Pedagogy – Voice

The voice pedagogy program at Shenandoah Conservatory is a thriving community of singers, both faculty and students, who are committed to merging scientific research with intuitive knowledge.

We embrace a functional voice training approach that supports both classical and contemporary commercial music (CCM) vocal demands. Shenandoah Conservatory is one of only six institutions in the United States with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Pedagogy – Voice. We are also the first institution to offer the Master of Music in Pedagogy – Voice in Contemporary Commercial Music.

Our vocal pedagogy graduates are teaching at universities throughout the United States, presenting at conferences and publishing papers in leading journals.

Graduate Programs

Janette E. Ogg Voice Research Center (JOVRC)

The Janette E. Ogg Voice Research Center serves as a central hub for our vocal pedagogy students. Our students and faculty collaborate in research projects that are published in the Journal of Voice and the Journal of Singing. Many have authored books produced by Nova Science Publishers, and other print media. They regularly present research at international conferences including the Voice Foundation Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice, the Pan-European Vocology Conference, Pacific Voice & Speech Foundation, the UCSF Voice Conference, and Johan Sundberg’s Function of the Singing Voice in Sweden.

Research tools available in the JOVRC:

VoceVistaPro with glottal enterprises PC-2 EGG (we also have a modified version of VoceVista that allows longer LTAS measurements, and a portable EGG with boom microphone, headphones, and a USB computer connection)
Glottal enterprises Aeroview software, Rothenberg dual chamber CV mask and a custom-built NEH handle with dual microphones and dual pressure sensors (we also have on loan an MS-110 data interface with the associated transducers and mask and a NEH 2.5 handle)
Multispeech 3700 from KayPentax
Madde and Apex from KTH (Decap, RTSect, and Director Musices are also available)
Praat
Dr. Speech Real Analysis
Speechstation 2 from Sensimetrics
Student versions of Waveview, Aeroview, and Nasality, with training exercises from glottal enterprises

We actively network with medical professionals in the region and collaborate with other university programs within the School of Health Professions.

Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute

At the Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute, student experiences are enriched by close interaction with our faculty and guest clinicians which have included Grammy Award winners, Broadway stars and coaches, jazz artists, and potential employers from around the world over the fourteen years of our existence. Students gain the pedagogical skills to teach in a wide range of styles including musical theatre, country, pop, jazz, rock and blues.

Our CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute has been offering specialized courses for training non-classical styles since 2002 and has trained well over 1,500 teachers from around the world.

Spotlights

Shenandoah’s Music Master’s Degree Programs Receive National Recognition

Shenandoah University’s music master’s degree programs are ranked third in Intelligent.com’s list of top 50 master’s in music degree programs in the U.S. for 2021. The university’s composite score is 96.05 on a scale of 100. Shenandoah beat out the Juilliard School, Oberlin College and Conservatory, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music, among others. Shenandoah […]

Being Well Together Spring 2021 Focus

Pictured above: Associate Professor of Violin Akemi Takayama, M.M., and Ashley Crawford ’23 (B.M. in Performance) presented a duo concert for community members who received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the James R. Wilkins, Jr. Athletics & Events Center in January. Background Cognizant of the unique challenges that face Shenandoah Conservatory students, […]

Innovation and Creativity Bring Performances to Life

Rewarding and reaffirming — those are two of three words that Courtney Reilly, executive director of performances and engagement at Shenandoah Conservatory, used to describe the past 10 months. And it goes almost without saying, this word as well: challenging.

Alumni Successes

Research by Bingham ’18 and Schwartz Wins MAR AMTA Interdisciplinary Research Award

Martina Bingham ’18 (Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Pedagogy) and Adjunct Associate Professor of Music Therapy Beth Schwartz, M.A., received the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Music Therapy Association (MAR AMTA) Interdisciplinary Research Award (a $5,000 award) for their study, “Defining the Therapeutic Singing Voice: An Analysis of Music Therapists’ Clinical Practice.” Director of […]

Research by Bingham ’18 Published in Music Therapy Perspectives

Research by Martina Bingham ’18 (Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Pedagogy), was accepted as an article, “Defining the Therapeutic Singing Voice: An Analysis of Four Music Therapists’ Clinical Work,” for the journal Music Therapy Perspectives. It is the first research of its kind to examine and define therapeutic singing in music therapy clinical practice.

Edwards Selected as One of Two Recipients of the Van Lawrence Award by The Voice Foundation

Associate Professor of Voice (Baritone) and Musical Theatre Styles Specialist Matthew Edwards, D.M.A. ‘15, was selected as one of two recipients of the Van Lawrence Award by The Voice Foundation. The award includes a one-year fellowship where Edwards will further explore the differences between classical and contemporary commercial music genres. Edwards will also present at […]