Well Canto (AGMAzine Article)
Published in AGMAzine in September 2023
Well Canto - Mental Fitness for Singers
Three years ago the world scrambled to adjust to and then cope with the sudden loss of everyday activities like making music together in the same space. We artists made the best of it; there’s no denying the astonishing creativity that poured forth from those dark years. However, we are still assessing the immeasurable cost of not only a deadly pandemic, but the blight of our current political reality.
As a voice teacher, I (and so many others) watched (over Zoom!) the bright faces of my high school and college-aged students visibly dim week after week, even while they bravely kept showing up for lessons, studio classes, group practice, and even recitals…all online. I wanted to do more. To help. To be a more well-rounded teacher, knowing that a performer’s mental state is inextricably linked with the ability to express - that most joyful thing.
My “Covid Project” was to become a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. I first trained through the Mayo Clinic, then certified after many practicum hours, then studied extensively and sat for the National Board Certification exam. I was in Italy last summer teaching singing and holding wellness talks when the notice came through that I had successfully certified. By the end of Summer 2023, I will be additionally certified as a Positive Intelligence Mental Fitness Coach. The whole process has taken 2+ years and I’ve been well-coaching since my initial training. The benefit to my teaching of singing has been unmistakable; my students are more engaged and relaxed, and I feel genuinely excited for every lesson.
But what is Well Canto - Mental Fitness for Singers? I developed this 26 week (2 semester) course as a resource that my generation of singers didn’t have. It is a comprehensive approach to creating a high degree of self-knowledge and therefore fulfillment (or, self-actualization - the term popularized by Maslow). While all of us know that to stay in physical shape we must build strength and flexibility and balance over time, we are rarely taught that the same is true for mental fitness! Certainly musicians understand that building skills goes far beyond insight; it’s the practice and the process that moves us along our path and toward our goals. In Well Canto the focus is on strategies that help us get clear on what positive changes we wish to make, why we wish to make them, and how to get there. But first we must gain awareness and clarity on whether our thought patterns serve or sabotage us. Our wonderful brains are wired for survival and give us constant alerts; but staying in that state (stress response) distorts our thinking and creates misery! We can learn another way, and unfailing compassion is the first step. A unique tool used in Well Canto is the use of the Positive Intelligence app, which provides guidance, accountability and a like-minded community. Small group meetings where we share our triumphs and insight is another feature of the course, and encourages commitment, accountability and fun! I love to lead these Pod Meetings, as well as provide 1:1 personal coachings.
While this idea is relevant to anyone, I focus on singers - students, pros, and teachers - because that is who I know I can help. As an artist, a woman, a partner, a mom, a teacher, an introvert, and identifying primarily as a helper, I have such empathy for each individual who wants to share their gift of singing with the world, whatever that looks like to each. Though I have no regrets about my 30+ years as a working singer, I do know if I’d had the tools to define and develop my personal values and strengths, and the ability to switch off the “lizard brain" in order to see things as they really are, I may have avoided unnecessary pain and doubt.
My own wellness journey is continually enhanced by what I coach, and my gusto for teaching singing is intensifying daily. Besides maintaining my home studio, I regularly substitute teach at Mannes/The New School for my husband, Stephen Powell, and will spend several weeks throughout the 2023-24 school year at Oberlin College where I’ll teach applied voice and hold wellness classes. As part of my continuing interest in pedagogy, I spent a long weekend at the CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute this past July. In addition, I’m delighted to start teaching privately in Manhattan starting after Labor Day.
Artists heal the world, which is obvious to anyone reading this publication. But, we all struggle from time to time. My mission is to support the hearts and souls of our world-wide community who devotedly add beauty and hope to the world everyday. Let us all do everything in our power to ensure each of our endeavors is undertaken in a state of ease, energy, and confidence.