NSA Competition-Student Workshops | National Association of Teachers of Singing

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55th National Conference - National Student Auditions and Events for Students

College Showcase – NSA Semifinal and Final Rounds – Student Workshops

SCHEDULE

Click here to download a schedule of all activities geared for students, including highlights of interest to attend at the National Conference.

College Showcase

Thursday, June 21 - 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Location: Trinidad Pavilion

Visit the leading music schools from colleges and universities without leaving the hotel. Our college Showase is designed to help you get acquainted with admissions representatives, campus life, tuition and scholarships, and more.

National Student Auditions

Friday, June 22 - 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

NSA Semifinal Round

Location: University of Nevada Las Vegas Nevada (UNLV)

The semifinal round of the National Student Auditions will be held at University of Nevada Las Vegas Nevada (UNLV). This location is off-site from the conference and you will need to provide your own transportation. (Click here for transportation information.)

Practice Rooms will be available at UNLV from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Practice Rooms with pianos will be available at Tropicana Hotel on Friday, June 22 from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm.
Location: 2nd Floor, Club Tower

Sunday, June 24 - 12:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m.

NSA Final Round

Location: Partagas 123

The top finalsts from all voice categories will compete in the National Student Auditions final round.

Announcment of the National Student Auditions Winners of the will take place at 4:30 p.m.

Student Workshops

Saturday, June 23 - 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.

"Oh, God I'm Next" the Auditionee Prepares: Coping with Audition Stress and Anxiety
Presenter: Abby Burke, M.Ed., D.Div
Time: 8:00 am - 8:45 am
Location: Partagas 123

Performers experience a different stress before, during and sometimes after an audition, than the type of stress experienced before a live audience. By using holistic approaches to the issue, I have found that it is through cooperative and self examination coupled with varied coping strategies, that the auditionee is better prepared to handle the stress that comes before, during and after the audition.

Handout 1 Handout 2 Handout 3 Handout 4 Handout 5 Handout 6 Handout 7

Best Practices for Practicing
Presenter: Jennifer D'Agostino
Time: 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Location: Partagas 123

In this session, I will demonstrate a self-assessment worksheet for voice students to use in the private lesson and during practice sessions. Use of this worksheet allows students to document procedures used in the private lesson, establish goals for practice time throughout the week, monitor and record practice habits, and assess their success in achieving a learning outcome. With this worksheet, students self-assess how practicing helped them achieve their learning objective and initiate a dialogue on how their own efforts can help them succeed. We will explore aspects of creating a worksheet template in one’s own studio, particularly the documentation practice that allows teachers to create artifacts and provide formative assessment.

STAYING ON TRACK: Voice Tracker, a Voice-Budgeting Tool
Presenter: Theresa Brancaccio
Time: 1:15 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Partagas, Club Level 1

Voice students and young professional singers face unique challenges in managing the many and varied demands placed upon their voices. The impact of speaking too much and/or improperly can be easily overlooked as well as the accumulated vocal loads resulting from rehearsals, work, and socializing. Inspired by weight-control programs, which assign point values to each food as a way to tally daily nutritional intake, I designed a simple voice-budgeting tool, the VOICE TRACKER. By keeping track of how often and under what circumstances they use their voices, singers can make connections between their behaviors and level of vocal fatigue. Self-awareness is the first step toward making positive change.

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Karen's Favorite Quick Vocal Fixes, Including the Straw
Presenter: Karen Brunssen
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Location: Cohiba 8-9

Karen Brunssen will share concepts and exercises, based on SOVT (semi-occlusive vocal tract) that work for singers. Some encourage support, some encourage more optimal acoustics, some encourage the soft palate to go up, some facilitate a relaxed jaw without thinking about the jaw, and some add to the dexterity of the tongue with acoustic intentions in consonant articulation. A win-win for singers all the way around.

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Parent Session: So, Your Child Wants to be a Musician
Presenter: Allen Henderson
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Location: Trinidad 4

Allen Henderson - hi-quality Being the parent of an aspiring musician can be, let’s face it, EXHAUSTING! It can also be one of the most joyful, enjoyable, and fulfilling experiences within the parenting journey. Although not a trained therapist, Henderson has: as chair of two music departments managed the recruitment process, counseled parents of highly talented students at all levels about the realities of parenting an artist, been through the process as the parent of a flutist who started her college career as a flute major, advised his nephew who performed on Broadway at age nine through the process of auditioning at the top tier music theater programs and is currently a freshman at Carnegie Mellon, and continues to counsel his 78 year old mother that, although she was terribly worried when he chose to change his major from engineering to music during college, he has turned out ok. Inhale! Exhale! Repeat!

Sunday, June 24 - 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Marketing Essentials for Teachers and Singers
Presenter: Mark Stoddard, CS Music
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Location: Partagas, Club Level 1

Don’t let the business side of singing scare you. Negotiating, marketing, and entrepreneurship, and other business principles can seem daunting, awkward, and somewhat unbecoming of the arts. But they aren’t. You and your students can master the basic concepts so you can negotiate naturally, create effective advertisements and promotional materials, and take charge of your teaching or singing business. CS Music and Classical Singer have been helping singers and teachers with the business side of singing for more than 20 years. Marketing expert and business consultant Mark Stoddard will discuss 7 keys of marketing to help you start down the path of business success.

Marketing and business expert Mark Stoddard, author of Marketing Singers, has customized his award-winning presentation specifically for singers and voice teachers. Mark teaches musicians the simple keys of negotiating, marketing, and advertising to help singers and teachers prepare ads, websites, resumes, social media campaigns, and other promotional materials. With more than 40 years of experience in all areas of business, including millions of dollars in sales, and having performed and written musicals, Mark is uniquely qualified to consult with the CS Music community -- something he's done for Classical Singer magazine for more than 10 years. Real-life examples fill his book, Marketing Singers, making it a great read for singers and voice teachers alike; guaranteed to jump start careers and open new opportunities.

Bringing the Song To Life: It's a Matter of Style
Presenter: Edrie Means Weekly
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Location: Partagas, Club Level 1

It’s more than singing the written notes and lyrics. The emotion, expression, storytelling and style are critical parts of the vocal performance. This is created and expressed vocally by varying the dynamics, varying the use of vowels and consonants, emphasizing alliterations, coloring the tone, and by using “vocal stylisms” such as bending the pitch, slides, cry, growl, or “creaky” sound. The story line is expressed vocally through the choice of style (jazz, pop, country, rap, rock, and R&B, etc.) and variations in vocal quality ranging from legit to belt. Singers should be able to switch between registers and make different interior shapes to allow changes in the resonance to serve the song style as well as the character. This workshop will interact with participants to examine specific ways to bring the song to life. Teachers will return to their studios with specific techniques to bring the song to life.

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