Carol wrote:
>I need the names of some teachers in New York that meet these criteria: > >1. An excellent technician >2. Whose studio produces consistent results >3. Will work with an unmanaged singer with the view toward helping them >get management, through competitions, auditions, etc. >4. Will work with a student who commutes from upstate for lessons
Carol,
I'm a day behind here, but I am happy to put in a shameless plug for my teacher, David Jones. He has in abundance all the elements I think are essential for a good teacher: he has a thorough understanding of the physiology of the voice and the effects which adjustments to any part of it will have on the whole, he has a keen ear and eye that he uses to discern what a student is doing that is and isn't correct, he has a real gift of communicating that information to the student in a number of different ways until it "clicks", and he creates a supportive atmosphere in his studio that encourages students to risk trying new things and to do their best.
He is missing a few things that some of the other New York teachers have, however, namely the mega-ego, the name-dropping, and the game playing. Thank goodness. And he doesn't charge the arm and a leg that some of them do, as he doesn't think it's right to gouge singers who are already struggling to make a living in a very tough business. A number of his students have gone on to be solid teachers in their own right, and it speaks well for him that he is secure enough both to encourage them to do so and to refer students to them whom he can't take on (he also gives master classes that are attended by other teachers in town).
Some of the teachers who are considered to be New York's "elite" certainly know what they're doing. But there are others who have been lucky with a student or two who made it big, or who only know how to teach one voice type, or who are expert at fixing this technical problem but have no clue when it comes to that one. I know at least a couple of people who study or have studied with most of them. In some cases, they swear by them, in others, they have nearly given up singing. So as with all things, you have to find what works for you. I will say, though, that most people who go to teachers in the hopes of being introduced to people for whom they would like to sing, because the teachers are considered to be well-connected, end up disappointed. If a singer is doing so well that a teacher is going to put his name on the line with any connection he may have, chances are that singer has the wherewithal to get noticed on his own. And many of the supposed connections never materialize.
I have studied with five teachers in my twenty years in New York, three of them big whopper names that most of you would know, and I did get some things out of studying with all of them. But David is the one who consistently produces results for me.
There are two caveats here - a student of David's has to be self-motivating. He will not push you to prepare your music or to apply to a competition or to set up an audition. He will support you completely in preparing for whatever is coming up, but the impetus has to come from you. Also, he is teaching 45-50 hours a week and it's difficult to get a time with him without some notice, although he will do his best to fit people in. He frequently takes one- to two-week trips to teach in Europe, and does other out-of-town teaching -- he will be giving a master class at the University of Michigan in January, at the invitation of Shirley Verrett, who has studied with him -- so he's not always around. His website, www.voiceteacher.com, has attracted students from all over the world, who come to New York to study with him for a couple of weeks or a month at a time. So while he's definitely worth it, expect to schedule well in advance to see him.
What else can I say? I have a close friend, a soprano, whom I met through a church job lots of years ago, and we later ended up singing at the same synagogue job. I knew that she sang consistently well and that she studied with David, but I was studying with another teacher (for way too long). After I finally had a few lessons with him, I remember asking her (shaking her by the shoulders, as I recall) why she hadn't insisted that I do so long before. She gave me a knowing smile.
Robin Lynne Frye Mezzo-Soprano Voice and Piano Teacher New York, New York
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