“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”
-Edith Wharton
I learned early in life the importance of joy. I am the son of a teenaged, single mother who never had much by way of comforts or material things, but we did share a deep love of music. Whether we were sitting at bus stops or walking the miles between home and our daily destinations we always had music. That music was our source of joy and it carried us through some unbelievable challenges. Through these experiences, I have learned the things that are most important to me: hard work, discipline, respect, and most of all joy.
These are the things I strive to leave with every student I teach. Whether I am teaching a group musical theatre course or private voice lessons, the goal is always to give students a combination of technical, artistic, and collaborative tools. Through hard work, discipline, and respect for themselves and their craft, these tools will leave them with the joy of discovering themselves as artists and as human beings.
As a voice teacher, I work with performers of all levels and singers across many styles. I have experience working with students in Broadway shows, students in their very first high school musical, and every skill level between. Each artist requires a unique approach depending on his or her skill level, experience, and goals, but I believe the very first place to start is with technique. I work with singers so they learn how alignment, breath coordination, and coordination of registration and acoustics can help them achieve their vocal goals. I believe this technical foundation is also the key to unlocking all the emotional possibilities of communicating through song.
The musical theatre profession requires so much of artists. We have to be fluent in multiple styles. Jazz, rock, pop, contemporary music theatre, golden age music theatre, opera, rap, and spoken word can all be found represented on Broadway currently or in recent years. When you consider cruise ship entertainment, theme park entertainment, studio session work, cabaret singing, and so much more, the demands can seem overwhelming. But I bring my experience and expertise from all these arenas to every student I teach, which can involve anything from the singers’ lifestyle and navigating different professional environments to musical versatility and how to meet vocal demands.
Being successful in music theatre is so much more than being great at your art. It is also about integrity, being an engaged person, knowing how to give back, and working well within a team but also knowing how to shine as an individual. No matter the class or the lesson, this type of personal responsibility is a focus of my teaching.
I believe the greatest area for growth in our industry is in accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. Many diversity initiatives revolve around making our stages and screens more diverse, which is vital and necessary work. But I am constantly seeking ways to extend our efforts of inclusion and creation of opportunity beyond the stage and into our creative teams, technical teams, craftspeople, and producers. How do we create opportunity industry wide? I think the answer to that question is ever evolving and differs for every community. But it is important to me to be always seeking answers to this all-important question.
My absolute favorite thing about being a teacher is watching students discover their power as artists. My first voice student was an actress tasked to be the Effie alternate in Dreamgirls, The Musical on tour. In addition to performing the role when the lead actress called in sick, she was also slated to perform the role for every matinee of the run. Together we worked on basic alignment, breath coordination, and acoustics which helped her soar through the show. Watching this young actress use those tools to discover the power her voice already possessed was absolutely thrilling. Everything she needed to succeed at her job was already within her. There was no magic spell, secret formula, or neat trick to get her there. She only needed hard work, dedication, a willingness to learn, and absolute joy in the process to achieve her goals.
Students in my care will find themselves working harder than ever, with passion and fervor to reach their goals. To me, that is joy. With this joy intact, my students learn more than the best strategies for singing, acting, and dancing, they learn that through hard work, discipline, respect, and most of all joy they already possess everything necessary to reach their goals both as artists and in life.
These are the things I strive to leave with every student I teach. Whether I am teaching a group musical theatre course or private voice lessons, the goal is always to give students a combination of technical, artistic, and collaborative tools. Through hard work, discipline, and respect for themselves and their craft, these tools will leave them with the joy of discovering themselves as artists and as human beings.
As a voice teacher, I work with performers of all levels and singers across many styles. I have experience working with students in Broadway shows, students in their very first high school musical, and every skill level between. Each artist requires a unique approach depending on his or her skill level, experience, and goals, but I believe the very first place to start is with technique. I work with singers so they learn how alignment, breath coordination, and coordination of registration and acoustics can help them achieve their vocal goals. I believe this technical foundation is also the key to unlocking all the emotional possibilities of communicating through song.
The musical theatre profession requires so much of artists. We have to be fluent in multiple styles. Jazz, rock, pop, contemporary music theatre, golden age music theatre, opera, rap, and spoken word can all be found represented on Broadway currently or in recent years. When you consider cruise ship entertainment, theme park entertainment, studio session work, cabaret singing, and so much more, the demands can seem overwhelming. But I bring my experience and expertise from all these arenas to every student I teach, which can involve anything from the singers’ lifestyle and navigating different professional environments to musical versatility and how to meet vocal demands.
Being successful in music theatre is so much more than being great at your art. It is also about integrity, being an engaged person, knowing how to give back, and working well within a team but also knowing how to shine as an individual. No matter the class or the lesson, this type of personal responsibility is a focus of my teaching.
I believe the greatest area for growth in our industry is in accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. Many diversity initiatives revolve around making our stages and screens more diverse, which is vital and necessary work. But I am constantly seeking ways to extend our efforts of inclusion and creation of opportunity beyond the stage and into our creative teams, technical teams, craftspeople, and producers. How do we create opportunity industry wide? I think the answer to that question is ever evolving and differs for every community. But it is important to me to be always seeking answers to this all-important question.
My absolute favorite thing about being a teacher is watching students discover their power as artists. My first voice student was an actress tasked to be the Effie alternate in Dreamgirls, The Musical on tour. In addition to performing the role when the lead actress called in sick, she was also slated to perform the role for every matinee of the run. Together we worked on basic alignment, breath coordination, and acoustics which helped her soar through the show. Watching this young actress use those tools to discover the power her voice already possessed was absolutely thrilling. Everything she needed to succeed at her job was already within her. There was no magic spell, secret formula, or neat trick to get her there. She only needed hard work, dedication, a willingness to learn, and absolute joy in the process to achieve her goals.
Students in my care will find themselves working harder than ever, with passion and fervor to reach their goals. To me, that is joy. With this joy intact, my students learn more than the best strategies for singing, acting, and dancing, they learn that through hard work, discipline, respect, and most of all joy they already possess everything necessary to reach their goals both as artists and in life.