In this episode, Alexa sits down with voice teacher and performer Conor Angell to explore his influential article How Do You Teach Voice? Six Vital Non-Musical Teaching Principles. They discuss how these principles shape effective teaching, what’s changed since 2019, and the importance of kindness, agency, and adaptability in the studio. Conor also reveals what he’d now add as a seventh principle, offering fresh insights for voice teachers, singers, and educators alike.
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?
0:34 What makes a good teacher according to Conor?
2:40 What are the signs that your teaching principles aren’t working?
6:41 How can we get out of our own heads in the teaching room?
9:59 How to keep learning fun
15:02 Understanding intrusive teaching approaches
21:08 Balancing challenge and support
27:56 Teaching approaches for specific vocal targets
33:10 Which of Conor’s six principles have proven to be the most successful?
36:37 How can HE programmes make room for teaching philosophy?
40:56 What would be Conor’s 7th principle?
About the presenter, click HERE
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS
Dr Bracey
Singing Teachers Talk Podcast Ep.224 Your Brain on Art: The Science of Creativity and Healing
Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
Daniel Levitin
This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin
How Do You Teach Voice? Six Vital Nonmusical Teaching Principles by Conor Angell
Toward a Theory of Applied Music Instruction by Richard Kennel
Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
Singing Teachers Talk Podcast Ep.219 10 Songs for Male Contemporary Musical Theatre Singers
ABOUT THE GUEST
Born and reared in Ireland, baritone Conor Angell joined the music faculty of Taylor University in the fall of 2013. Previously, he taught at Houghton College and Wabash College. A versatile vocalist, Angell performs on musical theatre and opera stages, in recording studios, with orchestras, and in recitals.
Angell has performed solo roles in productions such as The Music Man, A Little Night Music, The Sound of Music, Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte, La bohème, Rigoletto, Susannah, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Madama Butterfly, La vida breve, Candide, The Gondoliers, Pirates of Penzance, Verdi’s Otello, Don Quichotte, Iolanta, A View from the Bridge, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Gianni Schicchi with organizations including Opera North, Kentucky Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Greensboro Opera, Brevard Music Center, and Muncie Civic Theatre.
In vocal competitions, he has won awards in the Chicago Oratorio Competition, American Prize in Vocal Performance and Heafner-Williams Vocal Competition, among others. As stage director and music director, his credits include Cosi fan tutte, The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, The Light in the Piazza, She Loves Me, Little Women, Oklahoma!, Gianni Schicchi, Dido and Aeneas, Into the Woods, Annie, Mary Poppins, Working, I Love a Piano, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and more.
His productions have been recognized by awards from the National Opera Association. As a recording session vocalist, he has completed hundreds of contracts with music producers. Active in the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Angell has authored multiple feature-length articles published in The Journal of Singing.
