Talking Up Music Education is a podcast from The NAMM Foundation that shares news and stories about music education. Episode 51 includes an interview with Forte Tenors Josh Page, Alok Kumar, and Zach Page, broadcast live from The 2018 NAMM Show.
“A lot of times people hold singing up to a standard that they just imagine it to be so impossible,” said Page. “When really every person has a voice, and everybody starts from where they start and grows from that point.”
In this podcast, Forte talk about finding their voices as young men; their musical influences; training like a tenor; performing in operas all over the world; and the role of social media for professional musicians. Watch the podcast interview on YouTube or download and listen here.
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Sound Bites From the Podcast
“Classical singing [is] something that you never stop training [for]. You always need that input because the voice never stops growing. It always continues to change, and you're always adjusting and learning new techniques to match where you happen to be in life at that time.” – Josh Page
“There’s a misconception that singing comes from the vocal cords, when really the singing comes from the body. The condition of the body has just a tremendous effect on what a performance's outcome is going to end up being. And not only do I do lessons every week when I can…but also acupuncture. Those are kind of like … secret weapons.” – Josh Page
“If you work out in a certain way, it's less about bulking up and more about building a functional, useful sense of physiology that can support [singing], whether it's a lengthening and softening of the muscles, usability, as opposed to just the aesthetic.” - Alok Kumar
“There's a very delicate, sensitive moment when kids are first introduced to singing by music educators and school, and unfortunately it’s usually not introduced in a way where it’s very cool. There’s so many things you can do to excite students and show them ... like Kanye West and [his] singers [who sing] in harmony with technology. [Students are] instinctually concerned with being cool, so introducing music in a way within the curriculum that lawfully appeals to that, I think would make young men less hesitant to play.” – Zach Page
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Talking Up Music Education is a podcast produced by The NAMM Foundation about music education. Host Mary Luehrsen chats with teachers, parents, students and community leaders who share stories about what they are doing to create music learning opportunities. Please download, share and subscribe to keep up with the stories that make a difference in music education advocacy.
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