Teaching Philosophy

Mission Statement

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"I am a charismatic and inviting teaching artist dedicated to creating diverse, open and inclusive opportunities for growth, learning, and healthy challenge for all students so that they may assemble and sharpen a broad repertoire of skills they can use to build the artistry they wish to take with them to great stages of the world."

 

 

Philosophy

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My educational philosophy centers around three main ideas: Student-centered learning, being rooted in tradition but remaining dynamic, and the teaching artist as co-learner. As each of us have our own unique voices, the approach studio instructors must take with each student should reflect the student’s individual needs and artistic goals. Each student is on their own artistic path, and I firmly believe in meeting their needs instead of strictly enforcing a prescribed journey. At the same time, a strong and healthy technique must be built to ensure this goal can be met. I hold fast to the teachings of Italian bel canto and classically-styled singing because I believe they can build the ideal foundation for students to sing any style they choose in a healthy, sustainable manner. Once this groundwork is laid and their ability to healthily produce and maintain sound is established, their true artistic journey can begin and instructors must be prepared to go with them instead of holding them back.

 

All repertoire was once new and instructors must be prepared to expand their knowledge base to include new work. With the rise of musical theatre and the popular music culture of the last century has come a decline in public interest for classical singing, and our students know this perhaps better than most. The voice instructor is better equipped now perhaps than ever before to tackle the challenge of preparing students for careers in the expanding music industry. This paradigm shift does not have to include the loss of classical singing or its technique, and I argue that there is a greater need for it now than previously thought. The studio should be a place where students can safely and healthily explore repertoire that is outside the classical canon and the instructor should be able to coach said repertoire with authority and enthusiasm. One can only imagine what artistic fulfillment and joy lies just beyond the reach of one’s own biases.

 

I do not pretend to be truly finished with my own education - with each new student comes a new opportunity to learn and grow as an instructor and an artist. My work in the field of Education has prepared me to be both knowledgeable and humble, to push past my own limitations so as to better serve students on an individual level, and to always be on the cutting edge of methodical and pedagogical research. As students build their knowledge and navigate the repertoire, so too should I build and hone my own skills as a teaching artist. This dynamism and willingness to evolve has been the hallmark of great teachers in my own education as well as those colleagues whose students I’ve observed as having the greatest success both in the studio and on the stage. It is my firm belief that these three guiding principles are what make me an effective and valuable teacher of voice for the 21st century.