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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