"My voice is an agent of mass connection."
- Melanie DeMore |
A Healing Artist , Expressive Arts & Vocal Empowerment Coach
|
For 22 years I’ve lived in beautiful Port Townsend WA, and now steward a land and community sanctuary that has been dubbed “The Songhouse”. The immense natural beauty of the Cascadia watershed, and rich community life in this small town is what has kept me rooted for so long. People, sense of place, and my practices center my living. Singing, dancing, Qi Gong, frame drum, didgeridoo, tambura, and ukelele, teaching and practicing Council, are all nutrients that build my vitality, and help guide me in "living ceremony". I strive to care for this place and it’s people as much as it has cared for and nurtured me.
TRAINING & EXPERIENCE
My approach to vocal technique is a balance of science and spirit. I developed the Soul Song Method after many years of personal training, experimentation, and discovery, and 10 years devoted to training students in healthy, heart-centered singing.
I received a classical, Bel Canto foundation in vocal technique over 6 years of high school and college. Over 20 years, I’ve continued to study vocal technique and perfarmance, as well as the mystical science of sound in the Yogic, Essene, Egyptian, and Indigenous American lineages.
I continuously pursue vocal & pedagogic training including:
Rhiannon (Vocal Improvisation)
Michael Stirling (Khalal North Indian Classical Voice)
Karen Patterson (contemporary and classical master teacher)
Richard Armstrong (Roy Hart Theater /Alfred Wohlfson methodology)
Mark Power, Seattle (contemporary technique)
Other ongoing vocal studies and influences include:
Oren Brown, Valborg Werbeck, Vicki Dodd, Barbara McAffee, Christa Ray, and Shanti Shivani.
Extensive bodywork and somatic studies, and 20 years as a licensed massage practitioner deeply inform my teaching style as well.
My work in the performing arts:
My work as a teacher and facilitator:
My approach to vocal technique is a balance of science and spirit. I developed the Soul Song Method after many years of personal training, experimentation, and discovery, and 10 years devoted to training students in healthy, heart-centered singing.
I received a classical, Bel Canto foundation in vocal technique over 6 years of high school and college. Over 20 years, I’ve continued to study vocal technique and perfarmance, as well as the mystical science of sound in the Yogic, Essene, Egyptian, and Indigenous American lineages.
I continuously pursue vocal & pedagogic training including:
Rhiannon (Vocal Improvisation)
Michael Stirling (Khalal North Indian Classical Voice)
Karen Patterson (contemporary and classical master teacher)
Richard Armstrong (Roy Hart Theater /Alfred Wohlfson methodology)
Mark Power, Seattle (contemporary technique)
Other ongoing vocal studies and influences include:
Oren Brown, Valborg Werbeck, Vicki Dodd, Barbara McAffee, Christa Ray, and Shanti Shivani.
Extensive bodywork and somatic studies, and 20 years as a licensed massage practitioner deeply inform my teaching style as well.
My work in the performing arts:
- Theater of the Oppressed, and Playback Theater forms with Marc Weinblatt and Michael Rohd Performing & touring with the Poetic Justice Theater Ensemble for 3 years
- Acrobatics of the Heart, Grotowski based theater work as taught by Steve Wangh and faculty of the Experimental theater wing at NYU.
- Lead and ensemble cast roles in regional award winning productions at Key City Public Theatre, including being awarded Best Female Lead in a Musical in the Kitsap Sun for 2008.
- Experimental dance and theater performance at Studio 36 in Port Townsend
- 2008 - 2010 recording and touring with Alexa Sunshine Rose.
- 2011-2013 recording and touring with Laurence Cole and Aimee Ringle as "The Songweavers".
- 2011-2017 “The Aimées” recorded and toured, and produced the album Golden Thread in 2016.
- I am currently working on my own libretto and script for an avant garde musical production.
My work as a teacher and facilitator:
- SoulSong Vocal Empowerment Coach since 2012
- Song Leader and voice coach at Singing Alive, and Village Fire Festivals
- Facilitator of "Awakening Sound & Body” classes at Madrona Mindbody Institute.
- Facilitator "Soul Call”, an empowerment and sacred practices circle for women based on the work of Jean Houston
- Facilitator of “Vocal Alchemy”, vocal improv lab inspired by Rhiannon’s vocal river work
- Facilitator of “Sound Temple”, a sacred sound practice of ancient lineage esoteric prayer
- Host and guide for “Heart Circle”, a form of monthly council supporting the local sustainability movement
- Practitioner and Facilitator of Contact Improv Jams
- Practitioner Facilitator Grotowski based ensemble practices
- Instructor of Deep Tissue massage at the Port Townsend School of Massage
My Story...
BEGINNINGS
I have lived a life graced with music and dance. To sing and play music was just part of what our family knew to do... endless song association games on long car rides, harmonies always layered in; regular listening to the great composers and performers - classical to Broadway to jazz - attending concerts & theater ...we'd come home and put on our own contrived "vaudevillian" shows, gathering around grandma at the piano... Mom started me off with lessons in modern dance at 4, training in piano at 5, in theater at 7, and voice at 13. I went on to continue my vocal & performing arts studies as a music & theater major at college and then...
I went through a time - about ten years - where all that I loved about the performing arts, and my identity within the field went through a "black out". It was a time with no sense of my own voice, no music made to speak of, and no desire to perform. During the re-emergence from that time, I came to fully understand the blessing that music and our ability to express creatively gives to the human soul.
I have lived a life graced with music and dance. To sing and play music was just part of what our family knew to do... endless song association games on long car rides, harmonies always layered in; regular listening to the great composers and performers - classical to Broadway to jazz - attending concerts & theater ...we'd come home and put on our own contrived "vaudevillian" shows, gathering around grandma at the piano... Mom started me off with lessons in modern dance at 4, training in piano at 5, in theater at 7, and voice at 13. I went on to continue my vocal & performing arts studies as a music & theater major at college and then...
I went through a time - about ten years - where all that I loved about the performing arts, and my identity within the field went through a "black out". It was a time with no sense of my own voice, no music made to speak of, and no desire to perform. During the re-emergence from that time, I came to fully understand the blessing that music and our ability to express creatively gives to the human soul.
The Journey of a Healing Artist
My path to becoming a vocal coach began during ten quiet years as a massage therapist. Here I cultivated my true calling as a Healing Artist. Through thousands of hours working with clients in personal healing and human potential, I developed deep compassion for each soul's unique contribution and the journey we take to reclaim our sense of wholeness and purpose.
In 2000, during my immersion in Human Ecology studies, I was awakened to the central importance of cultural, social, environmental, and global healing. I discovered how my background as a performer could serve a greater purpose - my voice had found its meaning. Since then, I've worked as a vocalist, actor, and dancer, using the stage to elevate spirits, build community, and inspire healing.
Another pivotal moment came in 2002 when I met Laurence Cole (laurencecole.com/) during the Seattle Iraqi war protest march. Through him, I witnessed how singing could be a form of social activism, bringing people into an elevated state of "remembering." This experience highlighted singing as one of humanity's most primal "technologies of belonging" - a practice possibly predating speech itself.
My Mission as Your Vocal Coach
Drawing from my experience with many wonderful vocal coaches over the years, I now mentor others who recognize their voice as essential to their personal or professional fulfillment. I invest deeply in the whole person - supporting both the greater vision and the small technical steps that build toward it. My work encourages the depth and fullness of soul that infuses each voice with its unique medicine.
My path to becoming a vocal coach began during ten quiet years as a massage therapist. Here I cultivated my true calling as a Healing Artist. Through thousands of hours working with clients in personal healing and human potential, I developed deep compassion for each soul's unique contribution and the journey we take to reclaim our sense of wholeness and purpose.
In 2000, during my immersion in Human Ecology studies, I was awakened to the central importance of cultural, social, environmental, and global healing. I discovered how my background as a performer could serve a greater purpose - my voice had found its meaning. Since then, I've worked as a vocalist, actor, and dancer, using the stage to elevate spirits, build community, and inspire healing.
Another pivotal moment came in 2002 when I met Laurence Cole (laurencecole.com/) during the Seattle Iraqi war protest march. Through him, I witnessed how singing could be a form of social activism, bringing people into an elevated state of "remembering." This experience highlighted singing as one of humanity's most primal "technologies of belonging" - a practice possibly predating speech itself.
My Mission as Your Vocal Coach
Drawing from my experience with many wonderful vocal coaches over the years, I now mentor others who recognize their voice as essential to their personal or professional fulfillment. I invest deeply in the whole person - supporting both the greater vision and the small technical steps that build toward it. My work encourages the depth and fullness of soul that infuses each voice with its unique medicine.
Links to the albums Aimée has collaborated on:
