Melinda Whittington Makes an Album!

Hello friends of the arts, I'm excited to announce that I'm recording an album! As a result of COVID-19, all my gigs for the calendar year have been cancelled.  While this is a challenging time for me, other artists, and the arts organizations for which I work, the silver lining is that I now have a lot of TIME!  The openings in my schedule create a wonderful opportunity to finally achieve this long-standing goal.  However... I need your help!  Remember the whole no-work-due-to-COVID-19 thing?  That makes capital for this project hard to come by.  With your contributions, as a community, you can make it possible! Why an album? Opera is a live art form... Why do I need an album? 1. I need great promo material to supplement my audition work. Even though I actively and regularly perform, I have very little high quality recorded content that I am able to share.  Symphonies have strict union rules that make sharing even small clips of my performances challenging or impossible, and my live performances are often recorded at an insufficient quality for promo material.  I do have some audition reels, but they are not mastered to the quality that A-level opera houses would expect to hear.  I need to get into the studio! 2. I need a source of income that does not rely on live performance. Right now, entertainment at home has become a necessity.  Even when things return to whatever "normal" is on the horizon, we are living in an increasingly virtual world.  If musicians are going to survive this economic slump, we need an online presence.  I addition, I am often asked by organizations if I'd like to sell CDs in the lobby after a concert or event - having this additional income stream would be a huge help!   The logistics How will I be spending your money?  Don't worry, this isn't all going towards a secret spa day... here's the price estimate breakdown :) Recording/Mastering - $2,900** Pianist - $800 Travel expenses - $ 300 Child care - $400 CD art - $400 CD printing - $500 Total = $5300 **I plan to record at Ben Blozan's studio in Greensboro, NC - Gate City Studios (http://gatecitystudios.net/home/).  Ben specializes in recording opera voices.  It is not easy to make an operatic voice, intended for a large, resonant hall sound good on a recording.  We opera singers get a little freaked out with a microphone 12 inches from our mouths ... We don't use those things! :) Ben has created a studio space that makes us less freaked out and manages to capture an incredible sound. Rewards A contribution of any amount is greatly appreciated! But here are a few little perks for contributions of various sizes :)  Album pre-purchase:         $15: download of the album upon completion Additional donations:          $50: album download + signed copy of the album         $150: album download + a custom, sung voicemail greeting          $500: album download + a song of your choice sung to you (or as a gift to a loved one!) in person or via video conferencing apps, as based on COVID restrictions and your distance from my location Thank you! I am incredibly grateful for your support! If you have any questions for me about the project, feel free to reach out! With love, Melinda Whittington www.melindawhittington.com