TOSINI CELEBRATES SUCCESS OF ESTILL COURSES
When TOSINI’s founding secretary Marie O’Sullivan attended an Estill Voice Training System Level One course in Bristol in November 2002, she was so enthused that she wanted to share the experience with other singers and teachers of singing in Ireland. At the end of October 2005, this vision became reality when Levels One and Two were delivered in Ireland for the first time, under the auspices of TOSINI over two consecutive weekends.
The Estill Voice Training System is the result of over 30 years of research carried out by Jo Estill, a professional singer who gave up the concert platform when she was in her 40’s to indulge her curiosity into the workings of the human voice. As she learned about the anatomy and physiology of the head and neck and the principles of the larynx, some of the answers to her long standing questions began to emerge.
The Estill Voice Training System is therefore based on the scientific findings of her research on how the voice actually works thus dispelling the many myths which have surrounded singing technique for hundreds of years.
The Level One course was held at the Dromantine Conference Centre near Newry during the Halloween Weekend. The 34 participants came from all over Ireland and several had come over from England to attend the course. Paul Farrington along with colleague Anne Marie Speed facilitated ably assisted by Travis Baker.
Level One deals with the anatomy and physiology of the voice before going on to cover the twelve compulsory figures needed for complete vocal control. Knowledge of these figures gives singers and teachers a real insight into the muscle control necessary for singing in all styles and with a wide range of vocal colour. It also provides a really valuable tool box for teachers to help trouble shoot vocal problems.
It has to be said that there was a lot of information to take in, however, Paul and Anne- Marie’s style made it seem like light work and with their jokes and amusing anecdotes the time flew by. Each compulsory figure was practised in small groups which ensured that individual attention was given if required. At the end of each day, open sessions were held giving time for participants to sing in an informal masterclass setting. The facilities at Dromantine were ideal for this course and the self service honesty bar was a great draw at the end of a busy day.
The following weekend the TOSINI road show moved on to the maiden city of Derry for Level Two and personally speaking, I was relieved to have had the five day break in between. It gave me a chance to revise Level One and to try out some of the compulsory figures on my students and to think up the questions I needed answering!
Level Two deals with combining compulsory figures to produce Six Voice Qualities; speech, falsetto, Sob, Twang, Opera and Belting, and their application in performance.
Once again Paul and Anne Marie kept us informed and entertained in equal measures assisted this time by Sarah Stephenson, an Estill practitioner who works at LIPA - Liverpool Inst. Of Performing Arts. The mixture of plenary and small group sessions greatly assisted the learning process and by the end of the weekend most of the 27 participants could make noises and sounds they couldn’t make before.
All thanks goes to our girl in the North West, Una Carlin for sourcing the comfortable guesthouse accommodation, catering and looking after the housekeeping at the Foyle Arts Centre.
Overall, these two weekend were a great success and many of us feel much better equipped as singers and teachers whilst enjoying socialising with enthusiastic like-minded people.
Congratulations to the TOSINI committee and in particular to Marie for bringing us such a valuable opportunity.
Tosini Secretary, Marie O'Sullivan with Anne-Marie Speed
