Dear Colleague …

Welcome to the second issue of the Vocal Process ezine. It contains news about forthcoming events, new developments and a report on our busy summer  …

'The Voice of Violence'

'The Voice of Violence' is coming to London on 13 September 2003. Voice coach, director and stage combatant, Lise Olson is giving another of her popular one-day seminars on extraordinary voice use. Many people put their name down for the course following Lise's taster session at our 'On The House' event last year, and we have held the 2001-2 prices for this event only. It's booking fast, so let us know if you want to enrol.

Gill Main launches 'Process to Pop'

Gill Main, our pop specialist, has created a course for those who need to get to grips with commercial style. 'Process to Pop' explores key features of commercial vocal and musical style, and will enable you to handle pop with confidence whether you are a teacher, a performer or a lecturer. 'Process to Pop' will be held in London on 18 October 2003 and is open to all those who have taken Core Training or equivalent courses.

'Belting Explained' in Birmingham

'Belting Explained', one of our most requested courses, moves to Birmingham in November. We are going 'on the road' this season to give more people the opportunity to improve their skills, so look out for workshops in the Midlands and the North as well as in London. The Birmingham School of Speech and Drama will host the course on 1 November 2003, with Gillyanne and Matthew presenting. This is an ideal course for teachers wanting to discover the components of healthy Belting, and for performers wanting to check their technique.

'Core Training'

"I have learned more about the voice in three days than I did doing a singing degree for four years. I can't wait to learn more."

The participants on the July 2003 Core Training met in the beautiful Benslow Music Trust venue in Hertfordshire. The intensive three days included endoscopic videos showing different vocal gestures, a talk by SLT Julie McLean on voice clinic referral, and a live computer analysis demonstration by Jeremy. Everyone received individual attention from our team of course facilitators, and the insight sessions enabled them to put the work they had learned into their own context.

Core Training is an entry requirement for our new Integrated Voice training programme. Integrated Voice Module One begins in February 2004, and is open to all those who have taken a Core Training, Voice Styles Intensive or equivalent course.

Read more about 'Core Training' and 'Integrated Voice' in the Training section of the web site.

'Musical Theatre Intensive'

"A motivating experience!" Feedback from one of several teachers who attended the Musical Theatre Intensive at the RSAMD in August 2003. Deirdre Trundle and Matthew Reeve took Strand One participants through the fundamentals of voice production for theatre singing. Gillyanne and Jeremy coached the participants of Strand Two on advanced vocal skills and landscaping the song, and put everyone through their paces in a specially devised audition workshop. Donna Soto-Morettini led both Strands through their material in Acting through Song classes, and directed the ensemble piece in a showing at the end of the weekend. New to the course this year, Gill Main gave two presentations on singing pop and commercial music, piloting her work on understanding commercial style.

Vocal Process International Events

We have just returned from the Pan European Voice Conference (PEVoC) in Graz, Austria where Gillyanne presented a workshop on 'Belting, Range and Register' and Jeremy and Matthew gave a poster session on the use of computer voice analysis in advanced vocal training. The weekend was an opportunity to hear some of the world's most respected voice scientists present and discuss a range of topics relating directly to voice, in a multi-disciplinary environment. You will be able to view the poster session (with audio examples) and a write-up of the workshop soon via the web site.

Gillyanne returns to Barcelona this November at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya. Her work at the Escola earlier this year was very well received, and resulted in several singers visiting the UK to work privately at our Studios.

And in December Gillyanne and Jeremy will be teaching for two days at the Rimon Academy in Tel Aviv, followed by two days of public courses. This trip, postponed due to the war with Iraq, has just been confirmed, and is being sponsored by the British Council.

If you would like to have a Vocal Process course near you and are able to arrange a venue, contact us on info@vocalprocess.co.uk. More details on any of our courses, are available in the Training section of this website .

And finally …

remember to monitor your effort levels!