a young Jodi Foster, she is absoulutly adorable!
I like Prince Poppycock, I think he is a very talented singer…I do think the show is very savvy with the way they are splitting the contestants.
How many contestants will go through next week, will it be four again, or how do they do that?
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Vonnie i dont know. it seems talent changes the format every year……it could be the final 8 or maybe the final 10? i dont know. i checked it out on wikipedia.com and they think it will be the same format as the quarters, so the top 3 each week and a judges decision.
speaking of judges decisions……..they have made some really questionable ones this year. the vegas audtions were a disaster………ronith? seriously? and then they picked the guy that ended up dancing in his diaper. disgraceful!
then they sent the really talented belly dancers packing. and why werent they picked for the wildcard show? and sharon……….ARGHHHHHHHHHH. i know piers gets pegged as a hot headed snob……..but he is fair and usually gives acts a chance whatever they are…….sharon will buzz you or disregard you just because ‘i dont like that kind of thing.’ i hate her.
take the kid ball room dancers for one…….there act in the quarter finals, howie hated them as usual, pierce said they were great and should go thru to the next round and sharon said ‘i agree with piers’. then when they did the results show the kids were in the 4/5th spot that is determined by the judges. and sharon totally screwed them over and voted them off. totally not keeping up with her word!
More evidence these judges are on drugs?
The youtube act shows………the judges selected 11 of the acts.
You tube voters voted for the 12th.
Jackie was selected by the youtube voters. yup……….imagine? Imagine what an utter disaster that show would have been if the judges had that way and jackie hadnt been on it :(. Seriously? a dog that cant play the accordian and a moron who juggles pizza? but they didnt pick jackie? 😦
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oh here’s 2 more things.
AGT had a chance to ‘discover’ jackie before she had ANY recognition the last 2 years but did not pass her thru the original audtion stating that she should ‘come back when she’s singing more appropriate songs’. the irony is you could debate the song she sang on august 10th was ‘age appropriate? its about a girl pleading with her father to marry her lover and thratning to kill herself.
i guess jackie’s talent finally outweighed there prejudices.
This may also be the reason they didnt select her from the youtube videos they saw.
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Scott -interesting information about Jackie. Thank you! She is a true vocal prodigy.
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Hey Scott,
Yeah…I’m not real crazy about the judges buzzing the contestants either! But I guess this was AGT’s attempt to separate this three judge panel from the many other three judge panel reality shows!
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thanks masterclass lady 🙂
vonnie and it was totally unprofessional when howie buzzed harmonica pierre BEFORE he even performed…….just to get back at piers. why are these 3 judges acting like boobs? its almsot as if they think america tunes in to watch THEM not the acts
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Scott,
I agree…When they buzz a contestant you can just see that person’s shoulder’s sage, it really is an awful gimmick to have for a talent show!
But I guess the people who go there to try-out understand that this can very well happen to them…and yes! I love Howie, but that was rude and I do think he felt really bad after he buzzed the harmonica man, he kept on apologizing!!!
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i understand that piers is the simon cowell of america’s got talent and he is harsh……..but sharon is a twit. why did she buzz the maestro? ‘i found it boring’. really, but she didnt buzz the stupid dog who messed up?
like i said earlier they had a chance to find jackie 2 years ago and blew it cause of a prejudice that had nothing to do with her talent. now that her talent has surpassed any ‘song choice’ problems they had they are all falling over themselves to compliment her. piers even thinks she’s the odds on favorite to win. and yet they didnt even pick her to be on the youtube show.
how many other acts have they and david hasselfhoff (the judge that howie replaced) have they screwed over over the years?
im sure jackie isnt the only one.
ironically one of jackies youtube videos from july 2009 has the description reading ’10 year old opera singer overlooked by america’s got talent’ lol
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oh and one of those years, 2008 or 2009, i dont remember which, but there was a 5 year old girl singing cutsey little songs with a very childish voice that made it all the way to the final 5……jackie far outclassed her then, even with barely a few months of singing lessons.
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