Voice Instruction and Vocal Lessons
I have been fortunate to have studied with voice teachers
who instilled the need to sing in a healthy manner, always.
I also learned, very early on, that in order to maintain
vocal health, flexibility, and a wide range, that it is safer
to sing in a vocal operatic Fach, or vocal category,
lighter than what you aspire to be, in order to avoid burning
out. I sang in the Soubrette/Coloratura/Light Lyric category
until I was into my 30’s when I reached out to Dramatic
Coloratura and some Lyric repertory. I have also included
Bach and Handel arias in all of my practice sessions throughout
the years to help maintain flexibility.
My goal as a singing teacher and voice coach
is to help a singer discover a natural alignment for the
body, an Italian appoggio breathing method, an extension
of range, and freedom from the top to the bottom of the voice
through the use of subtle vowel modification. I am able to
show singers how to navigate the various vocal “breaks” or “passages” (passaggio),
and to help smooth out the transition from one vocal register
to another (head voice, middle voice, chest voice). I am
comfortable teaching beginners of all ages as well as professional
singers well into a career. I accompany all vocal lessons
myself at the piano, until the singer is in final rehearsals
for a performance, when I bring in a vocal coach/collaborative
pianist.
I am comfortable
coaching Italian, German, and French diction, as well as
teaching stage movement and character development for opera,
operetta and musical theatre rôles. I lived in Northern
Germany, where high German is spoken, and spoke only Italian
when I lived in Italy. I also studied French in Rouen, France.
I have translated works from German into English, and from
Italian into English. At the university where I currently
teach, I have developed the art song survey courses for the
18th, 19th and 20th Centuries and served as Director of Opera
for eleven years (1989–2000). I design sets and costumes,
having also studied art.
A singing teacher in suburban Philadelphia, PA
I prepare singers for auditions for middle school, high school,
or community theatre musicals/operettas, and I help students
learn rôles or parts in shows. I also prepare
more advanced voice students for professional theatrical
productions in New York City, or in the greater northeast,
as well as help to select and coach repertoire for professional
recordings of all vocal genres. I assist singers is mastering
our National Anthem, and other patriotic songs such as "America
the Beautiful" and "America," for auditions and performances
in schools and with professional athletic/civic organizations.
Frequently singers contact me for voice instruction in preparing
for weddings or holiday concerts. I also teach elementary
music theory to beginning voice students to help them learn
to read music. I prepare young singers for district, regional
and state choral festivals, with audition music, as well
as festival repertoire.
I am a member of the National Association of Teachers of
Singing (NATS) and have also taught as a member of the stage
artistry faculty at the American Institute of Musical Studies
(AIMS) in Graz, Austria (2002 and 2003). I have attended
the three last international voice congresses in London (1997),
Helsinki (2001) and Vancouver, BC (2005) as a representative
of Southeastern Pennsylvania and an American. I am an alumna
of Mu Phi Epsilon and Pi Kappa Lambda, and a member of the
Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter of Delta Delta Delta. |
