How to Tell a Story through Singing
Make it Sparkle Video with Leah Horowitz
Professional Singer and Actor
4:55 (runtime)
Director’s Notes
Actor and singer Leah Horowitz (Bright Star, New York City Ballet) talks about personal connection in singing. She says to try and make each song personal, drawing from life experiences to connect with the character and emotion.
Mastering 'Acting the Song': Leah shares how she studied with skilled teachers like Craig Carnelia and how it helped in associating real-life experiences with the emotional impact of a song.
Acting Over Singing: Leah says she prefers prioritizing the storyand your performance over perfect singing. She says terrific acting can lift a vocal performance.
Vocal Technique: Leah says you do have to spend time honing singing techniques, so during rehearsal and performances, your focus can shift to the character and story rather than vocal mechanics.
Natural Singing: Leah teaches that singing becomes most effective when it feels natural, with the voice following the emotion rather than being mechanically directed.
Innate Character Understanding: Leah shares that some characters resonate naturally, allowing for deeper and more authentic performances—even without direct life parallels.
About Leah Horowitz
Leah Horowitz was born and raised on Staten Island, home of the Staten Island Ferry, Ralph’s Ices, and the best pizza in New York City. Raised by a speech pathologist mother from West Virginia and a banjo player father from Brooklyn, Leah grew up with no discernable New York accent in a house filled with music and cats. She and her mother were heavily involved in community theater (as actor and costumer, respectively), and spent most of their nights and weekends with show people. When it came time to go to college, Leah thought she’d major in some sort of science – acting seemed too impractical and unstable a profession. An acceptance to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts changed her mind. Cut to the present, and Leah still sometimes thinks maybe she should’ve been an engineer. Don’t ask her which kind – she just likes the sound of it.
However, seven Broadway shows and many regional credits later, Leah has to admit she has done reasonably well. She last appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed revival of Follies as Young Heidi, and, more recently, has been a principal singer several times for New York City Ballet. She has been seen on TV as a sassy nun in NBC’s The Sound of Music Live, and at Madison Square Garden performing with Phish in their New Years Eve concert (twice!). She has been heard in numerous commercial jingles, including singing “Mm Mm Good!” for Campbell’s Soup. The pandemic prompted her to build a home recording studio, and she has now narrated over 20 audiobooks. All in all, not a boring life.
Leah lives in New Jersey with her husband Matty D Stuart, actor and DJ extraordinaire, her daughter, Penelope, and her dog Ruby. In addition to work, she enjoys reading the latest great novels and then making her friends read them, watching too many TV shows, knitting, eating sushi, and visiting HomeGoods regularly.