ANATS NSW Chapter News

On Sunday 19 November 2006 was NSW’s Annual General Meeting  which followed a very successful Performance afternoon at St Andrews Cathedral School in the city. 23 talented young singers performed and were accompanied (most of them) by John Martin. (Some were self accompanied or accompanied by their teacher or used a backing track).

The 2007 NSW committee was elected at the meeting and as a result we now have a new President and Vice President.

Our new committee therefore is:

• Carol-ann Bentley          President
• Kathleen Connell           Vice President
• Robyn Wells                 Treasurer
• Jane Van Balen             Secretary
• Judy Lindeman              Members Secretary

Committee members: Cathy Aggett; Linda Barcan; Stephen Baker; Diane Hughes; Anne-Maree McDonald; Lilija Sile 
Regional members: Margaret Balsom (Orange); Lilija Sile (Central Coast); Inge Southcott (Armidale)

A big welcome to Cathy Aggett and Linda Barcan - It’s great to have you on board!

And we say a fond farewell to Rowena Cowley, Genevieve Killelea and Sussane Towers. Rowena has served as our President wonderfully and will continue to be part of the ANATS National Council. Thank you so much to all three of you for your valuable contributions to the committee.

Jane Van Balen, Secretary (NSW chapter)

The AGM is to be held on Sunday 19 November 2006 at 4:00 pm following the Afternoon Concert.

Venue: St Andrews Cathedral School, 474 Kent Street, Sydney

We warmly invite you to come to this important meeting and to take part in the work of your professional organisation. 

Please come and be a part of this year’s AGM and contribute to plans for 2007; join us in this opportunity to see colleagues; and to celebrate the work we do.

anats (NSW) is pleased to announce a special Performance Afternoon to be held at St Andrews Cathedral School (474 Kent Street, Sydney - near Town Hall Station) on Sunday 19 November from 2:00 pm.  It is to be a fairly informal occasion where young students (6-19 years) can have the opportunity to perform before an audience. 

Following the performance, will be the NSW chapter’s Annual General Meeting for 2006 from 4:00 pm.

A few weeks ago, all NSW members would have received a copy of the Performance afternoon brochure as well as AGM notice and proxy voting forms.

If you would like more information about the afternoon please contact Carol-ann Bentley Phone: 9489 4927 or email: carolannbentley@bigpond.com

The NSW anats Winter Workshop 2006 held on 8-9 July, was an energizing and rewarding weekend. Aptly titled ‘The Whole Performer’, it was a real chocolate box with each session unwrapping the goodies of highly skilled presenters who covered a wide range of disciplines and interests. 

Karin Greenhead, the internationally acclaimed, London based teacher of Dalcroze took us through a masterful physical warm up which highlighted the need to isolate and activate various muscle groups (some long forgotten!) and eventually balance the body as a whole. Karin is an inventive and immaculately organized instructor who set various movements and interactive games, including ball throwing, to musical and rhythmic impulses. Apart from feeling (more than!) a little stiff the next morning, we all found this session to be useful and fun. 

‘Technology for Singers, Singing Teachers and The Studio’ was a fascinating session led by the lovely Phil Evans and his equally lovely partner in crime Diane Hughes. Together they demystified the inner sanctum of the recording studio and showed how a voice can be expanded, compressed, re-pitched or ‘coloured’ with the mere touch of a technological mouse! Di also took us through microphone techniques for singers and Phil demonstrated the difference in sound design for contemporary singers as opposed to classical singers.  

Christine Douglas was an absolute livewire in her masterclass ‘Music and Drama’. In questioning the text, character and motivation, she led each performer into a deeper, more focussed emotional world. They became more connected with the truth of the song (or aria) and produced, not only a better vocal sound, but a more intense and defined level of communication. Christine is a clear, concise and entertaining speaker whose enthusiasm and experience in working with young adult singers was evident. 

The special treat of the day was an interview with Joan Carden, led by Geoffrey Chard. This was a relaxed yet informative ‘chat’ about this wonderful artist’s life and work. Geoffrey’s charming manner and thoughtful questioning allowed Joan to really open up and share her thoughts, views and feelings on her career as a singer. The highlight was an impromptu performance where the diva sat at the piano and accompanied herself as she sang ‘Ah! bello a me ritorno’ from Bellini’s Norma. Joan’s voice is still so fresh, youthful and agile. And she can play the piano! Pure magic. 

Jocelyn Priestly warmed the wintry room on the Sunday morning with her very well researched and eruditely expressed work on vocal health and speech pathology. She found herself short on business cards, such was the interest, but a truncated version of her paper was later made available for interested participants. 

‘Singing in English’ was led by Dr Rowena Cowley, who took us on a lightning tour of the world of international phonetics and demonstrated the vital link between the spoken and sung word. She also worked with a variety of singers on pure middle register vowels whilst highlighting the need to ‘narrow’ the vowel as it ascends into the upper register. Rowena was joined by the loveable Alan Dean, whose nostalgic trip down memory lane (including his own great career) made us aware of a range of accents used in singing from the 1940s through to 2006. Local American, RP and Australian accents were identified and it was interesting to hear a strong spoken accent, such as Scottish, disappear in a sung text.  The weekend finished with stimulating lectures by Psychologist Dianna Kenny and Sports Coach Phil Spain. These sessions provided analysis and insight into performance anxiety, coping strategies, motivation and success.  A farewell ‘Tapas’ dinner to Pat Howes on the Saturday night was relaxed and fun and a little bit sad as we will all miss her. Best wishes Pat! 

Anne-Maree McDonald

Photographs by Judy Lindeman

Brochure (PDF):  2006 Winter Workshop Brochure and Registration

The anats (NSW chapter) committee are very pleased to present a fabulous two day workshop on 8 and 9 July 2006, at The Peter Seymour Rehearsal Room, Pier 4, Hickson Road, Millers Point.

(For those of you who attended the Young Voice seminar with Graham Welch last year, this is the same venue.)

After our highly successful Music Theatre Winter Workshop with Mark Meylan last year, our current theme is “The Whole Performer”. We are excited and privileged to announce that the workshop will include a conversation with consummate ‘Whole Performer’, soprano Joan Carden and her esteemed colleague, baritone Geoffrey Chard.

The workshop will include presentations on Technology in the Singing Studio; Dalcroze based Movement; Speech Pathology and the Singer; Singing English for Contemporary and Classical Singers; Performance Confidence and developing mental strategies for Peak Performance.

Well known soprano and Artistic Director of Pacific Opera, Christine Douglas will present a Masterclass with a focus Music and Drama - from Music Theatre to Opera. The wide range of other presenters include: Karin Greenhead (Dalcroze), Di (Hunter) Hughes (contemporary voice teacher), Phil Evans (sound/recording engineer), Jocelyn Priestly (Speech pathologist); Alan Dean (former pop singer, arranger and composer); Dianna Kenny (Psychologist) and Phil Spain (sport performance coach).

For more information and Registration form, check the brochure here: 2006 Winter Workshop Brochure and Registration

This is the fifth and final year for which I have the privilege of leading the NSW Chapter of anats.

Our Vice-President is again Carol-ann Bentley , Treasurer Robyn Wells , Secretary/VocalEyes Editor Jane van Balen, Members Secretary Judy Lindeman , and Committee members Stephen Baker , Kathleen Connell , Diane Hughes and Anne-Maree McDonald. Regional representatives are Margaret Balsom, Lilija Sile , Inge Southcott and Sussane Towers .

We are glad to welcome Genevieve Killalea to the Committee, but we say good-bye and a very special thank you to Pat Howes. Pat has decided to step down from the anats (NSW) Committee after 10 years as a very valued committee member. Pat became Secretary and Newsletter editor in Oct 1995 and ably represented NSW on the National Committee for several years. She organised a wonderful National Conference in 1998 and we appreciate her considerable contributions to the Association.This is an exceptional group of teachers and singers, who give much of their time and energy each year to anats. I thank them in advance, as you will see that there will be quite a bit of activity this year. With the exception of the HSC Workshop, the following dates are all under negotiation at the moment, but fairly firm. Please put them in your diaries.

HSC Workshop, Sunday 9 April, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith.
This is our first event of the year. After last year’s successful workshop in Penrith, we return to the JSPAC, and look forward to hearing as many young singers who are preparing for the HSC as possible. They will be given expert feedback on their performances and performance preparation. Brochures are enclosed with this issue of VocalEyes.

Autumn Workshop, Orange/ Bathurst , This workshop has been postponed to May 2005. Date TBC soon.
This workshop begins anats NSW’s intention to include professional development and masterclassing opportunities in regional NSW. This will be an opportunity to appreciate the excellent work of teachers and singers in Orange/Bathurst/Wagga and surrounds, and to strengthen professional networks.

Winter Workshop, Sydney , 8/9 July, TBC.
Our Winter Workshop has become the major Sydney workshop of the year. After last year’s very successful Mark Meylan Music Theatre Workshop, we will concentrate on a number of other areas of our work. Possible topics include technology in the studio, using backing tracks, diction for classical and non-classical singers, acting for singing, speech pathologists and singers, performance anxiety and young voice. There will be a very special surprise performance at cocktail hour on Saturday, 8 July. Be there! 

anats National Conference, 5-8 October, Canberra .
This is our biennial opportunity to get serious about work and play! I’m sure it will be wonderful. Please come to Canberra and live it up! Teach-ins. A number of brave teachers are planning teach-ins with their colleagues this year. Those of you who attended Sussane Towers ’ Teach-in last year will know how useful and inspiring these can be. When your colleague calls and asks you to be involved, please respond positively!  See her inspiring report on page 7 of this issue.

End of Year Workshop, November TBC.
There will likely be a function at the end of 2006. Please see further information as it becomes available. A final thought: “He could get at the universe hidden in any work, find the meter of a line, play the text, harmony and rhythm off one another, revealing the message that existed only in the tension among them.” (Richard Powers, The Time of Our Singing, 2003, p536). May all our singers be capable of this!I wish you an inspiring year, and one in which your students appreciate what you do for them!

Warmly,
Rowena Cowley
President, anats (NSW)