History
The NYSTA is the oldest association of its type in the United States. A group of singing teachers incorporated it in the state of New York on 27 November 1906 as the National Association of Teachers of Singing. The first annual meeting of the new organization was held on 7 January 1908, at Steinway Hall in New York City. The English music critic and voice teacher Herman Klein (1856–1934) was the first chairman. Founding members included Enrico Caruso, Emma Eames, Geraldine Farrar, Mary Garden, Ernestine Schumann-Heink and Marcella Sembrich.
In 1917 the association changed its name to the New York Singing Teachers' Association (NYSTA). In 1924 Miss M. E. DeWitt reported that the NYSTA "has adopted Daniel Jones's English Pronouncing Dictionary," based on standard pronunciation in England at that time. H. L. Mencken commented that Jones himself had said, "Personally, I cannot think that any attempt to introduce this pronunciation into America is likely to meet with success." When Rudy Vallée rose to prominence in 1930s, the NYSTA said of his style of singing, "crooning corrupts the minds and ideals of the younger generation." In 1944 the NYSTA, the American Academy of Teachers of Singing and the Chicago Singing Teachers Guild founded the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
George Jellinek hosted a weekly syndicated radio feature in New York that played opera and classical music for many years from 1968. He described the NYSTA as "a very congenial and worthwhile group". The NYSTA made Jellinek guest speaker and interviewer at their annual meetings. At these events Jellinek interviewed such people as Grace Bumbry, Jerry Hadley, Judith Blegen, Simon Estes and Deborah Voigt.
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person whose profession is singing is called a singer, artist or vocalist. Singers perform music that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir. Singers may perform as soloists or accompanied by anything from a single instrument up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Different singing styles include art music such as opera and Chinese opera, Indian music, Greek music, Japanese music, and religious music styles such as gospel, traditional music styles, world music, jazz, blues, ghazal, and popular music styles such as pop, rock, and electronic dance music.
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
Head voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles and there is currently no one consistent opinion among vocal music professionals in regard to this term. Head voice can be used in relation to the following:
Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range and perform in a more intimate manner. It is derived from the old verb "to croon". This suggestion of intimacy was supposedly wildly attractive to women, especially younger ones such as teenage girls, known at the time as "bobby soxers". The crooning style developed out of singers who performed with big bands, and reached its height in the 1940s to late 60s.
A heldentenor, earlier called tenorbariton, is an operatic tenor voice, most often associated with Wagnerian repertoire.
Bel canto —with several similar constructions —is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing.
Richard Miller was a professor of singing at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the author of numerous books on singing technique and vocal pedagogy. He also sang recitals, oratorios, and numerous roles as a lyric tenor with major opera companies in Europe and America.
Matthew Hoch is an American academic and teacher of singing.
The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) is a professional organization for singing teachers, and it is the largest association of its kind in the world. There are more than 6,500 members, mostly from the United States. Additional members are from Canada and over twenty-five other countries around the world including: Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
Seth Riggs is an American singer, actor, and vocal coach. He has created the vocal technique "Speech Level Singing", and has worked with performers such as Prince, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, José José, Ray Charles, Olivia Newton-John, Madonna, Johnny Hallyday, Sohyang, AGNEZ MO, Bette Midler, Julio Iglesias and Barbra Streisand.
A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing.
William Vennard was a famous American vocal pedagogist who devoted his life to researching the human voice and its use in singing. He was one of the driving forces behind a major shift within the field of vocal pedagogy during the middle of the 20th century.
Cornelius Lawrence Reid, was a well-known vocal pedagogue in New York City, specialist in the bel canto technique, and author of books on bel canto.
Professor Janice L. Chapman AUA [born January 1938 ]MOA is an Australian-born soprano, voice researcher, and vocal consultant. She is the author of Singing and Teaching Singing: A Holistic Approach to Classical Voice first published by Plural Publishing Inc. at the end of 2005, and she has contributed to papers in the Journal of Voice, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and Australian Voice. She is also a professor of voice at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
Ellen Hartla Faull was an American operatic soprano and voice teacher. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she was primarily associated with New York City Opera, where she sang from 1947 until 1978 and created the role of Abigail Borden in Jack Beeson's opera Lizzie Borden in its 1965 world premiere. After her retirement from the opera stage, she taught singing at Sarah Lawrence College, the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School and later privately at her home in Camas, Washington.
Josephine Antoinette Estill, known as Jo Estill, was an American singer, singing voice specialist and voice researcher. Estill is best known for her research and the development of Estill Voice Training, a programme for developing vocal skills based on deconstructing the process of vocal production into control of specific structures in the vocal mechanism.
Tyley Ross is a Grammy nominated recording artist, the co-founder of the Universal Records recording act The East Village Opera Company, and a Dora Award winning musical theater actor. He is based in New York City.
Michael Trimble is an American operatic tenor, voice teacher, and writer on music. He had an active international career singing leading roles with opera houses during the 1960s and 1970s. His singing career was cut short due to health concerns, and he has since had an active career as a voice teacher both privately and at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. Several of his students have had successful international opera careers, including Metropolitan Opera star Tonio di Paolo and soprano Beverly Hoch.
The New York State Teachers Association (NYSTA) was an association of teachers in the state of New York, United States, founded in 1845. It assisted teachers in their professional career, provided a public voice for its members on subjects such as pay and tenure, and promoted improvements to the public school system in the state. In 1973 it joined with the United Teachers of New York to form the New York State United Teachers.
Joan Lader is an American vocal coach and voice therapist. She is known for her work with elite performers and recording artists as well as for the rehabilitation of injured voices. Lader received the 2016 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre in recognition of her contributions to the Broadway community.
