Nichelle Mungo

"I teach lessons for the Voice Department where I focus on vocal technique, assuring that students are singing in a healthy manner. The students are aware of my philosophy for warm-ups: the more relaxed and flexible your vocal mechanisms are inwardly, the better your voice will produce outwardly. If you maintain your voice, keeping it warmed up using proper technique, your voice will be one of great longevity. I tell the students to treat their voices just as an athlete would treat their bodies before a game or a race. You wouldn't just wake up one day and say, 'I want to run a 26-mile marathon!' You have to properly prepare for it."

"I love the Voice Department. My colleagues are just incredible. Everyone is widely diverse, and we respect each other for what we have to offer. These are important attributes to have when teaching students from varied cultures. At other places I've been, the focus would be on one genre. Our Voice Department is quite eclectic. Our variety ranges from ambient to hip-hop to R&B to jazz to classical to musical theater and more. We are the epitome of a well-rounded vocal education."

"I think it's important for students to be well educated in their whole artistry—particularly the vocalist, as we tend to have a negative rep for lacking theoretical knowledge. I encourage vocalists to learn another instrument to gain this knowledge. Not only will they become artists in high demand, but the education behind this demand makes for a great ease in musical communication with others. Most importantly, I feel vocalists should stop at nothing to properly cultivate their craft, as well as prove to instrumentalists that we too are musicians, not just dumb singers."