How I Got Here

My Story

Before my own voice began to collapse prior to the age of thirty I had been assessed by world-renown singers and teachers to possess the musical and vocal talent for a brilliant international operatic career. My pursuit of that career became increasingly limited as my vocal problems worsened. Upper and lower frequencies were inaccessible unless over-worked. Not one teacher I sought out had an answer that might have explained the cause of this early vocal decline, nor how it might have been corrected. The inference was that the problem was all in my head and that ‘righter thinking’ might be the answer.

Fortunately, in 1976 I was introduced to the pedagogical writings of the famous teacher/author Cornelius Reid of New York City in his book THE FREE VOICE. –Mr. Reid did not teach the conventional methods of breath-support or placement of the voice. His emphasis was on healthful use of the larynx, its associated muscle systems and the tonal qualities produced by the vocal registers.

In 1977 I began in-person lessons with Mr. Reid. My first few sessions with him were humiliating as I could neither sing pianissimo, nor legato despite having studied singing since the age of fourteen and performed leading oratorio and operatic roles.

During those extended trips to Manhattan, Mr. Reid generously offered me the opportunity to observe him coach famous singers like Ellen Shade, Ariel Bybee, Clamma Dale, Wendy White, and others. For more than 30 years until shortly before his death in the winter of 2008 at the age of 97, I listened to and participated in lessons with him. He initiated me to the concept of ‘process’, yielding to nature’s laws without placing false demands on my voice or my psyche. Those years were indeed the most rewarding journey of my professional life. In 2002, due to age he requested that I take over his role teaching Masterclasses in Europe.

Functional voice training with Cornelius Reid initiated me to reclaim my youthful pursuit as a teacher, a career choice that has brought immeasurable fulfillment and an on-going future of work with new generations of aspiring singers, some of whom required vocal dismantling and reconstruction.

What concerns me the most is the question:

Why did these voices, including my own, require “fixing” in the first place?

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