The Singer's Guide to the Aging Voice
with J. Scott Kovacs
Thursday, October 29, 2020 | 1:00 PM (Pacific Time) | Zoom Webinar
Our voices change as we age, presenting challenges that can feel discouraging and even inhibit our ability to enjoy singing. Understanding the processes that happen as we age and how they affect the voice, as well as other conditions (including illness and environmental factors), helps demystify the symptoms and relieve anxiety about singing into later years. We'll also cover some exercises to help retain and even improve tone and resilience in the voice. Be sure to bring a straw and a water bottle to this session!
Download the handouts or the slide deck.
Everyday Vocal Health
with J. Scott Kovacs
Monday, April 12, 2021 | 4:00 PM (Pacific Time) | Zoom Webinar
How you sit, stand, talk, laugh, cough, and even sneeze can affect how you sing. And the quarantine era has added new levels of complexity, such as difficulty in regulating your voice during online video conversations. Master teacher J. Scott Kovacs, also the Executive Director of the Emerald Ensemble, will reveal simple changes you can implement to keep your vocal mechanism healthy while you are simply living your life.
Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises
with J. Scott Kovacs
Saturday, October 23, 2021 | 11:00 AM (Pacific Time) | Zoom Webinar
In the last decade extensive research on vocal production has expanded our knowledge of how to sing more healthfully. One of the best techniques involves partly restricting the singer’s airflow, that is, creating a semi-occluded vocal tract to relax the vocal mechanism. These exercises can help to prevent damage and encourage a beautiful tone. Come learn how!
Hitting the High Notes
with Rebekah Gilmore
Saturday, November 20, 2021 | 11:00 AM (Pacific Time) | Zoom Webinar
Raise your hand if you’ve ever sung a high note and then wished you hadn’t. Sometimes we don’t like the color of the sound, or worse, maybe singing high makes us feel physically strained in the throat. Singing high is hard, but it can be done! In a master-class format new to the Emerald Choral Academy, Rebekah Gilmore will teach how make those high notes more pleasant.
Classical and Popular Singing Styles
with Holly Boaz
Saturday, February 19, 2022 | 11:00 AM (Pacific Time) | Zoom Webinar
Holly Boaz, the soprano who founded ECA’s popular “Vocal Anatomy” series, returns for a presentation that compares techniques used for classical singing and other styles such as musical theater, jazz, and popular music. Some aspects overlap, but different styles have different needs and different emphases. Holly has taught it all, and here shares her expertise with community choral singers.
Download the handouts or the slide deck.
Vocal Resilience
with J. Scott Kovacs
Saturday, March 19, 2022 | 11:00 AM (Pacific Time) | Zoom Webinar
One of a singer's most fundamental challenges in ensuring sufficient vocal health to sing next week, next season, and for years to come. J. Scott Kovacs, master of vocal pedagogy and habilitation, will supply several key techniques to ensure a lifetime of happy, healthy singing.
Vocal Registration and the Choral Singer
with J. Scott Kovacs
Friday, January 20, 2023 | 7:00 PM (Pacific Time) | Zoom Webinar
Knowing about chest, head, and mixed voice registers is vital for any singer. As choral singers, we can make choices about registration to aid in blend, intonation, and tone color. Participants will leave this webinar with an understanding of what vocal registers are, what they feel like, and how to apply them to a wide array of choral music.
This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Washington State Arts Commission, in addition to the National Endowment for the Arts, 4-Culture, the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and many generous donors.