Pre-Conference Workshop
Harnessing Music's Superpowers to Heal, Change and Unite
Friday, June 22 • 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Presenters: Erin Guinup, John Nix, and G. Phillip Shoultz, III
Introduced by: Linda J. Snyder
Location: Cohiba 6-7
Music is powerful and our skills as musicians can be applied to make an important difference in our community. For many of us, our focus has been the concert stage, the studio, and the institution but there are millions of Americans who have limited access to music making and would greatly benefit from the skills we teach. This workshop will explore the practical considerations of creating a musical project for social justice, community building, and for other non-traditional applications. While considering the biological ways in which music can transform us, we will discuss how to encourage those who might not identify as singers and empower them as musical humans. We will also consider how to secure necessary funding and support and review some of the inspiring ways that people are using music to improve the lives of others. Attendees will prepare a song that will be presented as part of the conference opening ceremony.
About Erin Guinup
Erin Guinup is an active performer, voice teacher, conductor, public speaker and corporate trainer. Her solo repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, La Bohème and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and her one-woman musical theatre program, The Ladies of Lyric and Song has been praised as “an amazing tour-de-force.” Her private voice students have performed on Broadway, operatic stages and TV, including The Voice and American Idol. She founded the Tacoma Refugee Choir in January 2017 and has quickly found a community eager to raise their voices in solidarity with our most vulnerable community members. She speaks on topics including the Neuroscience of Singing and Vocal Wellness in the Workplace and leads corporate workshops using singing to address communication, teamwork and conflict resolution. Currently serving NATS as Western Washington District Governor, she has served as chapter President and was selected for the 2010 NATS Intern Program.
About John Nix
John Nix, tenor, is professor of voice and pedagogy at UT-San Antonio. Nix has taught at The University of Colorado-Denver, Eastern New Mexico University, and worked for four years at the National Center for Voice and Speech with Ingo Titze. He holds degrees from the University of Georgia, Florida State University, the University of Colorado, and a Vocology Certificate from the University of Iowa. At Colorado, he studied voice with Barbara Doscher and Alexander Technique with James Brody. His students have sung with the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Omaha, Arizona Opera, Nevada Opera, San Antonio Opera, The Soldiers’ Chorus, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the Metropolitan Opera Chorus. He has won grants from The Grammy Foundation and NIH, and was awarded the 2006 Van L. Lawrence Fellowship. He has published more than 25 articles and edited or contributed to five books.
About G. Phillip Shoultz, III
Known for his innovative pedagogy and ability to inspire singers of all ages, G. Phillip Shoultz, III, enjoys a multifaceted career as conductor, educator, singer, and speaker. Phillip is the Associate Conductor of VocalEssence where he shares the podium with founding artistic director, and mentor, Philip Brunelle and serves as the leader for education programs including WITNESS, ¡Cantaré! and the Carnegie Hall Lullaby Project. In addition to his work with VocalEssence, he serves as director of music, worship, and the arts for Good Samaritan United Methodist Church and frequently appears as throughout the U.S. as a guest clinician, adjudicator, and consultant.
The winner of the 2015 American Choral Directors Association Graduate Student Conducting Competition, Phillip appeared as a Conducting Fellow with the Oregon Bach Festival, Chorus America, Choral Music Experience Institute and several other summer programs. He has prepared choirs for performances in Canada, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, and Russia. Recently, he guest conducted the Manhattan Chorale in New York City and was also named as a 2017 ACDA International Conductors’ Exchange Program Participant which provided him the opportunity to travel extensively in Central and South America.
