And So We Begin A New Year.

January 7, 2011 by Masterclass Lady 15 Comments


Rosanne Simunovic AKA Masterclass Lady

Rosanne Simunovic AKA Masterclass Lady

Happy New Year everyone! And I would like to thank you for your patience and support during my self-imposed hiatus from MasterclassLady.Com.

Your dedication to the MCL site has been deeply appreciated and I tremendously value your generous and educational feedback. I am feeling much better and thank all of you for your prayers and concern. I hope that the New Year brings health, prosperity and happiness to each and every one of you.

I have been watching the successful journey of so many of my favorite artists, including Michael Buble, David Archuleta, The Canadian Tenors, David Cook, Jason Castro, Jaydee Bixby, Katharine McPhee and Adam Lambert. I do plan to devote more time to these artists in future blog topics but, for now, I would like to give them a standing “0” for their enormous success during 2010.

I am also anticipating the premiere of Season 10 of American Idol, scheduled for Wednesday, January 19th. I plan to walk into this year’s show with my eyes wide open and give the new format of judges an opportunity to carve their niche during the course of the season. I am hoping and praying that the vocal talent is exceptional, mirroring the enormous success of Season 7.

So, I look forward to your comments. Rest assured that, over the course of the next few weeks, I will be making some new changes to this site and adding new blog topics for your reading enjoyment.

Adam Lambert, David Archuleta, David Cook, Jaydee Bixby, Katharine McPhee, Masterclass Lady, Michael Buble, Music, The Canadian Tenors

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
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15 Responses to “And So We Begin A New Year.”

  1. Heidijoy January 7, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    Welcome back Masterclasslady! Nothing like Season 7. Hope you are aware that David Archuleta was invited to sing with the Morman Tabernacle Choir this holiday season as the featured singer. I was fortunate to be able to attend and it was a Once in a lifetime experience. Lots of You tubes floating around but the official DVD and CD will be available in September @ their website Morman Tabernacle Choir.com David also release another Pop album in Oct. The Other Side of Down. His fans love it but due to poor promotion,it hasn’t sold well yet. David has had a great year with a book release also. Hope you have read it by now. He will be on Skate for the Heart benifit Ice Skating show Jan.16 NBC. Joanie Rochelle will be skating. He sang for one of her performances this year to “My Kind of Perfect” It was beautiful.

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  2. Gene W January 7, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    Happy New Year to you Rosanne. I’m glad to hear you in good spirits. Hopefully your recovery is complete and you are better than ever. (?)

    I too am looking forward to the new season of American Idol with a “wait and see” attitude. I would like to think that they will down play banter between the judges and Ryan, the sexual innuendo, hyped back stories, and the silly auditions and concentrate on the young talent with thoughtful, useful and consistent judging. However, given the circumstances of this season, I expect to see even more emphasis on the judges. Who knows? I hope the show will be better than ever so I will “wait and see.”

    Thank you for allowing a few of us to camp out in the back yard of your blog and talk about Dancing with the Stars during it’s eleventh season. We tried to behave ourselves for the most part.

    I hope that you and all of your posters have continued good health and prosperity in the coming year.

    Gene

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  3. Sev January 7, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    It’s so good to see you posting again and it’s great to hear you’re feeling better. We look forward to more insightful reviews of our old favorites and new ones in 2011. Take care of yourself!

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  4. Grammie Kari January 7, 2011 at 11:25 pm

    It is so good to see you back MCL and to hear that you are feeling better! I look forward to your in debt reporting and living discussion amongst the participants!

    I have previously said that I am not pleased with several of the changes being made on the show. I see the music being more current, possibly Hip Hop or Rap. I think Nigel will NOT be pleasing some of Idol’s older audience. Lowering the age was a mistake, but I believe they have a certain young lady in mind who happens to be 15 years old. I think the judging panel will work it out.

    The main goal is to present the best talent available. Let them focus on the contestants and singing. I am not looking forward to any exaggerated drama or intense back stories being repeated over and over again. Season 10 can survive without Simon if they have outstanding talent.

    HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OLD FRIENDS AND NEW ONES JOINING US!

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  5. Grammie Kari January 7, 2011 at 11:32 pm

    EDIT: I look forward to your in depth reporting and lively discussions amongst the participants!

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  6. joelhss January 8, 2011 at 12:04 am

    I have really missed your wonderful critiques! Your site was always the first place I looked for reviews on idol and on performances by my favorite artist. I am thankful that you are feeling better and will be entertaining us with your posts soon.

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  7. Julia January 8, 2011 at 9:43 am

    Welcome Back! I look forward to your marvelous critiques and those from the other participants to this intelligent site.

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  8. Masterclass Lady January 8, 2011 at 11:16 am

    Hello again everyone and Happy New Year to you.

    I have missed the blogging experience but needed to focus on priorities around here – my health and my family.

    I am grateful and tickled pink that many of you still found the time to come back here and add your lively commentary during my absence. This is YOUR site as well, so the doors are always wide open for discussion.

    So, let’s get the ball rolling: KariAnn – where did you read the news about this 15-year-old singer being the focus of this season’s American Idol. I have to know.! I must! Also, re the Hip Hop/ Rap theory, I always wondered why this was never a focus on AI, since it is such a huge genre in the music industry? Not that I care – i could do without it, but, if I had to choose between the two, Hip-Hop is the winner here.

    Bottom line -are we ever going to see and hear pure singers without the gimmicks, smoke and mirrors etc.? Michael Buble seems to be doing very well in this regard. There is a market for these singers.

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  9. pikepss January 8, 2011 at 6:26 pm

    Welcome Back to Where You Belong!

    Looking forward to your views on the changes withing American Idol!

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  10. Vonnie January 11, 2011 at 2:23 pm

    Yippeeeee! I am so glad to see this site up and running! MCL, so glad to hear that you are feeling better.

    I am so ready for a new season of idol…will miss Simon, but, am looking forward to Randy, Steven, and JLO.

    Let the games begin!

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  11. Sue January 12, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    MCL – Glad to see that you’re recuperating well and will be back for another season of AI.

    I’m glad to see that you’ve listed Adam as one of our favorites. I had the great pleasure of attending his last two concerts of the year in Los Angeles. One of the unexpected treats was this:

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  12. Sue January 13, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    I thought that maybe I would add some of my thoughts about Adam’s performance of “A Change is Gonna Come” at the Music Box in Hollywood on December 15th. I was on the ground floor, and I was surrounded by fans who had traveled across the state and across the country to attend this concert. I knew many of them personally. We all knew how Adam had performed this same song on this same stage exactly six years earlier, and how he had struggled to make it into the entertainment industry as an openly gay musician with all of the doors closed to him. Around me were fans who had also experienced similar feelings of alienation because of sexuality and race. The remarks that he made opening this song really resonated with the audience. They contain some profanity, but they were real and honest. The performance itself was incredibly moving, and many of us were in tears.

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  13. Vonnie January 13, 2011 at 2:14 pm

    Hi Sue…

    Wish that I could see the vid you posted~~Dial-Up~~!!! 😦

    I keep Adam’s music on my computer and listen to it pretty often, just listened to Mad World and One…what a voice!

    How lucky you are to get to see him in person, have heard rumors of an Easct Coast concert, not sure how true, but would love to see him!

    He is truly beautiful, inside and out!

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  14. Vonnie January 13, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    Sorry..East Coast… 🙂

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  15. Louise January 14, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    What a nice surprise to log on today and see your new posting, MCL! I hope you’re feeling rested and well again.

    I’m very much looking forward to AI beginning this week and also have an open mind about the changes. I hope I find it entertaining.

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