Testimonials
Barb Sopotyk, songwriter & manager Quickshift Sask Country Music Awards 2008 – 3 nominations*Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Our band has had the pleasure of working with performance coach Brenda Baker over the last several months. We were pleased to discover the opportunity through the SaskMusic newsletter. It was exactly what we were looking for and unable to source here in Saskatchewan.
In our experience, lots of people can be knowledgeable about a topic, however not everyone has the capacity to transfer that knowledge. Brenda is not only adept at transferring her knowledge but has a very personable way of instilling confidence in each performer during the process. Brenda employed a variety of training methods including self-assessment, performance critiquing, one-on-one and group coaching. The combination of methods was instrumental in reinforcing for us what works and what doesn’t in live performing. The fact that she is a performer herself and has personally experienced what she is talking about lends itself not only to her credibility but to her innate sense of what an artist is thinking and feeling as they begin to move through the learning curve of becoming a solid performer.
We generally are satisfied when we take a workshop and walk away with one thing that is helpful. Brenda far exceeded this expectation and has left the band members, both individually and collectively, with very specific knowledge, including what we need to do, what not to do and how to apply our new knowledge in a way that is manageable as we continue to build our live performance.
It is with great confidence that we recommend Brenda Baker to those artists that are serious about increasing their performance skills. Thanks to her, not one of us is able to perform live or even watch someone perform live without analyzing what’s working and what’s not and understanding just why that is!
* After our time working together, Quickshift was nominated twice (2006 & 7) for the Saskatchewan Country Music Rising Star Award, and received SCMA nominations in ’06 for Single of the Year and Song of the Year (Composer). The band is no longer together.
