| Master
Voice Technician, Dr. Kathryn Chilcote
I have been fortunate to have studied with voice teachers
who instilled the need to sing in a healthy manner, always.
I also learned, very early on, that in order to maintain vocal
health, flexibility, and a wide range, that it is safer to
sing in a vocal operatic Fach, or vocal category,
lighter than what you aspire to be, in order to avoid burning
out. I sang in the Soubrette/Coloratura/Light Lyric category
until I was into my 30’s when I reached out to Dramatic
Coloratura and some Lyric repertory. I have also included
Bach and Handel arias in all of my practice sessions throughout
the years to help maintain flexibility.
My goal as a voice teacher/coach is to help a singer discover
a natural alignment for the body, an Italian appoggio breathing
method, and freedom from the top to the bottom of the voice
through the use of subtle vowel modification. I am comfortable
teaching beginners of all ages as well as professional singers
well into a career. I accompany all studio lessons myself
at the piano, until the singer is in final rehearsals for
a performance, when I bring in a vocal coach/collaborative
pianist. I am comfortable coaching Italian, German, and French
diction, as well as teaching stage movement and character
development for opera, operetta and musical theatre rôles.
I lived in Northern Germany, where high German is spoken,
and spoke only Italian when I lived in Italy. I also studied
French in Rouen, France. I have translated works from German
into English, and from Italian into English. At the university
where I currently teach, I have developed the art song survey
courses for the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries and served as
Director of Opera for eleven years (1989–2000). I design
sets and costumes, having also studied art while in high school.
I prepare singers for high school musicals, to professional
opera productions in New York City. Frequently singers contact
me for help in preparing for weddings or holiday concerts.
I also teach elementary music theory to beginning voice students
to help them learn to read music.
I am a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing
(NATS) and have also taught as a member of the stage artistry
faculty at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS)
in Graz, Austria (2002 and 2003). I have attended the three
last international voice congresses in London (1997), Helsinki
(2001) and Vancouver, BC (2005) as a representative of Southeastern
Pennsylvania and an American. I am an alumna of Mu Phi Epsilon
and Pi Kappa Lambda, and a member of the Philadelphia Alumnae
Chapter of Delta Delta Delta. |
