TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
While I draw from quite a variety of sources, the teaching philosophy and strategies at the foundation of my work are most influenced by three pedagogues (W. Stephen Smith, Jeanie Lovetri, and Marlena Malas) who were greatly influenced by Cornelius Reed. I believe that the fastest and most secure way to helping a student balance their instrument in any style is to separate the voice into its purest registers (very light head voice and robust chest voice), making sure that each is well-coordinated and healthily produced. We then work to bring these two systems into coherence with one another into a balanced instrument that serves the imagination of the singer. My work is also informed by Kenneth Bozeman and Ian Howell's research on acoustic registration and I use quite a bit of speech interventions and twang farm exercises common in Estill and other musical theater style pedagogies.
TEACHING SAMPLES
BARITONE: INTRODUCING THE REGISTERS
September 2021
15 minutes
In this zoom lesson, I introduce nomenclature for registration to a first-semester freshman. This is a good example of how I introduce terms to a new student and begin to acclimate them to functional pedagogy.
MEZZO SOPRANO: LIGHT HEAD VOICE STRATEGIES
October 2021
Building upon work done by a former lab colleague, I have developed a powerful tool for use in the identification and characterization of the processes in my model system. A major advantage of this development is its improved sensitivity, which allows it to detect subtle dynamic property changes in response to my experimental setup.
MEZZO SOPRANO:
BALANCING THE CHEST DOMINANT SOUND.
October 2021
We still have only a very limited understanding of Gene Sequencing. Answering questions about this is essential for understanding the mechanistic role it plays on other scientific processes, and for developing tools to further explore this research avenue with more sensitive measurements and improved data collection.
MEZZO SOPRANO: BALANCING THE MIDDLE VOICE INTO THE TOP VOICE. [I] TO [A]
April 12, 2025
In an effort to gain a better understanding of Scanning Electron Microscopy, I have recently begun to use a new technique to investigate the organization and functionality of the diverse parts of my experimental model. I am currently looking to expand this work by collaborating with other labs who have the facilities and prior experience to investigate this project further.
SPEECH WARM-UPÂ STRATEGIES
October 2021
In this example, I guide a soprano through a series of speech exercises meant to warm up the chest voice and the articulators.
SOPRANO TECHNIQUE: BALANCED STACCATI/FLEXIBE BREATHING
October 2021
In an effort to gain a better understanding of Gene Transcription Enhancers, I have recently begun to use a new technique to investigate the organization and functionality of the diverse parts of my experimental model. I am currently looking to expand this work by collaborating with other labs who have the facilities and prior experience to investigate this project further.
MEZZO SOPRANO: BALANCIN
April 12, 2025
We still have only a very limited understanding of New Generations, New Diseases. Answering questions about this is essential for understanding the mechanistic role it plays on other scientific processes, and for developing tools to further explore this research avenue with more sensitive measurements and improved data collection.
CELL CULTURE
April 12, 2025
Building upon work done by a former lab colleague, I have developed a powerful tool for use in the identification and characterization of the processes in my model system. A major advantage of this development is its improved sensitivity, which allows it to detect subtle dynamic property changes in response to my experimental setup.