Brian Winnie, director of choral activities and voice at Southwestern College, became a Certified Master Teacher of Estill Voice Training during the five-day Estill Voice Training workshop at Southwestern College over spring break.  Winnie is one of 41 Certified Master Teachers in the country.  The week-long event was led by Estill Voice International President Kim Steinhauer.

This was the conclusion of a three-year process for Winnie which included first gaining a certificate of figure proficiency. To become a Certified Master Teacher, Winnie had to pass a written exam on the Estill Voice Training System, anatomy and physiology, and acoustics of the voice, as well as complete sung recordings of 57 various figures for the voice. Figures for the voice were designated exercises created by Jo Estill in order to master subtle variations within 13 structures of the vocal mechanism. 

“My professional development continues toward becoming a certified course instructor in the model and started with my dissertation work on contemporary vocal technique in the choral rehearsal,” Winnie says. “I wanted to help our profession teach the entirety of the voice rather than the usual western classical tradition, which can be seen as a bias towards other genres. My hopes are to continue research in voice science to better understand choral conducting gesture as it relates to the voice, and also redevelop choral pedagogy as it relates to vocal science and the continued discoveries.”

The workshop attracted 21 participants including many Southwestern College students.  The workshop taught the students about vocal anatomy and how to maneuver specific structures to create a multitude of vocal qualities associated with a variety of genres and styles. 

According to Winnie, Steinhauer is a world-renown voice pedagogue, researcher, scholar, and teacher and a highly sought after clinician and presenter on the Estill model.