From July 14 through July 22, a total of 127 voice professionals came to Shenandoah to participate in sessions offered during the Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute’s annual conference. The CCM institute is the first and only institute to include courses in CCM vocal pedagogy for academic credit in a graduate degree program. The institute was created to meet the demand for training grounded in voice science, voice medicine, and tested methods of CCM vocal pedagogy.
Highlights included:
- Iconic singer, composer and music advocate Dr. Ysaÿe Barnwell led participants in song forms from Africa through slavery and the civil rights movement
- An Elphaba from Broadway’s “Wicked” attended all three sessions
- Mary Saunders Barton, M.A., professor emeritus of Pennsylvania State University, received the second Lifetime Achievement Award from the institute
The event was hosted by Director of Graduate Vocal Pedagogy Programs; Director of CCM Institute; Professor, Voice (Contralto) Kathryn Green, D.M.A., and Director of Musical Theatre, Associate Professor of Voice, Coordinator of Musical Theatre Voice and Artistic Director of the CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute Matt Edwards ’15, D.M.A.
