Martha Allen, 2021 Respiro Opera participant
Why did you sign up for Respiro?
I worked one on one with LeAnn Overton at Manhattan School of Music coaching the outreach the spring semester of 2021. LeAnn shared some very helpful things about resonance and breath. Plus she was very positive and supportive in our work together. When she mentioned her summer program addressed the issues of breath and physical freedom, I wanted to learn more.
Did Respiro meet your expectations? What did you take away from the program?
Respiro totally met my expectations and beyond. I had always been curious about Alexander Technique but had never experienced a session. So much of what Lori Schiff and Eleanor Taylor said made complete sense and cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had about what I was doing physically as a singer. I also liked that Jan Prokop showed us some diagrams of what’s going on inside when we breathe and move. What I had heard in my voice lessons suddenly became very clear to me as I saw the working parts. I loved starting the day with yoga. It really prepared me for the rest of the day. Barbara Fusco shared a lot of information that the other instructors built on. Yoga informed the Body Mapping, BM informed the Alexander Technique sessions. There was no conflicting information. It’s like the program kept building on itself as the week went on.
I appreciated that everybody was so positive! It is possible to give constructive feedback in a kind and supportive way! It made me feel so much more confident as an artist. I didn’t mind concentrating on just two arias for the week. It’s like I became hyper-focused on what I needed to do when I learn new music. I can tell you, I know those two arias very well now!
Taking what I learned in Respiro and incorporating it has made a huge difference in how I approach my singing now. I have so much more information to work with. It’s really given me specific ways to look at music, the character and how I’m bringing those two factions together in my body. Being able to work with this faculty in a concentrated manner for the week with such a reasonable tuition made me feel like it was my own personal summer camp!