Pedagogy – Voice

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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

ShenCo Rising: COVID-19 Reopening Plan

In addition to following Virginia and CDC guidelines, Shenandoah Conservatory continues to carefully review the most recent research and findings from industry-specific associations, in order to plan for a safe reopening in the fall. Each of our performance divisions (music, theatre and dance) have unique considerations regarding how safety measures may impact classes, rehearsals, applied […]

Meyer Co-authors Article on Safe Singing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Director of the Janette Ogg Voice Research Center and Associate Professor of Voice (Baritone) and Vocal Pedagogy David Meyer, D.M., co-authored “Safer Singing During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: What We Know and What We Don’t,” an article recently published in the Journal of Voice. The publisher agreed to make this article freely accessible to the public […]

Weekly Celebrates World Voice Day with Video Featuring Students

Auxiliary Adjunct Associate Professor of Voice and Co-Founder of the CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute Edrie Means Weekly ’84, M.M., celebrated World Voice Day by creating ”I’m Singing Healthy for You,” a video compilation of her students singing a creative twist on the Jonas Brothers’ song “Sucker.” Her students picked the song and developed the new […]

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 […]