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
September 8, 2008 
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Well that was incredibly boring! I enjoyed Theo’s first song, but we could have trouble. I actually preferred Mitch’s winner’s song, and that’s the most important.
I really missed Drew Wright this week. He would have smoked these 2, no doubt about it. Drew keeps in interesting (I do recognize his weaknesses, but he would sound best on the radio with his pure clear voice).
At least we can see Drew and Amberly (another one whose sound I love) on Wednesday!
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Another show to look forward to? (rolls eyes). And did you hear the latest? Th Canadian Idol winner won’t be releasing a CD until the Spring 2009. Translation: no CD will be released.
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It was disappointing beyond words MCL. Such a boring show and there is no way those winners’ songs will sell. Just awful.
I heard about the CD. I hope we get another season of CI even though this year was a trainwreck.
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Oh my what a mess. However, no one can take away from the fact that Theo’s outstanding vocals saved this Top 2 show. But, still – come on! Stop with the hype already Ben and company. This season was really a huge disappointment. Huge!
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I don’t think it was a boring show. I think Mitch’s #2 (the one that would be released if he wins) was his worst of the set. I thought tonight’s performances showed pretty clearly that Mitch is what I would describe as a mediocre singer. He does have some unique tonal qualities, but unlike Jake Gold’s comment, you can TOTALLY tell who is a better singer. Theo has talent and control over his voice. The tonal quality of his notes is there. Mitch has certain vocal habits where he rolls every note off, and whether he’s singing loudly or softly, it sounds kind of the same. And he doesn’t seem to consciously use vibrato or try and sustain a note with richness. And the judges went so far as to commend him SPECIFICALLY for such “flaws”.
I think Theo’s performances weren’t perfect, but they did show that he is by far the best singer and performer and artist of this entire season.
I hope he wins 😛 I’m starting to feel like Will Farrell’s character in Zoolander, where he yells out, “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!” How does someone like Mitch, who isn’t awful (but isn’t outstanding, either), make it through to the Top 2 with the judges’ critical acclaim? How does Canada reward singers like Earl over singers like Amberly Thiessen? Doesn’t the average person appreciate good vs. mediocre/bad singing? What’s the point of being a good singer if people can’t tell? I’m losing faith… 😛
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I strongly disagree with you Idolina. I think if Drew deserved to be in the Top 2, by far, but, he’s not. I also wouldn’t go as far as to call him a better singer than Theo. I think part of the problem with Drew, and I said it last week, he can’t “sell” a song to an audience because he never “owns” them, he “acts” them. But, this isn’t about Drew tonite, this is about Mitch and Theo.
Tonight, in my opinion, definitely showed the dimension of each performer. Theo, the singer/artist, Mitch, the charmer/personality. I found the vocals by Mitch very poor, all over the board, and with a very little sense of control. With his first song, “Paris”, Mitch gave a relatively honest performance, although,it still came across lacking and insincere, at least to me. There are times to smile and make googly eyes at the camera, and there’s a time just to sing. Mitch hasn’t figured that out yet. Theo did a beautiful rendition of ‘Good Mother’, one that I’m sure did Jann Arden proud, and part of the Tams magic is that he literally ‘feels’ what he’s singing. Besides Amberly, Tetiana, Sebastian and Oliver this year, he’s been the only one able to sell that.
The signature song for Mitch, “Where We Begin”, I felt, had no ‘catch’ to it. Nothing to remember it by. I felt the crescendo of the song was way too big for his voice, and unless they used some amazing synthesizers in the studio, he can’t pull this one off. I completely agree with Jake on that note. The song lacked “punch” and feel, and definitely is not Top 30 bound. The signature song for Theo, although not his best by far, far exceeded the song by Mitch. “Sing” has a quality in it’s chorus that has “catch” and subtlety, and I believe, Theo’s voice in the studio is probably outstanding. He could carry this song. I don’t know if it would qualify as a “hit”, but, it would come off a lot better than “Where We Begin”.
The third choice, “If” – a beautiful and timeless classic, and, in my opinion, somewhat destroyed by Mitch. Again, the smiley/googly eyes, singing a song about utter despair, heartbreak and longing. Sometimes he comes off as a munchkin on helium, and it just doesn’t work for me, whatsoever. I really went in tonite, wanting to like Mitch, or at least “understand” Mitch, and again, I’m left confused. Theo doing “I Want To Know What Love Is”, first off, by the judges choosing this song, it proves the amazing potential they see in Theo’s voice. Lou Gramm is an amazing singer, easily identifiable, and his vocal range is outstanding. Power, the man has power. Theo proved that tonite as well. That one note (Rosanna probably knows what note better than I) that he hit and sustained, almost effortlessly, was amazing, and the way he carries his voice through the melody is just simply beautiful. Again, Theo didn’t disappoint those of us that have come to admire him.
This probably wasn’t the best finale show in the history of ‘Canadian Idol’, but I do believe that Theo did a super job. I also wish it had been Drew up there with him (or Amberly/Oliver), but, wasn’t to be.
I appreciated the judges tonite and their great tact and diplomacy, and not playing into favoritism. I do think that Jake was misunderstood somewhat at the end by the audience. He was simply stating that Theo and Mitch are so very different, it’s hard to judge either based on “talent”. He was being diplomatic. He basically said, it’s about how you vote and who you like best, which is truly what it’s all about. Diplomacy, tact and fairness. What a judge should be. Something Simon Cowell could take a lesson on. The judges worked tonite to promote the best in both performers, outlining to the audience what each performer was about, and have left the rest to the Canadian voting public.
I have voted over 700 times tonite. I hope it pays off. I pray that I will be hearing “Sing” on the radio, Thursday morning, at 2AM Pacific. I’ll wait up for it.
Love you Rosanne, thank you for letting me be a part of your world in here.
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Sadly, I strayed away from Canadian Idol this year – I was extremely thrilled as the season grew nearer and nearer, and then as they got down to the Top 10 and so on, I just became bored. The show this season did not do justice for me – hopefully they find a way to improve for next season.
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“Good Mother” was stunning. Gosh, I don’t know what it is about Theo; he just never bores me. He’s amazing. There are artists I LOVE that still bore me from time to time, but Theo always has my attention. It must be his phrasing, sense of pacing, and his musicality. His inflection is always so perfect for communicating the text, and he keeps the forward momentum going. He’s such a natural talent. I also envy his skill with arranging songs on the piano and playing them live. As a singer and pianist myself, I admit that I am absolutely terrible at doing both at the same time because I’m so intense: I have a hard time focusing on both at the same time.
I was excited about the judge’s choice of “I Want to Know What Love Is” because Anthony Callea performed a great rendition of the song on Australian Idol. Considering that Theo had, literally, a minute less to perform the song, it was great. Farley was a bit circular in his comment, but I agree that although the arrangement itself wasn’t the best—being a very canned version of the song—Theo’s voice transcended it and made it work.
And I didn’t watch Mitch’s performances at all. I just watched the recap. I’m American, so I watch the performances online anyway. I’ve never felt compelled to watch his performances.
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Teriyakifan, I have to agree with you all on your points. “Good Mother” was just beautiful. It was my favorite of the 3 songs Theo performed on Top 2 night. There’s something about the way he delivers a song that captivated me. Theo almost gets lost in the song…he becomes the song. I feel what he is singing and he always makes me cry when he sings these types of songs. I just cannot imagine what it must be like to watch and hear Theo perform live.
I have to admit, that as a song I didn’t like ‘Sing’. Although, Theo did a brilliant job with it and the more I listen to it the more I do like it. It’s got a catchy, infectous quality about it.
I, also, loved “I Want to Know What Love Is”. I enjoyed the arrangement even though some the judges did not. The way he revamped that songs shows what a tremendous musician Theo really is.
And, Chad, I loved reading your review. You’re one dedicated guy to have voted over 700 times. 😀
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Hi everyone!
I have been incredibly busy, so no time to post after the finale. I must say that I am glad that Theo won over Mitch, who somehow never saw the bottom 3.
It’s great that we can come on here and respectfully disagree Chad85. You may not know it, but MCL and I supported Theo throughout the season, along with Amberly and Drew. It’s just that the season, for me, was a bit of a bust, and I kinda gave up on it. As a result, I started looking beyond the season and at what the remaining singers could do in the recording studio. Although I agree that Theo earned the title, I also think that Drew’s clear pure sound would be better than his in the recording studio. MCL and I did acknowledge Drew’s weaknesses….MCL even said that he needs mentoring in song selection (and I agree), but if you put Theo and Drew in the studio, I suspect Drew’s recordings would be better. It’s that natural talent that is quite amazing…he can hold notes like nobody’s business and his sound is clear and pure! I listened to some of his stuff at his hometown concert and was quite impressed.
Soon we’ll have AI and I can’t wait! Should be good times!
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