Whether you teach voice or you are a young, aspiring singer, it seems you can make a world of new discoveries every day about the “how to’s” of healthy and happy vocalizing and successful teaching. This philosophy is at the core of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music’s annual Voice Performance and Teaching summer workshop.
Answering the need for a specialized, extended course that focused exclusively on the male voice, the debut workshop in June 2007, “Teaching Men to Sing,” drew an enthusiastic 65 teachers and 15 students from the United States, Canada, and Europe, according to the school of music’s Fanfare! newsletter. Response was overwhelmingly positive from both student singers and teachers who attended.
Following in its successful footsteps, “Teaching Sopranos: A Guide to the Successful Development of Soprano and Mezzo-soprano Voices,” will be the focus of this year’s workshop, set for June 2-7.
“There really is a need for these types of workshops among both students and teachers, and it’s important for each to have these opportunities,” said Indiana University professor of music Paul Kiesgen, who is at the helm of the project. “Many voice teachers have limited experience working with male singers because the majority of students are female. There are real differences in how each voice type works, but I am convinced that we can teach voices very different from our own if we are armed with the correct information about how they function.
“The 2007 workshop focused on the differences in various male voice types and methods of teaching them,” Kiesgen added. “The second workshop in the series will examine similar topics as they relate to soprano and mezzo-soprano voices.”
Kiesgen expects a large number of singers and teachers from all over North America. The workshop has 15 spaces available for female student singers, who must be enrolled in a university-level voice department. The workshop assigns student singers to masterclasses on the first day.
The objective of the workshop is to further the education of voice students and teachers through a series of masterclasses, lectures, group discussions, and multimedia presentations focusing on everything from vocal pedagogy to performance interpretation and evaluating singing.
During the workshop, Kiesgen, other Indiana University music faculty members, and acclaimed guest clinicians offer explanations and analysis of the various areas of vocal function and discuss how teachers should treat various voice types. Discussions also will include observation of both students and professional singers through video examples, real-time audio and visual feedback in the voice studio, and teaching methods from Bel Canto to the present.
“We’re very excited about the space we have this year for the workshop,” Kiesgen said. “The built-in projectors and multiple large screens will enable us to use more multimedia presentations to assist with some of the topics being discussed. Students and teachers seemed to really enjoy that aspect of the first workshop.”
Additionally, selected student singers and teachers will have the opportunity to sing and work with some of the vocal industry’s best, who lend their expertise on a variety of topics. Richard Miller, world-renowned voice pedagogue and author of Training Soprano Voices, who presented a masterclass at the 2007 workshop, will return for the 2008 workshop to present another masterclass, this time for sopranos.
Afternoons will also offer teaching demonstrations with Indiana University voice faculty professors Kiesgen, Carol Vanness, and Costanza Cuccaro. Additionally, Kiesgen will preside over a session on presenting an effective masterclass as part of a job interview.
During evening sessions participants can hear lectures by Indiana University professor Patricia Wise on how to prepare for a successful audition and Stephen Robertson, of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, on interpretation: “Finding the Artist Within.”
The final event of the workshop will be a two-hour round table session with all participants and faculty—a unique opportunity for attendees. Both student singers and teacher participants will be invited to participate in an evening recital as well.
Dan Johnson-Wilmot, a professor of music at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis., attended the 2007 workshop along with one of his students, and plans to attend the 2008 workshop.
“The manner in which it was delivered was very stimulating,” said Johnson-Wilmot of the previous workshop. “There was a lot of information presented on effective teaching that got you to start thinking. I can’t say enough positive things about it. The vast knowledge that was presented was wonderful.”
Johnson-Wilmot’s student who attended—a bass—was selected as one of the student singers for the workshop and benefited from much of what the masterclasses covered, said Johnson-Wilmot.
“Just seeing him up there working with Richard Miller was exciting—he was able to accomplish a great deal in 15 minutes, what might have normally taken about an hour,” Johnson-Wilmot said. “It’s a unique experience for students to have the opportunity to work with someone of that caliber and for teachers to watch them work and take something from that.
“A lot of the ideas that were addressed in the workshop provided a better understanding of the whole act of singing—it’s not just technical singing but also the delivery and acting,” Johnson-Wilmot added of his student. “He was always a fine singer, but he has vastly improved, winning $2,000 at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and placing first in his division of NATS this year. A lot of that I attribute to his experience in the workshop.”
Johnson-Wilmot echoes many of Kiesgen’s beliefs that singing involves a learning process that is always evolving. He described the workshop as an invaluable opportunity for voice students and teachers.
“Teachers have to be continual learners,” Johnson-Wilmot said. “Much of the time, we accomplish one quest and find that, in the process, we have five more quests to conquer. In terms of our own singing as voice teachers, we also continue learning and growing as individuals.
“For the young singer, the world is their oyster,” he added. “These types of workshops can really open up worlds of improvement for them.”
Kiesgen said he will continue the summer workshop annually, with plans to revisit the “Teaching Male Singers” workshop in 2009. He anticipated even greater success in the years to come.
“What makes singing such a wonderful profession is that you never reach a point where you have learned all there is to learn. It’s fascinating,” Kiesgen said. “You are constantly learning and improving yourself as a performer and constantly learning how to successfully communicate with students to help them grow.”
For more information, including courses, deadlines, fees, housing, the workshop schedule, and application information, visit www.music.indiana.edu/special_programs/voice/index.shtml.
