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VOICE TRAINING FOR THIS CENTURY

Advance Your Artistry.  Tune Up Your Technique.  Expand Your Skillset

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​If you have found this page I assume that you fit one or more of the following profiles:

 

You are a classically trained singer wanting to explore commercial music styles but are unsure how to start

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You wanna sing jazz but knowing how to lead the band, pick tunes and keys, is not something you've done before and the words "sitting-in" and "improvisation" send shivers down your spine

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You are a professional singer and you are feeling fatigued during or after your gigs/shows and you need to figure out how to keep singing without losing your voice

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You have a music degree but you weren't allowed to train to sing the commercial styles you love and respect.

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Whether you someone to help you navigate the waters of singing commercial styles,

need a technique "tune-up", a vocal hygiene plan, or help creating set lists or charts...I'VE GOT YOU!!!

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How do you know "I've got you"? Well, I've been there.

I was trained classically and although I loved the music I studied in college and the experiences I had singing opera and art song, that training did NOT prepare me to work in the modern world. (I was never gonna sing at the MET - that wasn't my instrument or my style no matter how many classical competitions I won.) Academia has not QUITE gotten up to speed with offering substantial commercial voice training to voice majors so that's why I'm here. 

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My love has always been jazz and other commercial styles (pop, R&B, country, and bluegrass) but no one was willing to teach me to sing it. I was told I would "mess up my voice" if I sang commercial music. I was told that if I could sing classical, I could sing anything.  NOT TRUE.  

Being a singer means being an ATHLETE. You don't train for the NFL if you are gonna play for the NBA. The training must match the genre and that's what I offer...TRAINING FOR THE GAME.

So, what's your musical game?

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MY CLIENTS

I work with established professionals AND serious, goal-oriented vocalists. My clients include working commercial artists and recording artists from NC to LA.  My students have appeared in National Broadway tours and have been accepted into competitive music programs at schools such as Belmont and Penn State.

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IN LESSONS

   My client focused sessions focus on topics such as:

  • Commercial Vocal Technique

  • Standards and practices of Black American Music - the roots of ALL popular music

  • Vocal health and hygiene for the working professional

  • Preparing to "sit in"

  • Putting together smart and affective set lists

  •  Lead sheet preparation

  • Beginning Improvisation

  • Artist development

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Voice Studio Home: Bio

WHY ME?

In addition to B.M. and M.M. degrees in Vocal Performance from Appalachian State University, I've completed all three levels of the CONTEMPORARY AND COMMERCIAL MUSIC VOICE PEDAGOGY at Shenandoah University, completed Level I of Somatic Voicework (TM)  - The LoVetri Method, and received a VOICE STYLES SPECIALIST CERTIFICATE from Berklee. In 2015, I participated in the NATS Mentored Teaching Project at UNC-G with Matthew Edwards from Shenandoah University as my mentor teacher.​​

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As a performer, I have appeared on stages from New York to Tokyo and have performed with artists such as NEA Jazz Master Jamey Aebersold, the New York Voices, legendary jazz guitarist Howard Alden, jazz violinist Christian Howes, Crystal Gale, and have sung backup for the alternative hip hop group Deltron 3030. I have appeared at Club Bonafide in NYC, the Jazz Arts Initiative, the Mountain Oasis Music Festival, the Spartanburg Jazz Festival, Our World Festival, and the Django Reinhardt Festival in Asheville. 

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In addition to singing with my own jazz quartet, I am the featured vocalist with the Asheville Jazz Orchestra, the Ole '74 Big Band, the Russ Wilson Orchestra, the Michael Jefry Stevens Trio, The Steve Watson Trio, and the Richard Shulman Group. I've recorded with Darmon Meader of the New York Voices, Richard Shulman, Michael Jefry Stevens, Steve Watson, and will release my lastest EPs featuring originals and covers in 2023.

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I am also an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing where I served on the Executive board of the North Carolina Chapter for 5 years.  I stay up to date on the latest voice science and pedagogical techniques as well as the music "biz" through active engagement in organizations such as the Jazz Education Network, the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (GRAMMY'S), ASCAP,  The Voice Foundation, and the Pan-American Vocology Association.

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