Early Bird Registration Deadline - April 1st!

Looking for a complete program schedule for the National Conference in Orlando?  Here it is! Don't forget to save by registering prior to April 1st.

Kari Ragan was recently annouced as recipient of the Van Lawrence Fellowship awarded to a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing by the Voice Foundation.  Her successful research proposal is entitled “The Parameters and Utility of Vocal Cool Down Exercises.” In her applications she states: “Exercises are considered essential for healthy singing technique and numerous treatises and articles have been written on this subject. However, cooling down the voice at the end of a lesson, rehearsal or performance is not the norm for singers. Athletic training typically includes the process of cooling down the body, yet vocal athletes neglect this important aspect of their training. Investigating the type of exercises (ie: semi-occluded vocal tract exercises) that would be appropriate to cooling down the laryngeal muscles may help singers reduce their recovery time. Is it more important to cool down the antagonistic muscle or the primary muscle of use when considering thyroarytenoid dominant or cricothyroid dominant genres? In other words, what is the most optimal approach to returning balance to the laryngeal muscles post heavy voice load? I would further like to investigate whether the process of icing particular muscles as one does when working with a physical therapist applies to the singer.”

With 41 applicants vying for only a few coveted positions, the selection committee was challenged in selecting members of  the 2012 NATS Intern Program as they narrowed an excellent field of applicants to twelve interns comprising the class of 2012. The 2012 class in5cludes teachers who primarily teach in university settings as well as those whose focus is the independent studio. Interns will work with master teachers George Shirley, Donald Simonson, Julia Faulkner, and Lisa Popeil and vocal literature coordinator, Cynthia Vaughn, at the Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado hosted by program alumnus Tiffany Blake June 12-22, 2012. Past President Scott McCoy is the NATS Intern Program Coordinator.

The NATS Intern Program Class of 2012 consists of Chuck Chandler (Rome, GA), Shauna Fallihee (Oakland, CA), Klaus Georg (Chicago, IL), Susan Hochmiller (Ft. Collins, CO), Hsin Yi Lin (Corpus Christi, TX), Elizabeth McDonald (Consecon, ON), Megan Pfeiffer Miller (Stuttgart, Germany), Emily Martin Moberly (Denver, CO), Cory Renbarger (Houghton, NY), Alissa Rose (Wellsboro, PA), Stacy Tappan (Chicago, IL), and Meredith Ziegler (Storrs, CT).

Interested in participating in the 2013 NATS Intern Program? Application materials will be available on the NATS website in late summer. If you are interested in contributing to the support of the Summer Intern program, donations may be made to the James McKinney Memorial Fund through the NATS Foundation.

Florence Henderson, beloved star of the long-running television series, The Brady Bunch, will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from National Association of Teachers of Singing at the NATS 52^nd National Conference in Orlando.

Ms. Henderson will be the featured speaker at the gala banquet to be held on July 2, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in the Oceans Ballroom at Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld, where she will be honored with the first Lifetime Achievement Award ever presented by National Association of Teachers of Singing.

“Florence Henderson’s career as a singer and performer has spanned stage, film and television over six decades,” says Allen Henderson, Executive Director of NATS. “Her singing voice has graced all of these genres and her list of “firsts” as a performer is impressive.  NATS is honored to recognize her significant contributions to the singing world.”

Providence, RI is the site of this year's Eastern Division ACDA Conference and NATS is there! NATS Executive Director, Allen Henderson, steers a panel discussion on February 16th entitled, "Choral Directors are from Mars and Voice Teachers are from Venus: Sing from the Diaphragm and other Vocal Mistructions," along with esteemed NATS members Sharon Hansen and Brenda Smith, NATS President Donald Simonson, and NATS Past President Scott McCoy. A link to their presentation is below as well as a link to a second presenatation which the panel gave at the 2011 ACDA National Conference in Chicago last year

Session attendees and others are invited to download PDF files of the panel's PowerPoints.