Teaching is my passion!

I must admit, I find teaching statements a bit odd.  After all, is there a teacher out there who doesn’t want their students to excel, to sing beautifully and masterfully, and to find success in their chosen field? Of course not! I certainly want all these things and more for my students. When I offer advice to students seeking a new teacher, I tell them to not only look for someone with a strong track record, and happy, successful students, but also that they should seek out a teacher whose basic singing aesthetic matches their own. “Does this teacher like the kind of voices I tend to like?” “Do I identify with the singing of this teacher and of their students?” There are so many different approaches to singing and not every approach is right for every singer. It is important to find a teacher whose opinion you will respect regarding vocal technique, production, and style, and who will lead you down the path you want to take.

So, what makes my teaching different? What do I find important, and what do I stress? Above all, I like natural and individualistic voices, and I like singers who communicate honestly without artifice. Of course, these qualities are subjective, but for me everything centers around uniquely beautiful voices, optimal vocal technique, precise language skills, and overall, a desire to communicate. I believe it is impossible to be an effective communicator without possessing a sound technique. These things go hand in hand. I am a no-nonsense teacher. There are no secrets and no smoke screens. I am straight-forward, and I endeavor to make both technical and artistic concepts logical and easy to understand. I am keenly aware of the fact that we all learn in very different ways, and that each student comes to me at a unique stage of their development. In short, I encourage healthy, solid vocal technique, beauty of tone, and sincerity of emotion in singing.

For audience members to feel at ease, singers should appear to be at ease. Singers need to feel free and safe to make themselves vulnerable and to wear their hearts on their sleeves. However, visible, obvious “technique” and unintentional physical tension can distract from a meaningful performance. Voices should be free from constriction and the tongue and jaw must be unencumbered in order to articulate quickly and clearly.  I often say to my students, “If it looks funny, it is funny!” Additionally, I like my students to be able to talk about their instruments and articulate what they know about vocal technique. I like to ask questions about what it is they are doing, feeling, and trying to accomplish. It is always in the back of my mind that my students will likely teach voice one day, so I give them concrete problem-solving skills, in order that they become their own best teachers. The way I see it, the better a singer understands technique, the more flexible and comfortable they will be with a wide variety of styles. This will make them more marketable in a very competitive field. I want my students to be able to sing everything their voices will healthily allow, and I want them to enjoy all kinds of music. If you can sing Hildegard von Bingen, Richard Strauss, and Duke Ellington, well, why wouldn’t you want to?

Finally, it is my belief that music should be taught as it pertains to all the arts, and to the history of the world at the time of its composition. In my experience, putting music into its historical context is both intriguing and exciting. It imbues students with the ability to be discerning artists and interpreters of music in terms of scope, style, and structure.  Armed with this sort of overarching knowledge and a secure, flexible technique, grounded in the Italian Bel Canto style (there, I said it!), young singers will command respect as they enter the professional world.