News / Student & Alumni News

Five VSC Students Team Up To Present At VASTA Conference!

Saturday 20th May 2023

We are so proud that 5 of our students have teamed up to deliver a presentation at VASTA's Annual Conference this July!

Jenna Brown, Samyukta Ranganathan, Tessa Smith-Whicker, Emily Bender and Heather Baker will present Exploring Transformative Methodologies For The Future Of Vocal Practice And Pedagogy.

The conference, Hemispheric Integrations: Theoretical frameworks for the future of vocal practice and pedagogy, takes place on 10th-14th July 2023 in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Congratulations to you all!

Jenna Brown

Jenna Brown is a mezzo-soprano performing as a soloist in concert and recital, as well as in choirs. She teaches singers of all ages 1:1 and in groups, working as teacher, vocal coach and conductor.

Samyukta Ranganathan

Samyukta is an award-winning singer of Indian Classical Music (ICM) with an active teaching and performance career in New York City.

Tessa Smith-Whicker

Tessa has been teaching for over 15 years, following completion of a BA(hons) degree in Jazz Studies at Leeds Conservatoire (nee Leeds College of Music)...

Emily Bender

Emily Bender is a community-based voice teacher, singer and choral director based in the San Francisco Bay Area who works with diverse students of all ages in lessons, classes, and choirs.


Recent Posts

After The Session

After The Session: Neurodivergence and Critical Disability Theory with Dr David Cane

Voice Study Centre
Monday 9th November 2026

A recap of our session with Dr David Cane, Senior Lecturer on the Voice Study Centre MA in Voice Pedagogy, on disability and neurodivergence within the voice teaching studio. When we talk about disability and neurodivergence in voice teaching, the first thing that comes to mind is often a single question: what do I do if a disabled or neurodivergent student walks into my studio? In this session, Dr David Cane invited us to think much bigger. The teacher might be disabled or neurodivergent. So might a choir director or a colleague. The songs we teach may depict or use disability as a metaphor. Even the foundational texts of voice pedagogy carry assumptions about bodies and voices. This was a densely theoretical tour, and David was open about that. His argument was that the most important work is not a checklist of practical tips, but a rethink of what we believe teaching is for. Here are the main threads.

Read More...
After The Session

After The Session: The Vocal Health Challenges for Actors and Singers with Leda Scearce

Voice Study Centre
Wednesday 4th November 2026

A recap of our two-part course with Leda Scearce, singing voice specialist and speech-language pathologist at Duke Voice Care Center in North Carolina. Over two afternoons, Leda Scearce took our community on a deep dive into the voice as a high-performance instrument. A former professional opera singer who taught at several universities before retraining as a speech-language pathologist, Leda now works with singers and other performers who have voice injuries. Her message across both days was clear: singers and actors are vocal athletes, and voice teachers are on the front lines of their vocal health. Here are the highlights from both sessions. Please note that this is a summary of a teaching session, not medical advice. If you or a student have a voice concern, see a qualified voice specialist.

Read More...
After The Session

After The Session: Feldenkrais Method® - its application in speech and song! with Marina Gilman

Voice Study Centre
Monday 2nd November 2026

A recap of our session with Marina Gilman, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, singing teacher, performer and licensed speech pathologist specialising in voice. How do we change vocal habits we don't know we have? That was the question at the heart of our latest session with Marina Gilman, and her answer was equal parts science, storytelling and gentle movement. Rather than lecturing from the front, Marina had the whole room (and everyone watching online) moving, sensing and humming along from their chairs. If you joined us, here is a reminder of what we explored. If you missed it, here is a taste of why this method has so many voice teachers talking.

Read More...