Audience members and whole communities become lifelong fans:
There were so many written responses for our début at Ravinia Festival that they get a page of their own here
After an evening at Oak Forest High School, a parent wrote:
By the end of the performance I wanted to marry you!A new fan, Len Heine
A diplomat's turnClaudia has an amazing ability to act and sing at the same timeand to guide others in doing so. She has a deep understanding of how to combine words and music with charm and ease, which is more difficult that you might think, especially in classical music. On the top of this, Claudia is a wonderful person. For her, music, friendship and beauty are a way of life, a philosophy, and she excels at sharing these great values with her fans, thus helping to make the world a better world. Jean-Baptiste Main de Boissière, French Ambassador to Ecuador, 2010
A whole community weighs in Manhattan, Kansasfor example
The Fine Arts Center's audience ranged literally from 9 years old to 90. I was moved to tears, said the eldest woman, beaming after the show. A 4th grader crowded around for an autograph gushing, It was awesome. Someone was heard to say, For sure we're not in Kansas anymore. Our school performance and residency were featured in the local press and the e-mail buzz said, It's a must-see.
Six degrees of separation: We hear from a friend of a friend in New York whose other friend received word from her aunt in Michigan about a soirée given by their Alliance FrançaiseOur entertainment was the best I have heard in this group for years. Perhaps you have heard of this twosome, two attractive gals headquartered in Chicago. I'm going to see if there is any info on the internet about them...chanteuse Claudia Hommel and Elizabeth Doyle. They were delightful.
After an evening of Cole PorterIt was a pleasure to discover a very persuasive practitioner of the French pop music idiom. More than projecting the very distinctive sound that we all associate with this genre, it takes a special sense of theatrenot over-the-top (as so many singers tend to do) but certainly not without drama, whether subtly suggested or declaimed. I’m delighted to have come to hear Cole Porter and gone away with the satisfaction of being part of your audience. A true instance of serendipity. You’re in good companyPiaf, of course, plus Liane and her Boheme Bar Trio, Mireille Mathieu, Francoise Hardy, Jacqueline Francois, Jeanne Moreau, and Deborah Boily. R.L. Eastline, writer
An intimate house partyYou were amazing and you made the night everything I dreamed it would be for my mother and the whole family. We will never forget that magical night. My mother called last night raving again and again on how this was the best birthday in her life.
You have a gift of song, a lovely personality and a way of showing how you care about others. You light up a room when you enter and it stays lit even after you leave. Ingrid Brown