In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Kathryn LaBouff

Vocal Coach

Kathryn LaBouff

Kathryn LaBouff has taught English Diction and English Vocal Literature at the Juilliard School of Music since 1986; the Manhattan School of Music since 1984; and the Curtis Institute of Music since 1998. She is the Assistant Chair of the Voice Faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. She has formerly taught at Yale University, Cornell University, Ithaca College, the Mannes College of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada. Her book, Singing and Communicating in English - A Singer's Guide to English Diction, was published by Oxford University Press in 2008. She is currently a diction coach on the staff of the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera and the San Francisco Opera Merola program where she works on productions and gives masterclasses for their respective young artist programs. She was on the staff for Opera Theatre of St. Louis for six seasons. She has coached and prepared more than 300 opera productions in English. Other companies where she has coached productions are: the Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Glimmerglass Opera Company, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and the Aspen Music Festival.

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Kathryn LaBouff : Singing and Communicating in English

Review: In Singing and Communicating in English, internationally renowned diction coach Kathryn LaBouff provides singers with an accessible guide to the principles of English diction they need to communicate the text successfully. Her thorough and much sought-after technique clarifies the physiology of speech, emphasizes the studied practice of careful and articulate pronunciation, and focuses on the study of English cadence. Covering aspects of phonetics from vowels to diphthongs to fricatives, the book includes multiple practical exercises in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions, helpful diagrams, and pronunciation drills, each chosen from the most essential English art song and operatic repertoire. In addition to standard American and British English, a variety of regional dialects and accents are covered in depth. A companion website features a full range of vowel/consonant drills, poems read aloud by the author and by theater and voiceover actor John Keating, as well as an exercise answer key, and publishers' lists to help the singer locate a vast array of English language works for performance. This book is an invaluable resource for all vocalists (both professional and aspiring), diction instructors, teachers, and coaches, and choral directors. Kathryn LaBouff teaches English Diction and English Vocal Literature at the Juilliard School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music. Diction Coach for the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Washington Opera, she has coached and prepared more than 300 professional opera productions in English.

Chapters: Foreword, Introduction to Diction, Communicating the Thought, Introduction to Vowels, The Fronting Vowels, The Backing Vowels, The Mixed Vowels, Dipthongs, The Three Semi-Vowel Glides, Introduction to Consonants, The Plosives, The Fricatives, The Nasal Consonants Plus the Lyrical L, The Owner's Manual, Singing in the British Dialect, The Mid-Atlantic Dialect, Afterword, Appendices, Glossary, Music Publisher's Guide, Selected Bibliography and Resources, Index of Song Texts, General Index, Exercise Guide