Yvonne R. Dechance

POSITION SOUGHT

Assistant Professor of Voice – Full-time music faculty position, teaching studio and group voice, with potential to teach additional music courses including voice diction, vocal pedagogy and health, vocal repertoire, and a scenes or production program.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

• Actively-performing soprano
• University experience teaching studio voice, class voice, graduate opera history,
  music appreciation, choir, opera scenes, and global issues in music.
• Fully prepared to teach courses in voice diction, vocal pedagogy and vocal repertoire
• Over six years university teaching experience in studio voice
• Twelve years instruction of private vocal studio
• Expert at integrating state-of-the-art technology into teaching curricula
• Co-author of The Diction Domain™ voice diction resources website
• Involved member of NATS with leadership positions at local, regional and national levels.
• Experienced choral and opera workshop director
• Piano, harpsichord skills for accompaniment in studio lessons
• Enthusiastic and motivational teacher for students from diverse musical backgrounds

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Doctorate of Musical Arts: Voice Performance, 1994

Master of Music: Vocal Pedagogy major, Voice Performance emphasis, 1991

Bachelor of Arts: Voice Performance major, Theater Arts minor, 1988

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

National Association of Teachers of Singing, full membership, 1995-present.

• NATS National Webmaster, http://www.nats.org, 1999-2006.
• Ex-officio member of the NATS Board of Directors, 1999-2006.
• Regional Meetings Secretary, Southeastern NATS Region, 2003-2008.
• Appointed Member, SERNATS Regional Task Force, 2006.
• Chair, National Website Advisory Committee, 2006.
• Member, Student NATS National Advisory Council, 2005-present.
• President and Auditions Chair, Tampa Bay NATS Chapter, 2004-present (now in third term)
• Appointed Florida District Governor, 2008

College Music Society, full membership, 2006-present.

American Choral Directors’ Association, full membership, 2003-2005.

Mu Phi Epsilon, 1984-present:

• Alumni Liaison, 1994-95; Alumni Advisor, 1995-96; Chair of the Scholarship Committee, 1996.

Music Consultant for Carry-a-Tune technologies, 2002-2005

Tampa Renaissance Center for the Arts

• Board Member and Music Education consultant, 2004-present.

Honorary memberships in Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Lambda.

Member, University of Texas Exes, College Houses, and Whitworth Alumni Associations.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Dechance Studios–Private Studio Instructor (1989-August 2002; August 2007-present)

Assistant Professor of Voice (August 2002-August 2007)

Lecturer (January-May 1998)

Studio Voice Instructor (August 1994-October 1996)

Studio Voice Instructor (1989-1993)

Assistant Opera Director (1990-1991)

VOCAL PREPARATION

• Five years private vocal studies with Martha Deatherage

• Six years private voice studies with Dr. Randi von Ellefson, Maurine Kalk, and Robert Brannan

• Three years French Art Song performance and interpretation with Gérard Souzay

• Opera performance studies with Robert DeSimone, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Rick Hornor, Dorothy Darby Smith, and Mignon Dunn

• Private vocal coaching with David Garvey and Terry Lusk

• Master class performances for Nico Castel, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Spenser Caroll, Samuel Sanders, Alyce Rogers, Leonard Martin, and Martin Katz

• Continuing studies include participation at workshops and masterclasses, and active performance including the 2008-09 professional soloist contract at Tampa Second Church of Christ, Scientist

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

Presentations and Publications (selected activities)

• Presenter, "Technology and the New Diction Domain." NATS 50th National Conference, 2008.

• Guest Presenter, "Mozart and Verdi." Presbyterian College, Clinton, South Carolina, March 2008.

• Presenter, “Meeting our Students Halfway: integrating popular music examples and projects into ‘seriously conceived’ curricula.” CMS South Central-Southern SuperRegional Conference, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, February 2008.

• Guest Presenter, "Integrating Creativity and Music into the Classroom 3." University of Tampa Education/Theater Workshop, 2007.

• Lecture-recitalist, Cabaret: Theater of the Mind to Theater of the Masses," Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, January 2007.

• Masterclass Clinician, Hillsborough Community College, Ybor City, Florida, October 2006.

• Guest Presenter, "Integrating Creativity and Music into the Classroom 2." University of Tampa Education/Theater Workshop, Fall 2006.

• Co-presenter, “Keeping Our Teaching Fresh,” with Mary K Wilson, Tampa Bay NATS Fall Workshop, 2006.

• Recitalist and Clinician, University of Wisconsin-Superior, August 2006.

• Masterclass Clinician, Susan Levasseur Voice Studio, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida, 2006.

• Guest Presenter, "Integrating Creativity and Music into the Classroom." University of Tampa Education/Theater Workshop, 2006.

• Vocal Clinician, "What Voice Training can Teach you as a Choral Singer" Plant High School Choirs, Tampa, Florida, 2005.

• Poster Paper Presenter, "Songs and Society: Pop Music at the Turn of the (Twentieth) Century," The Sixth International Congress of Voice Teachers, Vancouver, Canada, 2005.

• Lecture-recitalist, "Songs and Society: Pop Music at the Turn of the (Twentieth) Century," (academic version) Festival 500: Sharing the Voices International Academic Symposium , Newfoundland, Canada --2005. Accompanying Article accepted for publication in the Symposium Proceedings V, 2006.

• Co-presenter, “Dealing Successfully with Performance Anxiety,” with Alexis Kendall, University of Tampa, 2005.

• Lecture-recitalist, "Songs and Society: Pop Music at the Turn of the (Twentieth) Century" (student version), The University of Tampa Honors Symposia Series --2005.

• Contributing Author, D’Arcy Smith’s “The Teaching of Vocal Resonance and Range: A survey of Voice Teachers,” 2005. Presented at the 2005 Conference of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and published as a monograph in April 2005. http://www.yorku.ca/dsmukler/voicesurvey/voicesurvey.pdf  

• Contributing author/editor, “The Singing Book,” by Meribeth Bunch and Cynthia Vaughn, W W Norton, 2004. Wrote transcripts and edited diction appendix of this class voice textbook. Submitted formal review of this textbook at publisher’s request in Summer 2006 in preparation for 2nd edition.

• Co-Presenter and Moderator, "Adjudicating Musical Theater Singers" discussion/demonstration, 2004 Fall Tampa Bay NATS Chapter Workshop. Co-presenter: Prof. Marguerite Bennett Folger.

• Presenter and Masterclass Clinician, "Humor and the Artsong Recital," 2003 New England Regional Conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Boston, MA.

• Speaker, "Exploiting Technology for Voice Recruitment Strategies," NATS National Convention, National Leadership Luncheon, 2004.

• NATS National Webmaster, NATS Online http://www.nats.org , 1999-2006. Duties included authoring, editing and structuring information; page creation and site maintenance; and coordinating projects with the Executive Office, Journal of Singing and Inter Nos Editors, NATS Chat Coordinator, and Special Event and Project Chairs.

• Editor, The NATS Online Journal Index, 2000-2001. Dr. John Burgin, author. Edited annotated index covering 50 years of NATS journal publications. Coordinated with author and database programmer to convert hardcopy index to a searchable online index. http://www.nats.org/journal_of_singing.php#journal

• Artist Series Presenter, Birth of a Website: The Diction Domain™ and Educational Website Development, Texoma Region NATS Conference, November 1999. Co-presenter: Dr. Candace A. Magner.

• Author, "Meistersinger: Making the Grad School Decision." Classical Singer, September 1999

• Speaker, Birth of a Website: The Diction Domain™ and Educational Website Development, July 1999 at Sharing the Voices: The Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium II, in Newfoundland, Canada. Text published in the proceedings of the Symposium.

• Author, "The Music Educator's Personal/Professional Webpage," NATS Inter Nos feature article, April/May 1999. Created companion tutorial online at http://www.scaredofthat.com/ppwebsite/sgarticle1.html.

• Speaker at the 14^th Annual Meeting of The Rocky Mountain Chapter of The College Music Society, March 1999. Presented interactive slideshow and demonstration of The Diction Domain™ website.

• Poster Paper Presenter, Birth of a Website: Creation of The Diction Domain™, 45^th Conference of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, July 1998. Co-presenter: Dr. Candace A. Magner.

• Programmer and co-author of The Diction Domain™ (http://www.dictiondomain.com) voice diction resources website, 1997 to present.

• Author of numerous electronic articles for Vocalist, 1993-2003. Vocalist is the Internet information and discussion group for singers and teachers of singing. (http://www.vocalist.org)

• Lecturer, "Brahms and Liszt – Life in the Shadow of Beethoven," Citrus College, May 1997.

• Guest Vocal Instructor. Coached University of Texas at Austin studio of undergraduate music and non-music majors. Conducted studio class and individual lessons, presented instruction and drills for Lütgen vocalises and vowel modification techniques, March 1995.

Committees and Conferences

• Comparative Pedagogy, NYSTA Professional Development Program, June 2008.

• Chair, University of Tampa First Year Experiences (Gateways/Global Issues) Committee, 2006-2007.

• Elected Member, University of Tampa Faculty Advisory Council, 2005-2007

• Board Member, Board of Directors of the Renaissance Center for the Arts, Tampa, 2004-present. Participated in all Board Meetings, member of Music Subcommittee, Chair of Curriculum Committee.

• Member, Admissions Policy Committee, University of Tampa, 2002-2006.

• Faculty Representative, Facilities Subcommittee to the Board of Directors, University of Tampa, 2002-2004.

• Board Member ex officio, NATS Meetings of the Board of Directors, 2000-2005. Participated in all Board Meetings as technology consultant and NATS Webmaster.

• Member, National Student NATS Advisory Committee, 2005-2007.

• Member, NATS National Membership Committee, 2002- 2004.

• Member, NATS National Membership Materials Committee, Fall 2002.

• Member, NATS EBSCO Proposal Consideration Committee, Summer 2002.

• Member, NATS Recruitment Strategies Committee, 2001.

• Member, NATS Publications Advertising Policy Committee, 2000-2001.

• Member, NATS Publications Missions Advisory Committee, November 1999.

• Using the Web to Enhance the Classroom, April 1998. Attended live satellite event and discussion groups of the 9th Annual Conference on College Teaching and Learning.

• Alexander Technique Workshop for Singers, April 1998. Attended intermediate and advanced sessions, focusing on relating posture and alignment to vocal pedagogy.

• Feldenkrais Breathing and Movement Workshop for Singers, March 1998. Learned about the Feldenkrais method, some of its exercises and applications for singing and teaching singing.

• Chancellor's Conference on the Use of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, East Carolina University, February 1998.

Adjudications (selected activities)

• Tampa Bay NATS Student Auditions, 2002-present.

• Southeastern NATS Student Auditions, 2002-present.

• Florida State NATS Artist Award Judge, 2006.

• TNT Talent Competition, 2004-06.

• Lee County Allied Arts Talent Competition, Semi-finalist and Finals Judge, 2004-08.

• Suncoast Opera Competition Adjudicator, 2005.

AWARDS AND HONORS

• Who's Who

• 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century

• Who's Who in the West

• Educational Website design awarded The Golden Cords Singing Voice Award, 1998; Selected and Reviewed as a Classroom Webivore (http://www.webivore.com) website 1999.

• Doctoral dissertation nominated for Outstanding Dissertation Award, 1994-1995

• "Lucky to be Me" recital nominated for Roy Crane Award for Creativity in the Performing Arts, 1993

• Doty Award winner, Mu Phi Epsilon Music Competition, 1990

• NATS Regional Voice Competition finalist, 1984, 1985, 1987

SKILLS AND INTERESTS

Macintosh computers and Internet education, piano and harpsichord, conducting and stage directing, costume design and construction, travel, miniatures, fencing, Pilates training and dance.

PERSONAL ATTITUDES AND OUTLOOK

I believe the training of a singer should develop the total performer -- a responsive, flexible voice, healthy techniques, informed interpretation, and personal presentation appropriate to the skills and goals of the individual. I strive to instill in each student a secure vocal foundation, awareness of personal strengths, and knowledge about their instrument and their art.

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