Breakout Session
Workshop on Teaching the Aging Voice
Saturday, June 23 • 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Presenter: Martha Howe
Introduced by: Richard Weidlich
Location: Cohiba 1-4
What can be done about the gravelly sound in the lower passaggio? What help is there for a wobble? What should you pay attention to around hormone replacement therapies and surgeries that may bring on early menopause? Why does pitch start to slide? From your fifties onward, there are vocal challenges brought on by the ossification of the larynx, menopause, pharmaceuticals, and neurobiological changes. Martha Howe will be presenting practical information, plus vocal and physical exercises used by high-profile teachers, physicians and clinicians to stabilize the larynx, expand vocal range and counter these changes. This information can be used by all teachers working with older students, and by older teachers who are experiencing these changes themselves. With the right care, and knowing what to expect down the road, you can keep your voice agile as long as you wish and help others extend their vocal abilities.
PRESENTATION/HANDOUTS:
About Martha Howe
Contralto Martha Jane Howe, a native San Diegan, sang folk songs in her teens, baroque music in her twenties, then moved to Manhattan and started her international opera and concert career specializing in twentieth-century repertoire. She sang over a hundred roles on stage throughout the U.S. and Canada. A listing of these roles, concerts, recitals and reviews are found at marthahowe.com. Martha started teaching in 1998 while living in Vienna, Austria, and has an international voice studio (on-line and in-studio) with students performing in Austria, Germany, Brazil, and across the U.S. Her first book on the tumultuous beginning and interesting future of The Voice Foundation, Broadening the Circle, can be found at voicefoundation.org. In 2017 Compton Publishing U.K. will be publishing her book on maintenance of the aging voice.
