The Wrong Cup of Tea1/19/2024 Have you ever decided to be adventurous at a coffee or tea shop and ordered a drink that's a bit out of the ordinary? How many times have you regretted that decision? :) It happens. Not every cup of tea is for you, or for me. But then there's that rare occasion when you go out on a limb to try something new and it is so delicious that you can't stop dreaming about it for the rest of the day. You never would have come across it if you didn't venture out of your usual cup of Earl Gray. You had to take a chance to find out. Life is very similar, except the stakes often seem much higher. You miss 100% of the shots you DON’T take. But the hard part is that, if you regularly push yourself, you’ll also miss a bunch of the shots you DO take. The most important part: KEEP TAKING SHOTS. Or in this case, KEEP TRYING TEAS. I’m proud of myself for taking this long-shot of applying to the 2024 JazzFest. Even though I'm not their "cup of tea" this year, I could be next year. On the other hand, I just got off the phone with a stranger in Texas who accidentally came across my website, LOVED what she saw/heard and wanted to book me immediately for her upcoming gala event. My music is her cup of tea RIGHT NOW! Keep taking shots. Keep trying teas. You may never meet the people you're perfect to help, inspire or serve otherwise. With heart-filled gratitude, Ashley 
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Opportunity Overload1/8/2024 Pardon me while I catch my breath! December is always a busy month for musicians, but this year was one of the most jam-packed I've had in a while. I've labeled it "Opportunity Overload." Have you ever experienced that? When lots of things/projects/events you've been working on for a while all seem to come together around the same time? Mix that in with the normal holiday season festivities and it can be exhilarating...yet exhausting. This is why I'm purposely taking things slowly here in the first quarter of 2024. A handful of selective gigs, lots of quality time with family, and prioritizing some exciting new (and comfort-zone-busting) personal adventures for this year--one of them being that I'm finally learning how to cook (as a Louisianian, my inability to whip up a tasty meal for friends or family has always felt like big hole in my cultural skills, so here's to finally learning to enjoy the simple basics!). But before I dive 100% into 2024, here's a little recap of December: Thank you to everyone who came to the "Home for the Holidays Concert"--my solo debut with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra! What a dream come true to make beautiful music with so many talented musicians and an entire string section! A couple weeks later I also got to cantor for wedding with some of the symphony string players, so I look forward to playing with them more regularly at special events.  Then I headed to Lafayette to pre-record a live Christmas set with Dr. Daylight's Jazz Company. These songs aired in Acadiana on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Finally, I hit the road for one last Texas trip in 2023. Below is a video of one of my favorite songs--the closing "White Christmas" sing-along for Joe Burlison's Christmas Jazz Show at the Dosey Doe Big Barn. I hope your Christmas season was a lovely one and look forward to seeing you in 2024!
With heart-filled gratitude, Ashley Conquering Fear12/7/2023 The last few weeks have put me directly up against several big "fears" in my head about what I am truly capable of, and I also tested the limits of my comfort zone in several new ways. It's not always easy to "practice what you preach" when you talk about navigating self-doubt and imposter syndrome, but that's why it's so important to share these learnings with others. On that note, I had the honor of speaking about Navigating Your Inner Critic this week at the national ASTM conference's Alliance for Empowering Women group in New Orleans! What was my biggest takeaway from this experience? The kazoo serves as a great "summoning" tool to get 100+ people to immediately stop talking after their interactive exercise time is up :D  What's up next? I'll be singing with the Baton Rouge Symphony THIS Saturday!  ABOUT THE CONCERT
Join the Baton Rouge Symphony, David Torns (conductor), and the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus for the 2023 Home for the Holidays concert at the River Center Theater in Downtown Baton Rouge, LA. Join your BRSO and BRSO Chorus at the River Center Theater for this family favorite concert featuring seasonal melodies and music from favorites like Polar Express, Home Alone, The Nutcracker, and Sleigh Ride. Ring in the season with the biggest carol sing-along in Baton Rouge, and make this show an annual tradition for the whole family! Big Audition News11/20/2023 Remember that exciting audition I told you about last week? Well...click on the photo below to find out what happened!  ABOUT THE CONCERT Join the Baton Rouge Symphony, David Torns (conductor), and the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus for the 2023 Home for the Holidays concert at the River Center Theater in Downtown Baton Rouge, LA. Join your BRSO and BRSO Chorus at the River Center Theater for this family favorite concert featuring seasonal melodies and music from favorites like Polar Express, Home Alone, The Nutcracker, and Sleigh Ride. Ring in the season with the biggest carol sing-along in Baton Rouge, and make this show an annual tradition for the whole family! I've dreamed of one day singing with a symphony ever since I was a little kid watching old black and white movie reruns on PBS. Then as a recent college graduate, I sang in the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus for a short time. So getting selected as a featured vocalist on the same stage is truly a dream come true.
I'd love to share the experience with you, too :) Happy Thanksgiving! Ashley Last weekend I had a big vocal audition! Click on the image below to see how it went:
This brings me to the subject of "growth mindset" and what almost prevented me from ever getting to this exciting place in my life today.
When researcher Carol Dweck first discovered and coined the terms "growth mindset" and "fixed mindset" years ago, people assumed that they had one mindset or the other. But the research soon showed that we shift between these two mindsets throughout the day/week/year. The problem is that we often don't REALIZE when it's happening. My story is a classic example. As a kid I was labeled "talented" in music. I could match pitches well even though no one could hear me at first (I had to learn how to project my quiet, angelic voice). Throughout high school I received lessons, competed in voice competitions and special programs. My skills grew tremendously, but by senior year, I recognized that there were still several major gaps in my vocal ability that I had not been able to solve. I assumed my "natural gift" had reached it's limit and started living/acting from a fixed mindset when it came to music. Eventually, the fear of failure in this realm became too painful to think about my childhood dreams of one day singing jazz. I avoided it, stopped talking about it and closed the book on that part of my life (except for singing at church, weddings and funerals). On the flip side, the whole time I was hiding from music, I was growing exponentially in another area of my life--learning French. Because I was never considered "gifted" in this area, and nobody but me cared if I ever learned the language, I was less afraid of failing! This low pressure environment helped me find the courage to regularly immerse myself in the language. Years of consistent, daily practice in fun, immersive situations worked. (Big surprise, right? :p) So now you may be wondering how did music re-enter my life? Thank the ukulele. This fun, joyful instrument took the pressure off of learning music and eventually broke up my fixed musical mindset. Learning and growing my musical skills became fun and flowing rather than difficult and forced. This got me back into voice lessons as well, and working with a vocal coach who knew how to help me learn to navigate the issues holding me back. Without these major shifts, I would not be the more well-rounded person I am today, nor would I have exciting new opportunities to challenge myself musically, like in the audition video above. With this example in mind, I invite you to take a look at your life and ask if there are areas where you are operating from a growth mindset and others where you're stuck in a fixed mindset. Then see if you can think of one small action to release some of the pressure holding your fixed mindset and start having a bit of fun instead. A little bit of growth goes a long way when you compound it daily! With gratitude, Ashley Getting Unstuck11/6/2023 When I get frustrated or stuck in the weeds of a project (which is pretty regularly since I'm human...), I have a very simple yet special tool that I turn to. I call it my "Smile File" (got the catchy name from a fellow coach), and this amazing little thing wields more power than any hammer in busting my negative thinking. I have both a paper folder and a digital one (so that I can access at any time). It contains notes, screenshots, photos, letters, etc. that I want to remember because they make me smile. The reason this file works so well is because it reminds me of my WHY--why I do what I do--helping people discover their true potential and leadership skills through music and charismatic communication--and why that's important. For example, take this little note from a recent speech presentation attendee: "What a warm, charming story and great speech. Maybe there's hope for me yet. Until now I never thought I could become a charismatic communicator. Thank you!" Comments like this one remind me that helping even ONE person broaden their perspective to what they could achieve means I am doing my job, reminds me that my voice matters, and is evidence to challenge my inner critic that I serve my community in a positive way. I hope this idea inspires you to create your own Smile File and get unstuck/reenergized to continue projects that you care about. With gratitude, Ashley  A Very Beetlegeuse...Wedding?10/30/2023 When I tell people I sing for weddings, they usually assume I mean wedding receptions. In truth, I sing for the actual wedding ceremonies! Typically those are very straightforward and follow standard American wedding customs and traditions. But the wedding I played for Saturday night didn’t just skirt convention. It broke the mold (in a surprisingly fun way). This was the first (and probably only) Beetlegeuse-themed, Halloween wedding I’ve ever been hired to play. The bridal party danced down the aisle to “Jump in the Line” played by the Florida Street Blowhards (traditional jazz band), and I played Iz’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for the bride’s walk down the aisle. The sunset setting over the sugar cane fields of south Louisiana provided a beautiful, country backdrop for the ceremony, and almost all the guests were decked out in elaborate Halloween costumes. I had no idea what to expect when I was initially hired for this gig, but the evening turned out to be a very fun and surprisingly sweet experience. Congrats to the happy couple, and here’s to more fun adventures as a wedding singer :D With gratitude, Ashley P.S. I'm scheduling now for the holiday season (private parties, holiday markets, etc.), so if you'd like a bit of jazz vocal/ukulele or a Christmas sing-along to brighten up your event, reach out to me soon before I'm all booked up!  Ooh La La, It's Autumn!10/23/2023 I don't know about you but I'm oh so grateful that autumn is finally here (and with that, a break from the oppressive heat of this past summer). October has been a bit of a whirlwind so far. I had a great trip to Texas at the beginning of the month to perform for the grand opening celebration of the new Annabelle Brasserie in Houston's Autry Park development (near Memorial Park)--Our "French Chocolatte" band provided a lovely French-inspired soundtrack on the patio (watch the video for a full peak at this new high-end restaurant).  I also got to see friends and rehearse for a few upcoming events. The only downside to this trip was that I came back to Louisiana with a head cold that knocked me out of singing for the next week :/
Thankfully I'm on the mend now and looking forward to another quick trip to Houston later this week to perform at the Dosey Doe Breakfast, BBQ and Whiskey Bar on Friday, Oct. 27th. If you're in the Houston area, I hope to see you there! With gratitude, Ashley Charisma Made Simple10/2/2023 For being a true introvert who doesn’t need or seek much attention, it still amazes me how good my husband is at ATTRACTING and HOLDING attention when he DOES want it. For example, occasionally on mornings when I’m still sitting at the breakfast table as he’s heading off to work, he’ll pause at the back door just long enough to catch my eye. Then, knowing I’m wondering if he forgot something, he holds up his key-ring high in the air like a sports referee about to wave a starting flag, and with great flair, he “presses” the remote start button on his car key fob. We both hear a sudden “whoosh” outside as his Chevy truck engine comes to life in the driveway. Then he smiles at me cheekily. I roll my eyes, laughing, even though I’ve seen this pageantry hundreds of times. His mission complete (making me laugh AND starting his car AC), he walks out the door with a big grin on his face. That, my friends, is charisma—the ability to turn even simple, mundane daily actions into points of connection and joy. How do you do this in your daily life (or how could you try this) to bring a little extra joy to those around you this week? With gratitude, Ashley  Join me Friday, Oct. 27th, for my next JAZZ UKULELE SHOW at the Dosey Doe Breakfast, BBQ & Whiskey Bar in The Woodlands, TX. I'll be accompanied by Kenneth Fowler on ukulele and Barry Sames on piano. Get tickets at DoseyDoeTickets.com.
See you there! I Wanna Be Like You9/18/2023 Have you seen Disney's 1967 cartoon version of "The Jungle Book?" In the movie, Mowgli, a young human boy raised by wolves in the jungle, meets King Louie, "King of the Apes." Even though King Louie has everything his orangutan heart could possibly desire, he still compares himself to humans and comes up short, so he tries to convince Mowgli to teach him to be like "man" by harnessing the power of fire. The scenario makes for a fun, lighthearted "I Wanna Be Like You" song in the movie, but constantly comparing yourself to others and feeling not good enough isn't just a fictional storybook problem. It's a very real, common, human issue too. Over the years I've learned the hard way that if I focus on being THE BEST in the world, I will be often disappointed. There will ALWAYS be someone:
But if I shift my focus to being MY BEST in the world, suddenly competitors become partners. Opponents become friends, and working together, we catapult each others' combined successes to even greater heights. My job is to show up daily as a vital life force for positive change, and to serve as an example of how you can do the same. There’s no better reminder of this important life lesson than getting creamed in pickleball 4 times before lunch by players 20+ years older than you! (I can't beat 'em yet, but I can make them laugh :p)  Be the best YOU you can be every day, because YOU can do amazing things when you stop comparing and start creating. Here's another version of me showing up as my best self during our Summer Swing show June 9th at the Manship Theater Hartley/Vey Studio. Watch the 5-minute show recap video below! With gratitude, Ashley AuthorAshley Orlando is a jazz vocalist/ukulele artist and coach who helps growth-focused leaders find their voice, grow their presence & amplify their impact. Archives
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