Maghan McPhee

Finding my voice and teaching others to find theirs, has become my passion and my raison-d’etre. I am continuously fascinated by the many aspects of the voice and voice performance. In pursuing this, I have earned two Masters degrees in Voice performance. The first is from the University of Ottawa, followed by a second at Bard College Conservatory of Music in New York, where I was awarded both a full scholarship and a teaching position. As one of only eight international singers invited to participate in the inaugural class, I worked alongside Dawn Upshaw, Kayo Iwama, Jennifer Ringo Conlon, and Lorraine Nubar as well as several other New York coaches on a regular basis. I continue to train regularly in Philadelphia with acclaimed American soprano Benita Valente (Marlboro Music Festival), and in New York with Jennifer Ringo Conlon (Los Angeles Opera; Bard College; Aspen Opera Theater Institute). I have received several Canada Council for the Arts Grants for Professional Musicians to help enable this high level of training in order to stay current. I am currently an Associate Performance Instructor with Carleton University where I provide a tailored curriculum for each individual student, intending to nurture the singing artist. Voice production, style, interpretation, and insight into the mental fortitude required for live performances are covered in the lessons. This year, I designed and executed a diction performance class at Carleton, which will now be part of the curriculum for voice majors. Through my primary teacher, Benita Valente, I am a descendent of the Garcia Bel Canto technique. I use this as a base for instruction for all styles of classical singing. I am also a student of the Alexander Technique and choose to teach breath and phonation from an holistic point of view, recognizing the importance of remaining mindful that the singer’s instrument is their entire body rather than just a “voice”. To this end, I have organized workshops for my students and teach complementary with Gwen Ellison, an Alexander Technician, from the Yale School of Drama. I believe that everyone can and should sing. The voice is our communication tool. We all know that our voice changes with every mood-shift that happens throughout our day to day lives. It is known that we hold tension in our bodies, due to emotional stress, fatigue and many other factors. By becoming aware of this tension through phonation, and finding awareness of our breath function, I have found that the voice can be released in ways unimaginable to the singer. I aim to provide a multi-disciplinary approach, where I look at mind, body and spirit to allow the singer to find their true voice.