Boulder Voice Lessons

Garrett Smith

Teaching Method
If you can talk, you can sing. People, their voices, and reasons for singing vary widely, and so must the approaches for developing the singer and his/her voice. One thing that remains consistent whether working with a seemingly "tone-deaf" singer or a performance-track singer is the integration of a felt sense of breath and body with musicianship that comes naturally from free expression. Music theory, depending the singer's background, can be subtly applied to what we are working on, or delved into with a sense of exploration and curiosity.

Education
Garrett attained a Bachelor of Music with honors from CU Boulder School of Music where he majored in opera. He also studied piano, composition, pre-med material and dance. He continues to study the many facets of voice with Dr. Bonnie Draina, while composing and performing locally and abroad. Garrett practices Strucutral Integration from the GSI school in Boulder, as well as Alexander Technique.

Highlights/Performances
Garrett continues to audition for opera and musical theatre companies. Recent roles include Leporello in CU Opera's Don Giovanni, and Doktor in Broadway in Boulder's Grand Hotel. He has performned both as a guest artist, as well as monthly/ weekly performances with the professional West African group, Logo Ligi, where he lead sings and dances.

Philosophy
"If you can talk you can sing, if you can walk you can dance" -Maputo Mensah. Singing is about coordination, especially coordinating freedom with support. One must continually move his/her focus of awareness to aspects of the voice and body until the sense of awareness becomes all-encompassing. At that point, the only thing the singer needs to focus on is how s/he feels and what s/he wants to express.

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