Posts Tagged ‘Calendar’

Fall 2011 Update — v2.9.4

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Open up Velvet Singer today and you will find a new update which is the result of a few months of exciting work, responding to so many brilliant ideas from you!

Now Even More Repertoire!

Thanks to our fantastic research team, we have added over 200 new operatic works to the aria database, including over 1800 brand new opera roles!

You can immediately pick from these new roles simply by navigating to the Repertoire module and clicking “New Record.”

And more repertoire is on its way!

Trends Email Report After Each Session

New to version 2.4.2, when you close Velvet Singer, the system will ask if you would like to email your trends report.

The report includes a summary of your session (how many records were added in each table as well as showing how your data is trending. For example: are you singing more auditions per month, meeting more people, doing more coachings, making more money?

Calendar Rapid Data Entry Screen

Now you can save time when entering your rehearsal schedules using the new “Add Multiple Events” feature. This form is set to automatically trigger to make data entry as fast as possible.

Repertoire Multi-Picker

Now when you pick repertoire to add, you can select multiple at once. Also, we improved the look of this layout so that you can find what you are looking for even quicker. It will now also highlight repertoire that is already in your list.

Backup Location

Want to backup your most important career data to a remote drive or hosted server? Now it is easier than ever.

In addition to the regular backups to the Velvet Singer/Backups/ folder, you can also automatically set your system to backup to another location. This can include a mapped drive or a Dropbox folder.

In this example, I backup my file to a local Dropbox folder. When Dropbox sees the new file, it automatically begins uploading the file to their servers “quietly” in the background while I go about my day. Pretty slick!

Professional References Quick Report

Upon request from one of our customers, we created a new branded report which is perfect for sending along with your applications.

The top area is triggered by our “branded” settings so you can pick your own font or chose your own logo. The report will automatically include any professional contacts flagged with the new “References” type.

Any other great ideas? Send them along and we will make them come to life.

IMAP Email Folders Now Sync

Another fantastic customer request is the ability to sync multiple email folders using the IMAP Protocol. Done and done!

Now from the Main Menu / Settings / Email Settings you can easily change over to IMAP. Once you do, you can click “Sync Folder List” to bring in your list of Email folders and decide which folders you want to check.

Caramoor Bel Canto

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Caramoor was the perfect last stop on my summer tour! New York City was gorgeous and it was quite a thrill to have such a stunning rehearsal space for the seminar. I found it quite impressive that Caramoor chooses to rehearse right in the heart of it all at the New 42nd Street Studios. That makes it very easy for those commuting from Brooklyn or New Jersey over the summer and we had myriad choices for lunch.

Our seminar was scheduled shortly after the Caramoor season had ended. I was a bit worried that energy would be low, but it was quite the contrary result. It seemed that the singers were able to really focus in deeply on their action plans because they were already at a transition point. They were not entrenched in the stress of having to constantly prove themselves and compete. They were relaxed, jovial and ready to share.

Some of the action items that came out of this session were particularly well thought-out. I have only included three examples, but most of the items shared were succinct, actionable and measurable… all of the things we look for in a good game plan. Some of them included:

  • Journal my auditions (how it went, what I sang, etc.)
  • Consistently track and refine my goals
  • Get a system to never miss deadlines

Believe it or not, I didn’t pay anyone to say these things! They are so simple and clear, yet they will make huge differences in how these singers run their businesses. Bravo Caramoor!

One of the biggest reason that this seminar was such a success, was that Caramoor’s Head Coach and Assistant Conductor Rachelle Jonck actively participated in the seminar. She was able to lend her unique perspective and help reinforce some of the key principles of the workshop.

In fact, her contribution was so valuable that it caused me consider how I can add this type of industry input to future seminars. I’m not sure Rachelle can take time from her busy coaching schedule (contact her about her coaching services on the Upper West Side in Manhattan) to travel around the country with me. But maybe through the marvels of modern technology …

I have begun setting up video chat interviews with my friends singing regularly at A-level houses. From these interviews, I will extract video clips to be used in the seminars.

I may also be able to offer live video chat with some of these singers during future seminars. How great would that be? These professional singers would love to “give back”, to teach young singers, but there is just no time. But maybe they can block out fifteen minutes from their hotel room in Berlin to call in to my seminar. Early response from my singer-friends has been overwhelmingly positive.

More to come on this topic to be sure!

Safe, Secure, Centralized

Friday, January 8th, 2010

What happens if you lose your calendar?

If you are using Excel, Word, or writing in a notebook, you risk loosing it all. Velvet Singer automatically backs up your data both locally to your computer and to a secure remote server.

Velvet Singer Movie