Christopher Arneson is a professional voice trainer and Vocologist who works with singers and actors to build powerful, effective voices. In 2003, he joined the voice faculty at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where he is Director of Voice Pedagogy, and teaches Voice, Voice Pedagogy, Literature for Teaching, and Speech for the Actor. Dr. Arneson is the co-director of the CoOPERAtive Program, a young artist program for singers, held at Westminster Choir College.
Dr. Arneson was the co-director of the Voice and Speech department in the MFA program at the renowned Actors Studio of the New School University in New York. In addition, he taught voice and vocal pedagogy at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Dr. Arneson completed Vocology internships at the Grabscheid Voice Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital and the Vox Humana Laboratory at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, both in New York, where he continues to collaborate with otolaryngologists and speech-language pathologists in the remediation of voice disorders. Dr. Arneson holds both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Opera degrees from Binghamton University, completed post-graduate studies at Cornell University where he studied with renowned Verdi scholar Roger Parker, and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University where he studied seventeenth-century Venetian opera with Dr. Irene Alm. Dr. Arneson is an editor for NATS Journal of Singing, and he served on the editorial board for the new revised edition of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Vocal Repertoire Collection, published by Frederick Harris, Ltd. He is a member of the American Academy of Teachers of Singing, and he has been designated as Master Teacher for the NATS Teaching Intern Program and served as the Program Chair for the 2014 NATS National Conference.
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SCOTT McCOY is Professor of Voice Science and Pedagogy at The Ohio State University (OSU), where he serves as director of the Swank Voice Laboratory, director of graduate programs in voice pedagogy and director of OSU’s pioneering interdisciplinary program in singing voice health. His multimedia voice science and pedagogy textbook, Your Voice: An Inside View, was introduced in mid-2004 and has since been adopted by well over 100 colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad. Deeply committed to education, McCoy is a founding faculty member in the New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA) professional development program, teaching classes in voice anatomy, physiology and acoustic analysis.
Dr. McCoy has performed more than two dozen leading operatic roles and over 60 concert and oratorio solo roles with professional music organizations in the United States and abroad. In addition, he is a specialist in the song cycles of Schubert and Schumann, frequently concertizing with pianists Claude Cymerman and J.J. Penna.
A long-time member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), McCoy served as President of the Association from 2008-10, and currently is the director of the NATS national Intern Program. Additionally, he is Associate Editor of the Journal of Singing for voice pedagogy, a member of the NATS Voice Science Advisory Committee, and was selected as a Master Teacher for the 2005 and 2009 NATS Intern Programs. In 2003, he was elected to membership in the distinguished American Academy of Teachers of Singing. Prior to joining the OSU faculty in 2011, he was Professor of Voice and Director of the Presser Music Center Voice Laboratory at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. McCoy was named a University of Iowa Fellow in the fall of 2007.
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Donald Miller, who designed and developed the software program VoceVista (Visual Feedback for Instruction in Singing), began his career as an opera singer and voice teacher. Having completed his formal studies at the Yale University School of Music in his native USA, he continued with singing less
His interest in the application of voice science to the singing voice grew in the late 70's, and in 1984 he spent a semester in Groningen, the Netherlands, on a project with Harm K.Schutte and the late Prof. Janwillem van den Berg. In 1987 he moved permanently to Groningen to devote himself to research on the acoustics and physiology of the singing voice as an associate of the Groningen Voice Research Lab. This has resulted in a number of scientific publications together with Prof. Schutte, as well as a doctoral monograph, Registers in Singing, published in 2000.
An important result of his work in Groningen has been the program VoceVista, feedback for instruction in singing. VoceVista was introduced in 1996, when personal computers became powerful enough to perform real-time spectrum analysis. Since then it has been further perfected and is now in use in voice labs and facilities for training singers, particularly in the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands.
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Michael Trimble was a winner of both the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and the American Opera Auditions in 1963 and made his debut in Milan at the Teatro Nuovo as Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca. He studied voice with Mack Harrell and Olga Ryss. He has sung over 60 leading tenor roles of the Italian, French and German repertoire throughout Europe, Canada and the United States. Mr. Trimble performed with such celebrated conductors as Karl Böhm, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Charles Mackerras, Nello Santi, Ferdinand Leitner, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Karl Richter. He served as Chairman of Vocal and Choral studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Texas at Austin, Guest Professor at University of Miami, and as a member of the voice faculty of the Aspen Music Festival for over fifteen years (he created and directed the Aspen Vocal Institute). In 1990, upon the recommendation of George London, Opera America recognized Mr. Trimble as the leading authority in the voice training and development of young singers. In 1992, he formally established the Trimble Vocal Institute, consolidating under one roof his innovative development and performance programs, and his professional voice studio. Opera Piccola!,the performance division of the Trimble Vocal Institute met with extraordinary success during the 1996‑98 Naples (Florida) Philharmonic Center Seasons with concerts of Opera and Musical Theatre Highlights. Mr. Trimble is recognized internationally as a voice teacher and repertory coach and, despite his attempt at retirement, still maintains an active voice studio and vocal consultation service. His students are singing in opera houses throughout the world. The Trimble Vocal Institute is thriving on Bainbridge Island, Washington in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where Mr. Trimble and his wife, Cantor Pamela Trimble, relocated in May 2001.
Internationally-known tenor Richard di Renzi appeared with L’Opera de Montreal as Radames in Aida and Macduff in Macbeth, Michigan Opera Theater as Don José in Carmen and Cavaradossi in Tosca, Opera Pacific as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Vancouver Opera as Don José, Pittsburgh Opera and National Grand Opera as Turridu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Atlanta Opera as Cavaradossi and Utah Opera as Radames. He also made a notable debut in Carnegie Hall as Pollione in Norma with the Opera Orchestra of New York and in concert at the Hollywood Bowl with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Mr. di Renzi made his European debut in a series of concerts in Bilbao, Spain and has also been heard in Italy, France, Hungary, England, Scotland and Wales and extensively in Canada.
Elsewhere, he appeared on stage with Westchester Opera as Manrico in Il Trovatore and as Cavaradossi in Tosca, the Aspen Music Festival, and as featured soloist in opera galas for Hudson Opera Theater and La Follia di New York at Alice Tully Hall. In addition to his opera credits, Mr. di Renzi has appeared in over twenty musical theater productions in a wide variety of roles from Curly in Oklahoma, Matt in The Fantastiks, Freddie Hill in My Fair Lady, and Abner in Lil’ Abner. Richard is a winner of the 1992 International Enrico Caruso Voice Competition and a two-time winner of the Mario Lanza Scholarship Award. Mr. di Renzi may be heard as Pinkerton on Vox Classics’ recording of Madama Butterfly featuring Maria Spacagna in the title role.
After his retirement from singing, Mr. di Renzi taught voice and speech production for three years in the Master of Fine Arts Program of the world-renowned Actor’s Studio at New School University in Manhattan. He currently maintains private voice studios in both New York and New Jersey. In addition, he has been both an adjudicator and master class presenter at teen arts festivals in New Jersey. Mr. di Renzi had the opportunity to study for three years with renowned the tenor Franco Corelli and considers Corelli, along with Emile Renan and, above all, Michael Trimble as the teachers who most influenced his singing.
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Sangeetha Rayapati, DMA, is Associate Professor of Music at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where she teaches voice and music courses, and coordinates offerings of the Barbara Shellhouse Center for Singing. Over the last decade she has taught singers of all ages, both in the studio and in voice classes, and been recognized through presentations and publications by the International Congress of Voice Teachers, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Music Educators National Conference, the American Choral Director’s Association, and the College Music Society for her work on voice training and the older adult. She holds undergraduate degrees in Music and Nursing from Valparaiso University and graduate degrees in Vocal Performance with a Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Dr. Clifton Ware, author of the widely-used textbooks Adventures in Singing and Basics of Vocal Pedagogy.
In addition to teaching, Dr. Rayapati performs regionally as soloist in opera and oratorio and is a frequent recitalist and collaborator with contemporary composers, most recently recording “Luna, Luna” by William Campbell for the Latino Dance Project. She enjoys illuminating the communicative process of singing for herself and for her students, regardless of age.
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Laurie Lee Cosby, soprano and multi-styles singer, is co-founder and co-director of Studio Bella Voce. She serves as the Executive Director for the DFW area. Laurie also teaches voice and coaches musical theatre vocals in the Department of Music and Drama at Texas Woman's University. Her degrees include a master’s degree in Vocal Performance from The University of Tulsa and a bachelor degree in Choral Music Education from Dallas Baptist University. She is also certified in Elisabeth Howard’s acclaimed Vocal Power singing method. Ms. Cosby is published in the Journal of Singing on the topic of studio business. She has served as guest lecturer and on panel discussions for Texas area universities for vocal pedagogy courses on the topics of studio business and multi-styles vocal production.
Donna Hinds Sawyers currently serves on the voice faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and Master of Music degree in voice performance from the University of Houston, Moores School of Music. She is co-founder and Houston Executive Director of Studio Bella Voce, a comprehensive multi-styles vocal studio. Ms. Hinds Sawyers holds multiple contemporary commercial music (CCM) certifications and specializes in crossover technique and audition preparation. She has enjoyed a diverse career as a singer, musical director, conductor, and is an award winning actor and teacher.
The authors are active members of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and have made joint presentations on the topic of studio management and business for regional and national conferences.
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Barbara Wilson Arboleda, MS CCC-SLP is a licensed speech-language pathologist. She graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions at Massachusetts General Hospital and completed a specialty rotation in voice disorders at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Currently, she provides voice therapy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, Massachusetts. Barbara is a member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and the Voice and Speech Trainers Association.
In addition to her clinical work, Barbara has been a singer and actor for over 15 years. She studied voice at the New England Conservatory, through consortium with Simmons College and completed an acting program with Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Massachusetts. She has been studying the Estill Voice Training System with Mary McDonald Klimek since 2001, and sings with the blues/rock band the King Street Band. In addition to the above contact information, medical voice patients can be seen at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
barbara@voicewize.com
ROBERT EDWIN has gained international recognition as a singer, composer, teacher, and writer. He has sung Bach cantatas in church cathedrals and rock songs in Greenwich Village coffeehouses, recorded for Avant Garde and Fortress Records, and toured extensively throughout the United States and abroad. He has performed in New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Town Hall, and has appeared with such outstanding artists as opera star Jerome Hines, jazz legend Duke Ellington, and actor-director Ossie Davis. His TV and radio credits include several NBC Christmas specials as well as commercials for everything from politicians to hot dogs. His CDs of original songs (Robert Edwin-Christian Songs and, More to Life-Robert Edwin Sings Songs by Crosby & Edwin) are available at www.cdbaby.com .
An ASCAP lyricist and composer since 1967, Mr. Edwin has written a wide variety of music ranging from hymns to music theater scores. He was a leader in the 1960s “Church Music Reformation” when his albums, Keep the Rumor Going and With Joy, and his Synergy Series of Worship Experiences became a reviving factor in the life of the church.
His diverse performing career is matched by an equally diverse teaching career. A leading authority on Contemporary Commercial Music (nonclassical) and child voice pedagogy, Robert Edwin preaches what he practices at his large private studio in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, where classical singers interact with music theater performers, rock and pop vocalists, child singers, and pageant contestants. His DVD on child voice training, He authored a chapter on teaching children to sing for the 2008 book, Pediatric Voice Disorders (Plural Publishing), and is a chapter author for the upcoming Oxford University Press, Handbook of Music Education.
robert@robertedwinstudio.com