VASTA Newsletter: 99 - Winter p. 2

President's Letter

Dear VASTA Members,

I hope that this newsletter finds you creatively pursuing the art of vocal coaching and teaching - and art they certainly are. Each problem requires a creative solution, patience and tenacity to see the student through months and years of undoing old habits and replacing them with new ones which hopefully will liberate the voice and spirit. As I write this letter, I am in the midst of final exams and have spent the morning listening to and watching our graduate actors. With each student, I have taken a moment to look back to where they began; their body alignment (and, in many cases, misalignment), their abdominal release on the breath (or, in many cases, high clavicular breathing), their breath support (or lack of it), the structural action of the mouth (or profound lateralization), their final consonants (or lack thereof), their /s/'s (sibilant or slushy). Each student is indeed an evolving artist working toward healthy vocal habits and in many cases radical habitual change and we, as voice trainers, must keep reminding ourselves that, indeed, "Rome wasn't built in a day." Today, during the exam, I felt a tremendous sense of exhileration as I saw and heard much change and growth in our graduate students. But I don't always feel that way. Some days I am filled with frustration as I struggle with how to get the students where they need to go. In order to make changes, sometimes the student needs to go off and do a bit of gestalt, primal scream therapy or just work with other actors outside of the university setting. And sometimes I need to get away and recharge my teaching batteries, learning from other voice trainers, therapists or scientists.

For me VASTA is the place where I can learn of the opportunities for growth in order to continue becoming a better voice trainer. Thru VASTAVOX, I am privy to and can participate in discussions which relate to the vocal issues which I face every day. Also, through VASTAVOX, I can put out a call for dialect materials or textual material. Through the VASTA Website, I can find how to contact other voice trainers. Through our International Liason, I can learn of workshops around the world which might fit into my life and art. And through the "VASTA Newsletter" I can read about vocal issues and keep up with the professional pursuits of my fellow voice trainers.

Soon, VASTA will be publishing its own journal, "The Voice and Speech Review." (See article by Rocco Dal Vera in this issue.) This journal will not only give us a fabulous source of information, but will also give us a place to publish our own "scholarly thoughts" about voice and speech training.

Up to this point, VASTA has been able to provide us with these wonderful opportunities with no increase in our annual dues. But the time has come, with the publication of the journal on the horizon, that the board feels it necessary to raise the annual dues to $65.00 beginning January 1st this year. Student dues will remain at $35.00. This increase means that our membership will participate in support of the publishing of the journal which should have its first volume by mid 2000 - just in time for our first International Conference in Washington, D.C.

We should all feel very proud of the amazing work that VASTA has accomplished in its brief twelve years of life. Let us now move forward into our teen years. Have a wonderful, creative springtime.

All my best,

Janet B. Rodgers

	Vol. 13 No. 1VASTA Winter 99 p. 2

	Board of Directors Kate Burke President-Elect U. of Virginia Dudley Knight UC-Irvine BettyAnn Leeseberg-Lange Past-President Valparaiso University Dorothy Runk Mennen Founding President Purdue University Professor, Emerita Janet Rodgers President Virginia Commonwealth U. Mandy Rees CA State U. -Bakersfield Sandra Shotwell University of Utah Kate Ufema U. of Minnesota-Duluth Officers Janet Rodgers President Virginia Commonwealth U. 922 Park Ave. Richmond, VA 23284 804-828-6557 <jrodgers@saturn.vcu.edu> Philip Thompson Secretary The Ohio State University 1089 Drake Union 1849 Cannon Drive Columbus, OH 43210 614-261-8340 <thompson.451@osu.edu> Lisa Wilson Treasurer University of Tulsa 1535 S. Florence Ave. Tulsa, OK 74104 918-631-2566/2850 <lisa-wilson@utulsa.edu> Sandra Shotwell Newsletter Editor U. of Utah, Salt Lake City 801-581-6418/582-0879 <shotwell@inquo.net> Craig Ferre Newsletter Associate Editor Brigham Young U. - Hawaii Laie, HI 96762 808-293-3903 <ferrec@byuhi.edu>				President's Letter Dear VASTA Members, I hope that this newsletter finds you creatively pursuing the art of vocal coaching and teaching - and art they certainly are. Each problem requires a creative solution, patience and tenacity to see the student through months and years of undoing old habits and replacing them with new ones which hopefully will liberate the voice and spirit. As I write this letter, I am in the midst of final exams and have spent the morning listening to and watching our graduate actors. With each student, I have taken a moment to look back to where they began; their body alignment (and, in many cases, misalignment), their abdominal release on the breath (or, in many cases, high clavicular breathing), their breath support (or lack of it), the structural action of the mouth (or profound lateralization), their final consonants (or lack thereof), their /s/'s (sibilant or slushy). Each student is indeed an evolving artist working toward healthy vocal habits and in many cases radical habitual change and we, as voice trainers, must keep reminding ourselves that, indeed, "Rome wasn't built in a day." Today, during the exam, I felt a tremendous sense of exhileration as I saw and heard much change and growth in our graduate students. But I don't always feel that way. Some days I am filled with frustration as I struggle with how to get the students where they need to go. In order to make changes, sometimes the student needs to go off and do a bit of gestalt, primal scream therapy or just work with other actors outside of the university setting. And sometimes I need to get away and recharge my teaching batteries, learning from other voice trainers, therapists or scientists. For me VASTA is the place where I can learn of the opportunities for growth in order to continue becoming a better voice trainer. Thru VASTAVOX, I am privy to and can participate in discussions which relate to the vocal issues which I face every day. Also, through VASTAVOX, I can put out a call for dialect materials or textual material. Through the VASTA Website, I can find how to contact other voice trainers. Through our International Liason, I can learn of workshops around the world which might fit into my life and art. And through the "VASTA Newsletter" I can read about vocal issues and keep up with the professional pursuits of my fellow voice trainers. Soon, VASTA will be publishing its own journal, "The Voice and Speech Review." (See article by Rocco Dal Vera in this issue.) This journal will not only give us a fabulous source of information, but will also give us a place to publish our own "scholarly thoughts" about voice and speech training. Up to this point, VASTA has been able to provide us with these wonderful opportunities with no increase in our annual dues. But the time has come, with the publication of the journal on the horizon, that the board feels it necessary to raise the annual dues to $65.00 beginning January 1st this year. Student dues will remain at $35.00. This increase means that our membership will participate in support of the publishing of the journal which should have its first volume by mid 2000 - just in time for our first International Conference in Washington, D.C. We should all feel very proud of the amazing work that VASTA has accomplished in its brief twelve years of life. Let us now move forward into our teen years. Have a wonderful, creative springtime. All my best, Janet B. Rodgers
	*\| Teaching Voice* \| *President's Letter* \| *VASTA Journal* \| *Passage to India* \| *TechTalk* \| *Board Minutes* \| \| *VASTA Conference* \| *Advocacy* \| *Speaking/Singing* \| *South Africa \|* *International* \| *Regional News* \| © Copyright 1987-99 Voice and Speech Trainers Association, Inc.

Board of Directors

Officers Janet Rodgers

President's Letter

Officers

Janet Rodgers