PAST FACULTY INCLUDES...
KENNETH BOZEMAN
(Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, NATS Journal of Singing)
Dr. CLAUDIA FRIEDLANDER
(OPERA America, Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, Classical Singer Magazine Columnist)
CAROL MASTRODOMENICO
(Tufts University, Longy School of Music at Bard College, Tanglewood Fellow, Classical Singer Convention Lecturer)
Dr. STEPHANIE WEISS
(Arizona State University, University of Nevada-Las Vegas,
Metropolitan Opera Education, AIMS in Graz, Deutsche Oper Berlin)
SUSAN EICHHORN YOUNG
(Western University, Sarah Lawrence College, Moravian College, New York University Tisch School of the Arts' CAP21)
SARAH WHITTEN
(Harvard University, Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory, NATS Lecturer)
JOANNE BOZEMAN
(Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Bach Chamber Choir)
JENNIE O'BRIEN
(Perkins School for the Blind, New England Conservatory, Rivers Conservatory of Music, Longy School of Music,
Berklee College of Music)
KENNETH BOZEMAN
(Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, NATS Journal of Singing)
Dr. CLAUDIA FRIEDLANDER
(OPERA America, Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall, Classical Singer Magazine Columnist)
CAROL MASTRODOMENICO
(Tufts University, Longy School of Music at Bard College, Tanglewood Fellow, Classical Singer Convention Lecturer)
Dr. STEPHANIE WEISS
(Arizona State University, University of Nevada-Las Vegas,
Metropolitan Opera Education, AIMS in Graz, Deutsche Oper Berlin)
SUSAN EICHHORN YOUNG
(Western University, Sarah Lawrence College, Moravian College, New York University Tisch School of the Arts' CAP21)
SARAH WHITTEN
(Harvard University, Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory, NATS Lecturer)
JOANNE BOZEMAN
(Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Bach Chamber Choir)
JENNIE O'BRIEN
(Perkins School for the Blind, New England Conservatory, Rivers Conservatory of Music, Longy School of Music,
Berklee College of Music)
JULIE WYMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ANASTASIA INNISS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ANASTASIA INNISS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
The program focuses on:
- how to communicate vocal science, vocal pedagogy and vocal technique concepts, particularly in an online platform
- strategies, tools and resources for online teaching
The program includes:
- Live Lecture/Demonstrations and Q&A sessions with each clinician on the following topics:
SARAH WHITTEN
SEEING IN THE STUDIO: BUILDING YOUR TOOLBOX BEYOND VOCAL TECHNIQUE
“The whole body is the instrument” is an often used and little understood phrase used in the voice world. In this workshop we are going to delve into what that phrase means as well as other fundamental concepts related to the body to expand our lens as voice teachers.
UNDERSTANDING ALIGNMENT
Many of the current models that address body position and singing focus primarily on a fixed, postural position being required to produce an optimal sound. Unfortunately a fixed model doesn't work when you are performing and need to move on stage! In this workshop we will address alignment, how it is different from posture and how we can use it as a tool in the studio to help us better understand the singer’s body.
KENNETH BOZEMAN
THE ACOUSTIC LANDSCAPE ALL SINGERS INHABIT
Over the last thirty years we have learned a great deal about the acoustics of range and vocal registration. Specifically, it has become clear that many timbral transitions previously thought to be laryngeal in nature were actually shifts in the relationship between voice source harmonics and vocal tract resonances, the locations of which vary by vowel. These shifts function like acoustic registers which are predictable and mappable by vowel and voice type. It has become clear that vowels necessarily migrate in timbre and sensation across range according to predictable patterns, the knowledge of which greatly assists training for efficient function.
EFFECTIVE ACOUSTIC TRAINING STRATEGIES FOR
TREBLE & NON-TREBLE VOICE PASSAGGI
Once acoustic registers are understood—where they exist, what causes them, and what their characteristics are—how to train these transitions becomes both specific and clear. This class will explore effective strategies for negotiating the passaggi of male and female vocal range. It will detail the circumstances in which passive vowel migration is sufficient, as well as those in which active vowel modification becomes necessary.
SUSAN EICHHORN YOUNG
CROSSOVER & THE CLASSICAL SINGER
What does "crossover" mean to the classical singer? How applicable is this for the classical singer and what would it involve technically, dramatically, and in repertoire? We will discuss these possibilities, how the businesses are alike & different, how to approach choosing repertoire best suited for the singer. A Q&A will follow.
THE BASICS OF CROSSOVER TECHNIQUE IN ACTION
A follow up to the first session which will be a virtual workshop/master class opportunity to bring in 16-32 bar music theatre cuts. This allows the singer to incorporate more stylistic technical discovery within their repertoire to authentically embody what different music theatre genres require, and how those stylistic technical behaviors will enhance their already developing/developed technique.
Dr. CLAUDIA FRIEDLANDER
THE VOICE TEACHER AS FITNESS TRAINER: ADAPTING PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS SCIENCE TO OPTIMIZE LARYNGEAL & ARTICULATORY EFFICIENCY
Elite fitness trainers specialize in helping athletes optimize their body for peak performance in their sport. The principles of sport-specific training that inform the regimens they develop can also be applied to optimize vocal anatomy for singing. This workshop will demonstrate how to use these principles to alleviate tension and restore balanced strength and flexibility to the muscles that govern the larynx and articulators.
ANATOMY IN ACTION: MEETING THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF OPERA STAGING
For vocal technique to remain secure throughout stage movement, singers require a high degree of dynamic physical stability. They must also free themselves from habitual and/or extraneous movement in order to define and embody their characters well. This workshop will focus on stabilizing the shoulders, core, and lumbo-pelvic-hip complex can enable singers to express their best technique while also physically embodying their roles and executing stage movement.
JOANNE HAYES BOZEMAN
SINGING THROUGH OUR CHANGES: HORMONES & THE FEMALE VOICE
The human larynx is a target of the reproductive hormones: estrogen, progesterone and androgens. For females, within whom the cyclical nature of estrogen and progesterone presents an ever-changing hormonal landscape, understanding and anticipating the potential effects – beneficial or troubling – of these hormones on the voice is empowering. The hormonal journey includes adolescent voice change, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, breastfeeding, the “4th trimester” and the menopausal transition. This presentation will include an overview of the relationship of the hormone “climate” with adult female voice, based on existing research, clinical opinions, and the unique, lived experiences of singers.
CAROL MASTRODOMENICO
POST-VOCAL TRAUMA TRAINING
Many teachers are anxious about working with singers who have already been diagnosed with a vocal condition or trauma. This session will investigate approaches and solutions that get a singer back to vocal health after vocal trauma such as nodules, MTD, hemorrhage or varix.
STRATEGIES FOR MENTAL TOUGHNESS: RECLAIMING YOUR VOICE
Strategies that get at the heart of performance anxiety. Methods for identifying the positive and negative states of mind of a singer before, during and after a performance and methods for gaining mental strength for consistent optimal performance.
Dr. STEPHANIE WEISS
TRAINING FULL LYRIC, SPINTO, DRAMATIC & ZWISCHEN VOICES
In teaching larger voices, what are the challenges and stumbling blocks we face? How is teaching a larger voice the same or different from teaching a lighter voice? How does one determine whether a young singer has a larger instrument? Is your student a Zwischenfach? These are some of the questions that we will address in this session. Other questions to be explored are: how is teaching a larger voice in an online format different? What extra tools can we use? In this session, we will discuss historical voices, vocal registration events as they pertain to dramatic voices including Zwischenfach, as well as exercises and specific repertoire geared towards dramatic voices.
TRAINING TRANSGENDER VOICES
What are similarities and differences in assessing and training transgender singers? How do hormones affect these singers? What are the vocal pedagogical and psychological aspects of training transgender singers? In this session, we will explore pedagogical ideas and exercises specifically geared to the transgender singer.
JENNIE O'BRIEN
TRAINING SINGERS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS
Teaching singers with special needs, including visual impairment, can require additional skills and creativity. Together we will explore the various ways visual impairment can affect learning and teaching and how that in turn affects the musical experience. We will discuss how teachers can empathize with and work to understand learning barriers, along with creative ways to facilitate the success of singers with visual impairments.
SEEING IN THE STUDIO: BUILDING YOUR TOOLBOX BEYOND VOCAL TECHNIQUE
“The whole body is the instrument” is an often used and little understood phrase used in the voice world. In this workshop we are going to delve into what that phrase means as well as other fundamental concepts related to the body to expand our lens as voice teachers.
UNDERSTANDING ALIGNMENT
Many of the current models that address body position and singing focus primarily on a fixed, postural position being required to produce an optimal sound. Unfortunately a fixed model doesn't work when you are performing and need to move on stage! In this workshop we will address alignment, how it is different from posture and how we can use it as a tool in the studio to help us better understand the singer’s body.
KENNETH BOZEMAN
THE ACOUSTIC LANDSCAPE ALL SINGERS INHABIT
Over the last thirty years we have learned a great deal about the acoustics of range and vocal registration. Specifically, it has become clear that many timbral transitions previously thought to be laryngeal in nature were actually shifts in the relationship between voice source harmonics and vocal tract resonances, the locations of which vary by vowel. These shifts function like acoustic registers which are predictable and mappable by vowel and voice type. It has become clear that vowels necessarily migrate in timbre and sensation across range according to predictable patterns, the knowledge of which greatly assists training for efficient function.
EFFECTIVE ACOUSTIC TRAINING STRATEGIES FOR
TREBLE & NON-TREBLE VOICE PASSAGGI
Once acoustic registers are understood—where they exist, what causes them, and what their characteristics are—how to train these transitions becomes both specific and clear. This class will explore effective strategies for negotiating the passaggi of male and female vocal range. It will detail the circumstances in which passive vowel migration is sufficient, as well as those in which active vowel modification becomes necessary.
SUSAN EICHHORN YOUNG
CROSSOVER & THE CLASSICAL SINGER
What does "crossover" mean to the classical singer? How applicable is this for the classical singer and what would it involve technically, dramatically, and in repertoire? We will discuss these possibilities, how the businesses are alike & different, how to approach choosing repertoire best suited for the singer. A Q&A will follow.
THE BASICS OF CROSSOVER TECHNIQUE IN ACTION
A follow up to the first session which will be a virtual workshop/master class opportunity to bring in 16-32 bar music theatre cuts. This allows the singer to incorporate more stylistic technical discovery within their repertoire to authentically embody what different music theatre genres require, and how those stylistic technical behaviors will enhance their already developing/developed technique.
Dr. CLAUDIA FRIEDLANDER
THE VOICE TEACHER AS FITNESS TRAINER: ADAPTING PRINCIPLES OF SPORTS SCIENCE TO OPTIMIZE LARYNGEAL & ARTICULATORY EFFICIENCY
Elite fitness trainers specialize in helping athletes optimize their body for peak performance in their sport. The principles of sport-specific training that inform the regimens they develop can also be applied to optimize vocal anatomy for singing. This workshop will demonstrate how to use these principles to alleviate tension and restore balanced strength and flexibility to the muscles that govern the larynx and articulators.
ANATOMY IN ACTION: MEETING THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF OPERA STAGING
For vocal technique to remain secure throughout stage movement, singers require a high degree of dynamic physical stability. They must also free themselves from habitual and/or extraneous movement in order to define and embody their characters well. This workshop will focus on stabilizing the shoulders, core, and lumbo-pelvic-hip complex can enable singers to express their best technique while also physically embodying their roles and executing stage movement.
JOANNE HAYES BOZEMAN
SINGING THROUGH OUR CHANGES: HORMONES & THE FEMALE VOICE
The human larynx is a target of the reproductive hormones: estrogen, progesterone and androgens. For females, within whom the cyclical nature of estrogen and progesterone presents an ever-changing hormonal landscape, understanding and anticipating the potential effects – beneficial or troubling – of these hormones on the voice is empowering. The hormonal journey includes adolescent voice change, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, breastfeeding, the “4th trimester” and the menopausal transition. This presentation will include an overview of the relationship of the hormone “climate” with adult female voice, based on existing research, clinical opinions, and the unique, lived experiences of singers.
CAROL MASTRODOMENICO
POST-VOCAL TRAUMA TRAINING
Many teachers are anxious about working with singers who have already been diagnosed with a vocal condition or trauma. This session will investigate approaches and solutions that get a singer back to vocal health after vocal trauma such as nodules, MTD, hemorrhage or varix.
STRATEGIES FOR MENTAL TOUGHNESS: RECLAIMING YOUR VOICE
Strategies that get at the heart of performance anxiety. Methods for identifying the positive and negative states of mind of a singer before, during and after a performance and methods for gaining mental strength for consistent optimal performance.
Dr. STEPHANIE WEISS
TRAINING FULL LYRIC, SPINTO, DRAMATIC & ZWISCHEN VOICES
In teaching larger voices, what are the challenges and stumbling blocks we face? How is teaching a larger voice the same or different from teaching a lighter voice? How does one determine whether a young singer has a larger instrument? Is your student a Zwischenfach? These are some of the questions that we will address in this session. Other questions to be explored are: how is teaching a larger voice in an online format different? What extra tools can we use? In this session, we will discuss historical voices, vocal registration events as they pertain to dramatic voices including Zwischenfach, as well as exercises and specific repertoire geared towards dramatic voices.
TRAINING TRANSGENDER VOICES
What are similarities and differences in assessing and training transgender singers? How do hormones affect these singers? What are the vocal pedagogical and psychological aspects of training transgender singers? In this session, we will explore pedagogical ideas and exercises specifically geared to the transgender singer.
JENNIE O'BRIEN
TRAINING SINGERS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS
Teaching singers with special needs, including visual impairment, can require additional skills and creativity. Together we will explore the various ways visual impairment can affect learning and teaching and how that in turn affects the musical experience. We will discuss how teachers can empathize with and work to understand learning barriers, along with creative ways to facilitate the success of singers with visual impairments.
- Sessions:
- 90 minutes long
- divided in two parts - lecture/demonstration & Q&A section
- interactive
- some participation needed but not required
- Access to (during and for unlimited time after the program):
- closed online community page specifically designed for this program
- videos of all sessions
- teaching tools and resources
- bibliographies and recommended reading on each topic
- connection to the vocal pedagogues lecturing during the program and special rates for further individual sessions with them
- networking opportunities with all participating singers and vocal specialists
TESTIMONIALS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS
'Thank you so much for EVERYTHING you did to get this Programme out to us. Your organisation was fabulous and you have provided us with some fabulous resources and contacts. Thank you.
What I particularly treasured:
- Organised administration/clarity of communication/preparation
- Organised Speakers, they all knew what they were presenting about and presented about what they said they would (not all do!)
- You kept to time, warned us about the time for cut off of Questions etc
- Access to videos - amazing
- Good mix of Presentation & Q&A – not too long and your speakers kept to it which was great
- Good length of sessions – any longer and I would have had brain freeze'
Melanie Mehta (UK)
'First of all, a huge thank you for this opportunity! The program is very well organised. I had a feeling that my time was used very efficiently. I actually prefer that the program was online to save on travel time, which is more practical for me since I have a baby at home. The faculty was top notch, and their presentations were to the point and packed with information. I also find it fantastic that we had handouts from each presenter. I particularly enjoyed Susan Eichhorn Young's virtual masterclass, and find that a mixture of 'in practice' and theoretical information is really great.'
Marie Franceschini (Germany)
'Thank you for all of your hard work organizing the Teaching Online seminars! It was a great mix of very strong presentations, and you communicated and organized everything extremely well. It was especially appreciated that there was only one lecture per day; given the overload of Zoom these days as well as the busy schedules of participants, it made it much more manageable to spread the content out across two weeks. I will keep my eyes open for further programming by OPB!'
Lily Thompson (USA)
What I particularly treasured:
- Organised administration/clarity of communication/preparation
- Organised Speakers, they all knew what they were presenting about and presented about what they said they would (not all do!)
- You kept to time, warned us about the time for cut off of Questions etc
- Access to videos - amazing
- Good mix of Presentation & Q&A – not too long and your speakers kept to it which was great
- Good length of sessions – any longer and I would have had brain freeze'
Melanie Mehta (UK)
'First of all, a huge thank you for this opportunity! The program is very well organised. I had a feeling that my time was used very efficiently. I actually prefer that the program was online to save on travel time, which is more practical for me since I have a baby at home. The faculty was top notch, and their presentations were to the point and packed with information. I also find it fantastic that we had handouts from each presenter. I particularly enjoyed Susan Eichhorn Young's virtual masterclass, and find that a mixture of 'in practice' and theoretical information is really great.'
Marie Franceschini (Germany)
'Thank you for all of your hard work organizing the Teaching Online seminars! It was a great mix of very strong presentations, and you communicated and organized everything extremely well. It was especially appreciated that there was only one lecture per day; given the overload of Zoom these days as well as the busy schedules of participants, it made it much more manageable to spread the content out across two weeks. I will keep my eyes open for further programming by OPB!'
Lily Thompson (USA)