Celebrating 25 years of teaching voice

How did I get here?

This August marks the beginning of the eighth year of ResonateYou and my twenty-fifth year of teaching voice. Twenty-five years. Looking back over those years, I realize that one thing has remained constant: I have never stopped asking the same question:

“How can I help each person better understand and use their voice with greater health, freedom, confidence, and joy?” That question has guided every chapter of my career.

I have enjoyed working with so many people, so many voices over the last 25 years, whether it’s been through 1:1 voice lessons, choirs, musical theatre shows, singing circles, sound meditations, workshops, or education and community outreach programs.

I have had the privilege of working with not just the singing voice, but with the PEOPLE who I’ve “gotten” to be a part of THEIR singing journey.  I do not take that interaction lightly. In fact, I have daily gratitude for my work with incredible people, voices, and music.

How did I get here? If you’re curious, here’s a little backstory. And at the end, I share with you a new chapter that is unfolding.

After graduating from Gettysburg College in 1999 with a Music Degree, I began teaching voice lessons “on the side” while working in the Education & Community Partnerships Department with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Then, in 2001, during a three-week voice seminar in Florence, Italy, I experienced one of those quiet moments that changes the direction of your life. After spending weeks observing master teachers and singers, I came home with the feeling of what I wanted to do with my life: to teach voice.

I discovered that I loved the problem-solving of it all. I loved hearing a student's voice on the first day, then working together until something clicked—that beautiful "aha!" moment when they heard or felt something new in their own voice. Sure, everyone wants to “sing better,” but it’s also about helping someone discover something that had been inside them all along.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of teaching in many wonderful places: New York University (Adjunct Voice Faculty) while I was in grad school for music theatre, Manhattan School of Music (Education & Community Partnerships), Pennsylvania Academy of Music (Voice Faculty & Choral) , Popovsky Performing Arts (Voice Faculty, Music Theatre, Music Together), and Linden Hall School for Girls (Director of Music/Voice/Choral). Every experience shaped me—not only as a teacher, but as a person.

I have been singing onstage since I was 9 years old, and have always enjoyed the process of learning music, stepping into character, and performing in music theatre, jazz, or other CCM styles. However, teaching always seemed to bring me more personal satisfaction than applause from an audience.

One of the greatest gifts of my time teaching at Linden Hall was recognizing that singing wasn’t only about performance. I watched the students slip into the chapel between demanding classes simply to sing or play the piano for themselves.

Those moments remind me that music is something that sustains us. Singing can help us express ourselves, regulate our nervous systems, connect with others, and simply experience joy.

That realization became one of the inspirations for opening ResonateYou in August 2019.

The vision has always been simple: to create a place where people of all ages can better understand and enjoy their voices—whether they're preparing for an audition, singing in a chorus, performing onstage or with friends, or simply singing because they love it.

And on my journey as a teacher, every time I encountered a new challenge in my studio, I asked myself "What do I need to learn so I can better help my students?"

That question has led me to additional training in Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM), Somatic Voicework®, nervous system regulation, trauma-informed care, and transgender voices. Each step has given me new tools, new perspectives, and a deeper appreciation for the incredible complexity of the human voice.

This fall marks another exciting chapter. Beginning August 18, I will begin a year-long, online, Vocology Certification (18 credits) through Lamar University.

Vocology is the study of voice and voice habilitation—helping people build healthy, efficient, expressive voices through an understanding of voice science, pedagogy, speech-language pathology, and current research.

Just as in every other field of study, information and research is exploding with scientific advances. In 2001, voice teachers didn’t have the ability to go into doctor’s offices and learn what we’re able to learn today. The information is HERE now, and Vocology is the way “in” to be able to access a deeper learning.

I am committed to understanding the singing voice as deeply as I can, so I can help each person use theirs with greater health, freedom, confidence, and joy.

What does this mean for this year? It means this year that I will continue doing what I love most: teaching.

It also means that you'll be learning alongside me. As I discover new research, new ways of thinking, and evidence-informed approaches to vocal function, those insights will immediately find their way into our lessons together. You'll benefit from a teacher who continues to grow, ask questions, and refine her craft.

I'm also excited to introduce something new this year called Voice Notes.

Throughout my school year-long, Vocology coursework, I'll be sharing short reflections, practical voice tips, discoveries from current voice science, and takeaways that you can apply to your own voice. It will be a “behind-the-scenes” look at what I'm learning in real time—connecting it to the work we're already doing together in lessons, and inviting you along for the journey.

What I discover will continue to inform and deepen the work we do together in the studio.

As ResonateYou begins its eighth year, I simply want to say thank you.Thank you for trusting me with your voices, your music, and your learning.

I’m incredibly grateful for these past eight years and excited to see where this next chapter leads.