Vocal Performance and Teaching Workshop
Singing and Teaching for a New Era
June 7-12, 2010
2010 Faculty:
Paul Kiesgen, Director and Principal Clinician
With master classes by Jacobs School Professors Costanza Cuccaro and Jeff Nelsen, and special guest clinicians Meribeth Bunch Dayme, Elizabeth Blades-Zeller, Lynn Helding, Donald Miller, and Stephen Robertson.
Course Information: (2010 updates coming soon): After very successful workshops on Teaching Men to Sing and Teaching Sopranos in 2007 and 2008, the Vocal Performance and Teaching Workshop is taking some new directions. We will continue to present important information on vocal function, vocal acoustics and teaching traditions. In addition, we will explore new ways of changing physical actions through understanding of Motor Learning Theory with Katherine Verdolini Abbot, application of vocal exercises of Costanza Cuccaro, and work on performance anxiety with the internationally acclaimed hornist of the Canadian Brass, Jeff Nelsen.
Each day, Paul Kiesgen will offer explanations and analysis of the various areas of vocal function and discuss how they should be treated when teaching tenor, baritone and bass voices. Discussions will include observation of both student and professional singers through video examples, the use of real time feedback in the voice studio, and teaching methods from the bel canto period to the present.
Topics for discussion will include:
- Breath: How is breathing different for men and women?
- Phonation: What happens in the male larynx vs. the female larynx?
- Do Differences in Glottal Resistance Mandate Different Breath Pressures?
Resonance Strategies for Men
- Vowel Formants in Men and Women
- Proper Resonance for High Notes
- Finding a Balance Between Beautiful Tones and Clear Diction
- Using Falsetto as a Pedagogical Tool
- Vibrancy and Vibrato
- Objective Listening
- How to Present a Master Class as Part of a Job Interview.
Katherine Verdolini Abbott has captivated audiences at the last two national conferences of NATS, telling them how traditional methods of teaching, including scientific explanations and the use of imagery, can be replaced by the more effective procedural methods she has developed. She will explain and demonstrate her methods using participants as teachers and student singers as their students in two Monday sessions.
In response to many requests from last year’s participants, Costanza Cuccaro will return to share her many vocal exercises and tell us how she uses them to help singers find the flexibility and range they all seek in their singing. The week will continue with master classes by IU Voice faculty members Robert Harrison, Dale Moore and Paul Kiesgen and will also feature a master class with Stephen Robertson, one of the most respected vocal pedagogues in Britain.
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music horn professor, Jeff Nelsen has developed an approach to performance anxiety that he calls “Fearless Auditioning.” He will share his fearless auditioning techniques in a lecture-master class. Approaching performing with a fearless state of mind optimizes our potential for success at elevating the musical experience for us, our audiences, and our audition panels as well.
The week concludes with a master class featuring the world-renowned voice pedagogue, Richard Miller, author of Structure of Singing and Training Tenor Voices. His most recent publication is a book on teaching lower male voices, Securing Baritone, Bass-Baritone and Bass Voices. Mr. Miller will join other workshop faculty for a round-table discussion on Saturday morning.
We will not spend all our time on work. We will begin the week with a get-acquainted dinner for all participants on Monday evening, and everyone is invited to join us for a Dutch Treat dinner on Friday at a local restaurant. On Thursday we hope everyone will join in and share their favorite song or aria in the event that so many enjoyed last year, the Participants' Recital.
A limited number of university-level men will be accepted as student singers for the workshop. They will work with workshop participants and workshop participants and workshop faculty in the master class sessions and will be able to attend all classes throughout the week.
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