Over the last ten years, voice teachers from around the world have learned about functional training from Dr. Matt Edwards. Now he is bringing that training directly to singers with "How The Voice Works."
I'm Dr. Matt Edwards, DMA, but you can just call me Matt. I'm an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Musical Theatre Voice at Shenandoah Conservatory where I am also the Artistic Director of the Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute, where I train teachers from all over the world in evidence-based training for singers of all styles. Before focusing on teaching, I was an active performer with a path that took many twists and turns.
I started performing in a rock band and high school musicals. I ended up going to college for music education and voice performance at my hometown university. While in college I discovered a love for classical singing and then transferred to one of the world's top conservatories, the Cleveland Institute of Music. I went on to perform dozens of roles in plays, musicals, and operas with companies including Tri-Cities Opera, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, New Jersey Opera, Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, Bay View Music Festival, the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Pops, Hudson Valley Symphony, the Miami Valley Symphony, Cincinnati Opera Outreach, Lyric Opera Cleveland Outreach, Theatre Lab, KNOW Theatre, and many others. I received awards for classical singing from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Dayton Opera Guild Competition, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
During grad school I took a voice pedagogy course and I was hooked. When I discovered voice science, I realized that singers of all styles could learn to use their voices expressively, without causing damage. I realized my true calling wasn't performing, but teaching. That's what I've been doing ever since.
My former and current students have performed on American Idol, Broadway, off-Broadway, on national and international tours, on national television, cruise ships, at theme parks and in bands touring throughout the world. Many others sing for fun or in their local community. To help spread the word about the techniques I use, I have written articles for the Journal of Singing, Journal of Voice, VoicePrints, American Music Teacher, The Voice, and Southern Theatre. I've been a Vocal Coach in Residence for Voice Council magazine and contributed to books including “A Dictionary for the Modern Singer,” “Vocal Athlete,” “Manual of Singing Voice Rehabilitation,” “Get the Callback,” “The Voice Teacher’s Cookbook,” “and the CCM, Music by Women, Folk, Sacred Music, Gospel, A Cappella, Blues, and Country editions of the “So You Want to Sing” book series. My book, “So You Want to Sing Rock ‘N’ Roll,” is published by Rowman and Littlefield Publishing and was called “an authoritative text on rock ‘n’ roll singing” by Classical Singer magazine.
In 2017, I was identified in a research study as one of the top 40 voice teachers in the world for “Training Contemporary Commercial Singers” by Dr. Elizabeth Benson, published by Compton Publishing (UK). I've been honored by the Voice Foundation and NATS with the Van Lawrence Fellowship and was selected as one of four master teachers for the NATS Intern Program in 2019. Finally, I'm an avid blogger, with over 300 posts and more than two million reads by performers around the world.
When I'm not teaching one-on-one, I travel to give presentations, workshops, and master classes to other teachers and singers. I've taught hundreds of sessions for groups including the Navy Sea Chanters, The Air Force Singing Sergeants, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Voice Foundation Annual Symposium, Acoustical Society of America, Southeastern Theatre Conference, Musical Theatre Educators Alliance, Pan American Vocology Association, Vocology in Practice, and at universities including Penn State, Florida State, NYU, University of Toronto, Sheridan College, Brigham Young, Hardin-Simmons, Lehigh University, Wright State, Georgia Southern, Otterbein, Illinois Wesleyan, Missouri State, University of Northern Colorado, Bårdar Academy (Oslo, Norway), NATS Chapters in Toronto, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, New York, NYC, along with many other organizations throughout the world.
If you want to learn more visit EdwardsVoice.com, EdwardsVoice.blog, and CCMInstitute.com
"Matt's leadership in the field of contemporary voice training is beyond parallel. I’ve watched him teach students all over the world, and I’m confident in saying that he is the best voice teacher I’ve ever known. Not only is his technical and scientific knowledge of the mechanism at the very highest level, but his sensitivity, compassion, and personal touch enable him to help students get incredible results time and time again."
