Teaching

 

Teaching people to sing has been a thrill for me since 1986. At that point, greatly inspired by working with singer/teacher Susan Osborn (of Paul Winter Consort) I began to lead exploratory song circles and to teach adults who considered themselves to be “non-singers.” Through simple song, toning and chant meditation, sound healing techniques, kinesthetically-focused, individual vocal work and improvisational ear training, they each found the doorway into the use of their voice,

From 1986 onward, I worked privately with individual singers and choruses. In 1997, while raising my two young daughters, I returned to college to finish the music degree that I had started 12 years prior. I shifted my educational focus from the original vocal performance track to vocal performance and pedagogy.

As an active member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), I stay current on vocal science and repertoire.

My past students are found in varied locations: performing opera in Salzburg, musical theatre in New York City, NATS musical theatre national competitions, singing raucously in cars and karaoke bars, and singing their babies off to sleep. They are all, in my mind, fabulous human beings and artists in their own right.

 

 

My current work:

  • Private lessons from beginners to professionals.
  • General vocal music to singers from preschool to grade 5
  •  Choral direction
  •  Directing musicals
  •  Conducting master classes and workshops for choral ensembles and groups of individuals wishing to work on vocal technique and musicianship.

 

 

 

Places Currently Employed: 

St. John School of the Arts (voice teacher, youth choral director)

St. John Women’s Ensemble (founder/director)

My home studio (private vocal instruction)

New England Youth Theater  (musical direction)

Brattleboro Music Center (program director and vocal coach)

 

Other Music Programs Developed

  • “Get Real!” summer vocal music programs: Brattleboro Music Center in Brattleboro, VT;  St. John School of the Arts, St. John, USVI.
  • Music Adventure Program (MAP): Inspired and mentored by Laura Lawson Tucker and Darlene Jenson’s Theater Adventure Program.  An exploratory music class for students of differing abilities.   Primary musical modalities: singing and drumming, improvisation and composition.
  • Composers in Our Midst:  a weekend celebration of new music by local composers, including   student workshop and masterclass, recital and evening concert by professional musicians.  (Brattleboro Music Center)

 

 

Previous places of employment:

I have been a member of the voice faculty of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and in Vermont I have taught at Northern Stage Theater, Vermont Academy,  The Putney School, The Brattleboro Music Center, and from my home studios.