What I’M about (AKA WHY I LOVE WHAT I DO)

My last name, Fromherz, can be translated as “From the Heart.”

Long story short-ish (if you want the longer story, please follow my Blog.  There will also be great tips for singers of all levels there), I am a life-long student of singing.  I was in children’s choir as a munchkin; I was loud but a team singer; I loved to read music and was a very “good” singer and musician.  A strong work ethic kept me going in this vein through Conservatory and my career in Europe, when, after a standing ovation on a stage in Germany, I realized I was looking for something much more than just a singing career.  I was looking for a full experience of life I did not have. I was looking for “Voice” with a capital “V.”  This was the turning point when I began to see myself as a kind of guide to Voice.  I love to teach people of all ages because I can guess at the many paths and possibilities Voice might take us on in the studio, and I can support people in whatever path their Voice is wanting to take.  Each singer is their own treasure map.  I’m just here to help you ask questions of your Voice like “What ARE you Voice?” “How do you work?” and “How do I SING?”

The thing about singing is, depending on who you are, it is just a “thing you do” OR, on the flip side, it’s something that can bring you to life. I think all singers probably live and sing somewhere on that spectrum.  Right now, I am more in the realm of “Voice is who I am.”  I believe for some singers, this reality is really important to learn and step in to.  It can be the key to solving stage fright, procrastination, self-hatred and all the strange, wild and sometimes dark and scary realities we can live as artists which become the beauty of our integrated sounds when we have the courage to give voice to them.

Don’t worry!  I also teach “pure technique” lessons. But you may find that the reality of voice studies is often much messier than what our intellect wants to admit.  The stuff that brings us to life, that makes us want to sing,  is not JUST mental–although the mental is very important!  It is love, and passion, and vitality, and that wordless “IT” which gets us up in the morning and makes us want to live, to create, to BE!

A Heart Perspective to learning to sing is available to all ages, and all vocal interests.  You may be a professional singer who just needs a little tune-up, or a great amateur who’d like to feel more vocally sure on stage.  “Your Sound,” when it’s integrated with a solid experience of being a singer, with connection to your body-instrument and all that entails, can seamlessly flow from who you already are.  This quality of integration, I believe, is what we love about great singing.  It is accessible to YOU!

You may also be a beginner.  Now, here is the special thing I LOVE about beginners: every great singer I’ve known, and I’ve known more than a few, says that being really true to their Voice means singing like a beginner–like someone who doesn’t know what’s coming next.  They sing music they’ve practiced over and over, just so they can “let go” in the moment of performance and sing as if they’ve never sung before.  I think that’s wild!  And when we can apply this very advanced idea that all we need to sing is present at any moment to the beginning of your singing journey, singing and learning to sing can feel like a grand adventure, even when the daily exercises sometimes can feel like a grind.

When a heart perspective is applied as a foundation to intellectual understanding of the voice, we can thrive vocally in any genre and any setting.  We see pathways to voice we never saw before.  Possibilities open up as we get stronger physically and mentally, and as we listen to, and believe, that deep voice inside us that says “I want to sing.” The singing voice, when it’s seen from a life-enriching perspective and grown in a holistic, organic fashion, can change our lives.

Are you curious about where I’ve performed and taught?  Here’s my resume.