The 2010 NATS Convention

I've been home for a while now from the annual NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) convention in Salt Lake City. It has taken this long for me to process all of the information that I gained while I was there and to realize exactly what I had the opportunity to experience. I took amazing classes from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm every day for six amazing days. In the evenings, we had performances and networking receptions. I went to every class I could and learned more in the 6 days I was there than in a good chunk of my time in college. :)

Please...allow me to name drop. :) Kurt Alexander-Zeller taught 3 days of a fantastic body mapping class (out of his book "What Every Singer Needs to Know about the Body"). Joan Frey Boytim offered a Publisher Showcase on her new editions to be published and gave out free books. John Glenn Paton (26 Italian Songs and Arias(purple hits), the Gateway to Diction series and others)sat in and offered his thoughts on teaching Diction classes in the pre-conference workshops. Ingo Titze presented a main workshop on the cutting edge science of the female voice. Lisa Popeil gave a class on how to teach the belting technique. Nancy Bos gave a session on how to teach the contemporary musician to be successful and healthy in their vocal production. Kelli O'Hara gave a concert that was out of the world fantastic and then came the next day and worked with students in a masterclass setting. Simon Estes was our keynote speaker at the gala during the last night and that is just a smattering of names of those that were presenting.

I roomed with an amazing woman from the conservatory of music in Sydney, Australia. I learned so much from her!! I took a student, Erin Wunz, with me and I wish I had taken more!!

I am swimming with new ideas and ways to better serve my students and I can't wait for the fall to begin so that I can share all the information I learned.

What an amazing experience! I couldn't have done it without my hubby who supported me fully in funding my trip and holding down the home fort while I was gone. This included working 10 hour days at work and coming home and shuffling to and from soccer and sitters and not to mention the food and clothing parts of life.... He's amazing and I am lucky to have him and his support in my passion.

I'll post more once I start employing some of my new-found amazing-ness. :)