Merry Christmas!

Balloon Art by Rob Driscoll

After what has been a very busy year, it's very nice to have some time this Holiday Season to spend with friends and family. I have to admit it has been amazingly easy to not think about work since my last gig this past Saturday with the Vixens, and Neal and I are looking forward to a lovely Christmas lunch today with our friends Rob & Nat at Cafe Rouge in Portsmouth.

From my family to yours, here's wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and I hope that your day is filled with love, peace & joy!

Cheers,

Gloria

GME Year In Review - 2013

Please join me in taking a look back over what has been a fantastic year for me and GME! I have put together a photo collage of GME events, shows and performers in remembrance of a great year and as a way to look forward to 2014 with hope and anticipation! If you spot yourself in any of these pics, please drop a line on the comments section! It would be great to hear from you!! Gloria

GME Week In Review - 13 December 2013

Opus 20 Next Show

This week started with a dream-come-true performance in Bournemouth Square with Opus 20 Jazz Orchestra. I had the priviledge of lending my vocals to this amazing orchestra performing some Jazz and Holiday favourites. The Orchestra formed about 3 months ago under the leadership of Mike Hopkins and 9 December was our very first public appearance. Our next concert is scheduled for 16 December at the Conservative Club in Poole.

On Wednesday I went to a Talk Network event at the Square Tower in Portsmouth and had the most amazing two hours of laughing, playing and galloping!  You must try galloping, it's quite liberating! Lisa Sturge, Creative Director of Laughlines Coaching, presented some fantastic information about laugh theraphy, the mechanics of laughter and a bit of laugh yoga!  The galloping was introduced by Robin Brinkley of Maxwell Communications and thankfully, Lisa incorporated it into her talk because we were all in hysterics after being given permission to laugh and play! I'm looking forward to attending the Visioning Workshop with Lisa in January. Please visit Laughlines Coaching website to learn more about laughter therapy!

I also had the pleasure of meeting Steve who runs the Square Tower, which is a lovely, unique venue that's available for hire, and Steve also hosts events in this venue. The Square Tower was the perfect venue for laughing and galloping, and it just may be perfect for your event too.  Visit their website to learn more about this venue or to see 'What's On!'

Talk Network Meeting

After a couple hours of laughter, I headed just up the road to the Cathedral Innovation Center to discuss office space and hot desking. I had a lovely chat with Francis and I'm happy to announce that I have secured myself a bit of office space which will allow me to work a few days a week away from home and the various distractions that come with working from home. In addition to office space, they also offer mentoring and other help with growing my business. Thanks to Lee of Addo Accounting for recommending me to Francis!!

Earlier this year I put together a Diana Ross tribute show and have performed Supremely, Diana Ross a few times around Portsmouth. Next summer this show will be hitting the high seas on the cruise ship circuit, and yesterday I had a meeting with Tommy Bond of Upstairs At Eric's Studios and Grahame Laurence of writemusic.co.uk who will be working with me to get orchestra charts and professional backing tracks done. My last public performance of Supremely, Diana Ross is on Saturday, 14 December at The Jolly Sailor in Southsea. 'Move On Up' party band will be joining me bringing you two shows in one ... Diana Ross Tribute for the first set, and upbeat party set for the second set featuring the best in Soul, Funk & Rock music!

Kathy Fitchett - Food Fiend Exp.

Tonight, I am so looking forward to spending an amazing evening at 'Food Fiend Experience' where Kathy Fitchett will be laying out quite a spread of home cooked food. The menu is a surprise, but I'm m not worried because I've enjoyed Kathy's cooking before and I know tonight's meal will be fabulous. Just hope I can still fit in my slinky Diana Ross dress on Saturday!!

That's it for now ... 

Gloria

Being Diana Ross!

I never thought I would do a Tribute Show, but now that I've developed 'Supremely, Diana Ross' I'm wondering why I waited so long to do it!  I performed the first show back in September at The Old Vic and was immediately addicted to taking on the persona of such an iconic entertainer. Yesterday I was watching Oprah, Behind The Scenes and they were featuring the show where Diana Ross was appearing.  I was really struck by the fact that Oprah Winfrey felt just as indebted to Miss Ross as I do for being a trailblazer for showing black beauty to the world! Click here to see a clip.

Here's what I wrote in my bio about Diana Ross ...

Twenty-five years ago when Gloria first started performing professionally she didn’t know that she would be paying tribute to the woman who had paved the way for her all those years ago; but now Gloria realizes that everything she’s done before has been preparing her for the moment that she would become Supremely, Diana Ross! Maybe the desire to do a Tribute to Miss Ross was Gloria’s way of saying thank you for breaking through racial barriers and stereotypes, to allow countless others to have the opportunity to share their gifts and talents.

Since I've been promoting Supremely, Diana Ross I have come to realize how loved Miss Ross is by pretty much everybody. The response has been amazing. I have several shows booked through the end of the year and a few already booked in for next year.  For my next performance of the tribute show, I'll be backed by my fabulous function band, 'Move On Up! for our a special Christmas performance at The Jolly Sailor on Saturday, December 14th! The first set will be the tribute show followed by a 2nd set of upbeat party music ... two shows in one!!

I really enjoy paying tribute to Diana Ross and giving my inner Diva a platform to shine! In addition to performing the show solo or with Move On Up, I am also developing the show to be performed with a 10-piece orchestra and will be touring the show next year to include theatres across the UK and cruise ships. I will keep you posted as the tour takes shape!

Please contact me if you are interested in booking the Supremely, Diana Ross Tribute Show for your next event or celebration!  gloria@gloriamillermusic.com or 07504 611173.