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You are a choir director extraordinaire! You put on incredible rock-choir performances each year with your school choirs, how did this come about and what has the reception been?
(photographed below: Jeff Costello performing with his band, Kos & Kos)

Oh my goodness, let’s not get carried away, but thank you for the kind words. My public school choral program is definitely different from most but I feel this is the direction the choral music world needs to go in order to survive. And, by “survive” I mean maintaining large programs and not shrinking programs of specialized choral singers. My students get a real world, full rock band accompanied Spring Concert experience every year. Because of this experience, they should feel much more confident stepping into a Praise Band at church, a local pop/rock band, or even singing karaoke in public.
My shift away from a more traditional, Classical choral curriculum to that of a more CCM based, student driven curriculum began in 2008 when I was first introduced to Somatic Voicework ™ and the teaching of Jeanie LoVetri. Hearing Jeanie say that ALL genres of music deserve equal respect really resonated with me. A highly respected teacher was finally saying what I had been thinking for years. I suddenly felt like I was HOME!
The reception has been great! Two of the last three years’ Spring Concerts were covered by a local TV news station and I have 30 more students this year than I had last year. People are starting to pay attention to what we are doing, which is very exciting. [Read more…] about Spotlight on Jeff Costello

You are a Speech-Language Pathologist who also holds a DMA in vocal performance. What led you towards a career as a CCC-SLP?

I was interested in also being able to work with people who had a voice pathology. While many singing teachers have the ear and the knowledge to help guide injured voices, the speech-language pathology degree is considered the “gold standard” by the medical profession to be able to do medical rehabilitation of the voice.
I am focused on helping singers, actors, and other professional voice users, recalibrate their vocal mechanics after a setback, as well as educating them about voice habilitation. I am fortunate to have worked in voice centers in New York and Boston that are patient-centered, and have had the opportunity to see some interesting cases. I learn so much from my patients!

Why is it important that singers have a speech-language pathologist as apart of their vocal health team (in addition to a voice teacher and a laryngologist)?

Since I have been both a singing teacher and a speech pathologist, I think one of the differences is that as a singing teacher, I helped singers go from a healthy baseline to enhanced use of the voice. As a speech-pathologist/voice specialist, I take a singer from vocal setback/pathology back to baseline. The SLP who is a professional voice specialist can also “interpret” for the physician, the patient and the singing teacher what each of the other team members means—often the same thing said with different terminology.
Singing teachers have made great strides in the past 20 years in learning the medical terminology, and in including voice science and medical courses in their conference offerings. And, there are more physicians entering the field of laryngology who have some background in singing or performing, so, overall, the communication is improving. The most important thing is that EVERY member of the team needs to be invested in what is best for the particular student/patient. The solutions are not one-size fits all.

You will be presenting at this summer’s LoVetri Institute for Somatic Voicework™, what can participants expect from your presentation?

I will cover anatomy and physiology, posture, breathing, myofascial release, vocal hygiene (including some myth-busting), how to do the teamwork of patient, SLP, physician, singing teacher and other providers, and I have a handout for everyone on “How to be a Good Patient.”

When did you first meet Jeanie LoVetri?

I first met Jeanie when I completed by training for speech pathology in New York and began working as a speech pathologist. I also took all 3 levels of Somatic Voicework™ – the LoVetri Method!

Please Check Out More from Dr. Chandler Thompson

Website: https://voice.weill.cornell.edu/

As a seasoned performer, having worked professionally in Musical Theatre in New York City, on national tours, internationally, etc., what do you think the important keys to success emerging artists must consider before embarking on a career?

(Photographed Below: Michelle Rosen in The Phantom of the Opera)

If you listen to musical theatre singers of the past, they had very unique and recognizable voices. They may not have had technically perfect instruments or in some cases any vocal training, but they could inhabit a song, some quite beautifully. I worry about the graduates of all the hundreds of musical theatre programs across the country now. They may sing well, but in this highly competitive market, what is individual and special about them that will make them stand out? They are all beginning to sound the same – are we training the individuality right out of them?
The other thing MT performers need to know is: acting first. Unless you are an astonishing dancer or a good dancer who’s content to stay in the ensemble, what performers on Broadway have always been and continue to be are actors first and foremost. If you’re being sent in for an agent submission or going to an Equity call, they just ASSUME you can sing (and you’d better be able to!), but they are looking beyond that for strong acting and personalization of the work you bring in. [Read more…] about Spotlight on Michelle Rosen

You recently took a sabbatical from your private teaching studio. What can you tell us about that experience and where it has led you?

I love teaching singing, but if I’m being honest, doing it for 15 years independently and then for the last six, building it as a business had taken its toll.
In June of 2018 I stopped teaching privately with the intention of returning back to my work in September.
What followed were some of the most uncertain and exciting months of my adult life. At first I felt quite lost with the time I had suddenly acquired, but after a while I was able to establish new creative habits around singing and music making. In addition, I traveled, studied, caught up with friends and just generally rested. [Read more…] about Spotlight on Davin Youngs