Thursday 27th November 2008

Brendan Reilly is exactly how he came across to all of us in this master class, a real
professional in every sense of the word!  Brendan is a trained singer in jazz, a writer and
producer; he also plays saxophone and keyboard.  Brendan was born and raised in the
USA within a family of musicians.  At the age of 20 he moved to Europe, where he went
on to release solo material, has played countless sessions and live shows as well as
working as a backing vocalist.  In an exclusive to Vocaltech announcement, Brendan told
us that he is currently recording new material, which is almost ready for release… watch
this space!

One thing that I really wanted to emphasise is that Brendan is a very down to earth
person – throughout the master class he was always nice, smiling and talking with us
like friends.   The topic for the clinic was: 'All the things you have to do to be a successful
singer'.  The first thing he talked about was the training; he pointed out that it is crucial
knowing the music inside out - more than basic knowledge in harmony and theory and
playing an instrument.  This is very important for vocalists, so that he or she will be able
to lead a band and to give correct and professional instructions about the way the songs
should sound, especially if we're considering original songs.

At the end of the clinic, Brendan set us a challenge; for all of us to perform a song, which
we had to sing as a lead and backing vocalist, trying to memorize the lyrics as fast as
possible and being brave enough to give it a try on the stage!  He mentioned that it's very
important for us as singers to have a very big repertoire and being able to memorise
lyrics as fast as possible is key to this.

The songs we performed were 'Crazy' by Gnarls Barkley and 'Valerie' (Amy Winehouse
version).  In the beginning we were little nervous by the task in hand but we finished on a
high with lots of positive energy, plus we had a real fun.

Brendan Reilly was the great example for us, when you work hard and follow your
dreams, you can do what you want and go where you want to go.

A real inspiration for all of us.

By Zlatka Dimitrova
Vocaltech, 1 Year Diploma Student

More:

Zlatka’s Review of our Sharleen Linton Master Class

Zlatka's Diary (October 08)

Upcoming Master Classes

One Year Diploma

Request a brochure