At the Mic: Jamie Leonhart

I recently did an interview with my friend Jamie Leonhart, a New York singer-songwriter. Jamie has performed as a soloist from the stages of great New York Institutions including Avery Fisher Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to intimate venues such as Joe’s Pub and Rockwood Music Hall. Jamie is employed as both a voice actor and vocalist for television and radio (Betty Crocker, Kohl's, HomeGoods, Lifetime, Oxygen, TRESemmé, Neutrogena brand, Johnson & Johnson, Bratz brand dolls, etc.) and also works extensively as a background and session singer (Donald Fagen, Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata, St. Vincent, Paul Brill, Judy Kuhn and more.)Her latest project Estuary is about the balance between motherhood and artist-hood. She has some beautiful thoughts to share about her project, which will happen again in November at Joe's Pub in NYC and will go on tour as well. You can find the interview here. I don't know about you, but, as a teacher, I need occasional reminders to touch on the skills my students need besides technique and performance. So, I'm creating a new series called "At the Mic," in which professional singers in popular and commercial genres share top 10 lists of the skills they use most in their careers. During the interview, I asked Jamie to share her list. Here's what she had to say:

1. Authenticity

2. Clarity regarding goals

3. A strong work ethic

4. Strong relationship building within the industry (including peer to peer)

5. Tenacity

6. Availability/flexibility (to an end…)

7. Clarity regarding boundaries 

8. Clarity regarding finances (what you’re “worth”)

9. Learning by ear/reading music (both is the ideal)

10. Patience

If you'd like to learn more about Jamie, go to jamieleonhart.com. Thanks, Jamie!