Through group instruction, students encounter the fundamentals of singing and an introduction to song literature. In-class performance is required. May be repeated once. Offered each semester.
Voice Studies
Voice Studies Classes
Our voice studies department offers a variety of classes to prepare our student for a multitude of vocal careers after graduation.
Students learn basic conducting gestures (with and without baton) through exercises in meter patterns, preparatory beats and cut-offs, cueing, dynamics, fermata, articulations, phrasing, left hand independence, and face/eye usage. Offered annually in the spring semester.
Prerequisite: MUSIC 114 and sophomore status, or permission of instructor.
Students learn conducting techniques for choral literature including research-based rehearsal techniques, vocal preparation, score study, and video self-evaluation of gesture and rehearsal. Course work also includes observation of conductors on campus and in the community. Offered annually in the fall semester.
Prerequisite: MUSIC 251.
Students study and practice principles for singing in English and Italian with good pronunciation, enunciation, and expression. Course content includes phonetic analysis using the International Phonetic Alphabet and identifying and exercising the phonemic features of English and Italian through class performances and listening assignments. Offered alternate years.
Prerequisite: two semesters of voice lessons.
Students study and practice principles for singing in French and German with good pronunciation, enunciation, and expression. Course content includes phonetic analysis using the International Phonetic Alphabet and identifying and exercising the phonemic features of French and German through class performances and listening assignments. Offered spring semester 2018-2019 and alternate years.
Prerequisite: MUSIC 263 and two semesters of voice lessons.
This studio course focuses on advanced techniques of acting and singing for the musical stage with emphasis on opera. Students explore voice, movement, improvisation, and characterization at an advanced level. Participants receive coaching in musical and dramatic style through solo and small ensemble literature and prepare scenes for class performance. The course culminates with public performances of a fully staged and costumed lyric theater work. May be repeated once. A production fee will be charged to all students participating in the production. Offered annually in the fall semester.
Prerequisites: two semesters of voice study, or permission of instructor.
This course is designed for students interested in civic engagement in the arts and arts fusion projects. Participants mentor students from a local elementary school in an Opera Creation Residency as the elementary students compose and perform their own original works. The course culminates in staged public performances. Enrollment is subject to a fall interview/audition. Open to all students. May be repeated once. A class fee may be required. Offered during Interim 2019-2020 and alternate years.
Prerequisites: two semesters of voice study or permission of instructor.
Participants prepare for performance of a one-act opera or opera scenes. Students receive coaching and performance experience through individual and group singing/acting exercises. The course culminates with staged and costumed public performances. Open to all students. May be repeated once. A class fee may be required. Offered periodically during Interim.
Prerequisites: two semesters of voice study, or permission of instructor.
Drawing from the fields of biology, neuroscience, physics, and psychology, this course introduces students to the biological and psychological aspects of music performance. Students develop an understanding of the origins of performance-related injury, the mechanism of hearing, the sources of workplace stress in the lives of professional musicians. Each student will design and complete an exercise program tailored to their individual needs as a musician. Offered Interim alternate years.
Students survey the solo art song repertoire of Germany, Italy, and Spain. The course highlights the significant features and development of the art song, and provides context, approaches, and resources for studying this literature. Course work includes in-class performance. Offered alternate years.
Prerequisite: MUSIC 141 and MUSIC 214, or permission of instructor; MUSIC 263 and MUSIC 264 preferred.
Students survey the solo art song repertoire of France, England, the United States, and the Nordic countries. This course highlights the significant features and development of the art song, and provides context, approaches, and resources for studying this literature. Coursework includes in-class performance. Offered spring semester 2019-20 and alternate years.
Prerequisites: MUSIC 214 and MUSIC 141, or permission of instructor; MUSIC 263and MUSIC 264 preferred.
This course is a study of the smaller forms of choral music from the Renaissance to the present with an emphasis on music suitable for junior and senior high school and church choirs. Students study scores and recordings and discuss representative style features and characteristics, interpretation, and conducting problems. Offered annually in the spring semester.
Prerequisites: MUSIC 214, MUSIC 241, and MUSIC 242 and junior standing.
Through group instruction, students encounter the fundamentals of singing and an introduction to song literature. In-class performance is required. Additionally, during the second half of the course, class participants are introduced to the principles of vocal pedagogy as applied to the child and adolescent voice in the class or ensemble rehearsal. There is an emphasis on understanding the developing young voice and establishing good vocal habits with healthy pedagogical techniques as well as exploration of appropriate choral literature. Counts towards BA music major and all BM majors. Required for BM instrumental music education majors. Offered annually in the fall semester.
Prerequisite: MUSIC 251, or permission of instructor.
This course introduces a systematic approach to the study of voice production for use in the studio or classroom. Students examine basic vocal anatomy and physiology approached through body mapping strategies. Students then apply these principles of vocal pedagogy to the child and adolescent voice with emphasis on the developing voice, establishing healthy vocal habits, appropriate teaching techniques, and literature. Counts towards BA music major and all BM majors. Required for BM vocal music education and BM vocal performance majors. Offered annually in fall semester. Also counts toward management studies concentration.
Prerequisite: at least three semesters of MUSPF 152 (voice lessons) or permission of instructor.
This course focuses on applying the foundations of vocal production learned in MUSIC 291 – Vocal Development and Pedagogy to the practice of teaching voice in a solo setting. Students in this course take on a private voice student for the semester and develop a systematic, personalized curriculum for this student. Topics include developing a pedagogical approach to warm-ups and vocalizations, choosing repertoire, vocal registration, vocal acoustics and format training, training different voice types, musical theater belting technique, and the aging voice. Counts toward BA music major and all BM majors. Required for BM vocal music education and BM vocal performance majors. Offered annually in spring semester.
Prerequisite: MUSIC 291.
Working with a live instrumental or choral ensemble, students learn and conduct complete movements and/or entire works and encounter a variety of advanced baton techniques. Course activities develop skills in reading, preparing, interpreting and memorizing scores, with further focus on rehearsal procedures, performance practice, and concert programming. Participants are required to observe a variety of rehearsals on- and off-campus. Offered annually in the fall semester. Also counts toward management studies concentration.
Prerequisites: MUSIC 252 or MUSIC 253.
Vocal Faculty
Anton Armstrong
Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music – Voice; Conductor, St. Olaf Choir
Wesley Dunnagan (he, him, his)
Assistant Professor of Music
Jerry Elsbernd (he, him, his)
Visiting Instructor in Music
Tracey Engleman (she, her, hers)
Professor of Music – Voice, Vocal Pedagogy/Literature; Department Associate Chair of Music
Alison J Feldt (she, her, hers)
Professor of Music – Voice; Associate Dean of Fine Arts
Therees Tkach Hibbard
Associate Professor of Practice and Robert Scholz Endowed Chair in Music – Voice, Choral Conducting and Choral Literature; Conductor, Manitou Singers and Chamber Singers
Dale Kruse (he, him, his)
Associate Professor of Practice in Music – Voice
Monica Murray
Visiting Professor of Music; Department Chair of Theater
Tweet Hall of Music 103
P507-786-3912
Shari M Speer (she, her, hers)
Visiting Instructor in Music
Emery Stephens Jr (he, him, his)
Associate Professor of Music – Voice
Marita Stryker (she, her, hers)
Assistant Professor of Music – Contemporary Voice, Musical Theatre; Director of Musical Theater
KrisAnne Weiss (she, her, hers)
Visiting Assistant Professor of Music – Voice