I have written about why I sing (the title of this blog), why I teach, and now I’d like to tell you –
Why I NATS
NATS (the National Association of Teachers of Singing) has been the most significant thing I have done for myself as a professional voice teacher.
I never was a student of a NATS teacher; I knew nothing about NATS. But back when I opened my studio in 1998, I knew from the people I had met on the old Vocalist listserv that NATS was going to be an important place for me.
Going to a summer NATS workshop on working with beginning students in 1997 in Minneapolis was the clincher – I gained so much insight into technique, repertoire, and just all the possibilities that were available to me. And the people I met were … my tribe (I already knew a few of them from Vocalist).
What I’ve gotten from NATS so far (and I’m not done yet):
- Winter workshops and national conferences in Miami, San Diego, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, West Palm Beach, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and Knoxville
- COVID (Chicago 2022) 👿
- Singing in masterclasses for a variety of pedagogues such as Mary Saunders and Neil Semers, as well as observing master clinicians Kelli O’Hara, John Holiday, Richard Miller, Lawrence Brownlee, etc.
- Going to concerts and musicals featuring Kelli O’Hara, John Holiday, Lawrence Brownlee, Audra McDonald and others
- Participating in the 2000 NATS Intern Program, which was the most most important thing I’ve done because it made me realize that I did, in fact, know what I was talking about
- Having my students participate (and do very well in) the Wisconsin and MDDC NATS auditions
- Finding a community and lifelong friends among my fellow members, who have made me feel respected and validated (do you get the feeling that validation is really important to me?)
- Joining the board of the MDDC Chapter, first as secretary and then… and I don’t know how this happened … as president!
Here’s a little overview (there’s no music – that’s for the social media posts)
We are having a membership drive through the end of September; join before September 30 and get the rest of the year and 2025 for $199. You can also join your local chapter for free for the remainder of the year.
Check it out at https://www.mddcnats.org/post/new-member-special.
And that’s why I NATS!
If you have any questions whether about joining NATS OR becoming a student of Mezzoid Voice Studio, please don’t hesitate to contact me at christine@mezzoidvoicestudio.com!