The Naked Voice: A Wholistic Approach to Singing

Join W. Stephen Smith as he shares his method for improving vocal technique, which includes not only technical aspects, but also psychological and spiritual elements of learning to sing. The Naked Voice presents six simple and elegant exercises that form the core of Smith's method, providing a foundation for free singing.

About W. Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith joined the voice faculty at Northwestern University in 2011 after 13 years at The Juilliard School. He was on the voice faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School from 1996 to 2018 Mr. Smith's book, The Naked Voice: A Wholistic Approach to Singing, was published by Oxford University Press in 2007. His voice students have performed leading roles in most of the major opera houses and concert halls around the world. Mr. Smith was on the staff of Houston Grand Opera as Voice Instructor for the Houston Opera Studio from 1990 to 2003. He has taught at Santa Fe Opera, Opera on the Avalon, Curtis Institute of Music, Teachers College of Columbia University, University of Southern California, Los Angeles Young Artist Program, and the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Program. He has given master classes and clinics throughout the United States and has been a guest lecturer at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, at Yonsei University in Seoul, Republic of Korea, and at the Music Academies of Poznan, Krakow, and Wroclaw in Poland.

Mr. Smith, a baritone, has performed has over forty roles in opera and musical theater including eight title roles. Possessing talents in addition to voice teaching and singing, Mr. Smith has stage-directed twenty-one different productions and served as musical director/conductor for several. Also an accomplished pianist and clarinetist, Smith is married to the former Carol Christine Mannen, a pianist and vocal coach. They have two daughters and two grandchildren.