National Association of Teachers of Singing Central Region

26 July 2010

Dear NATS Colleagues, In July I had the honor of representing our Region at the National Board Meeting and Conference that was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Conference was very successful with more than 700 in attendance! Central Region's own, Don Simonson, succeeded Scott McCoy as President at the National Business meeting on July 6.

The Conference began with two Pre-Conference Workshops: Creating Dynamic Diction Classes for Singers, and Employing Visualization Software In Your Daily Teaching. Highlights of the full sessions included a Male Voice Master Class with Stephen King, New Findings in the Female Voice with Ingo Titze, Repertoire with Carol Kimball, and Panel Discussions on the preparation for both Opera and Music Theater Auditions. Multiple Breakout Sessions were held each day ranging from "Unleashing Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence," to "Beyond the Spiritual: Twentieth-Century African American Women Composers," to "Beyond Belt-Acoustics and Mechanics of the Super-Belt." Kelli O'Hara's recital was an entertaining highlight of the conference, which she followed with a successful master class the next day. Many of these sessions are available for purchase in CD/DVD format on the National Website: nats.org/

Worthy of note were the fine representations we had from our Region. Beth Ray Westlund, Iowa District Governor, presented a Poster Paper Session on "Setting the Stage: Character & Plot Information for Handel 45 Arias." Sarah McIntyre from Chicago Chapter NATS was the recipient of an Independent Teacher Fellowship, which granted her complimentary registration to the conference. Leann Schuering, our Region's NATS Artist Awards (NATSAA) Finalist from Central Illinois Chapter NATS, sang well in the semi-finals. There were around 40 teachers total present from our Region: 14 from Iowa, 19 from Illinois, and 7 from Missouri.

The 52nd Conference will be held in Orlando, Florida in 2012 at the Renaissance Orlando at Seaworld. I would encourage each of you to consider planning to attend. Our Region will be eligible for an Emerging Leader Award of around $750 (designed to recognize and support teachers with no more than ten years of teaching experience, this grant will help selected winners attend sessions, network with colleagues, and enjoy all the benefits available at the NATS Conferences), and an Independent Teacher Fellowship (designed to recognize and support independent teachers who do not hold full or part-time teaching positions in a college or university) which grants a free conference registration. I would strongly encourage any of you who fit these awards to apply. The conferences are wonderful opportunities to learn more about the organization, rethink your teaching and connect with colleagues.

Central Region NATS is collaborating with the Chicago Chapter NATS to host a day of coaching sessions with Ann Baltz, of Opera Works, in early November. More information about this will be available in September.

I hope you enjoy the remaining weeks of summer and will be refreshed for the beginning of the fall season.

Respectfully,
Sarah Holman, D.M.A.
NATS, Central Region Governor
Associate Professor
Voice and Opera
Wheaton College Conservatory
Wheaton, IL 60197
sarahholman@sbcglobal.net
(630) 752-5844