Sandy Cressman calls her vocal technique Connected Voice. Her approach to teaching begins with this healthy technique, based on her extensive training in Bel Canto and Speech Level Singing technique. To this she adds her extensive performing and touring experience to coaching on style and performance technique in Jazz, Pop, Brazilian and Latin styles. Sandy teaches in French and Portuguese as well.

Cressman teaches voice and vocal technique at the Music Center of San Francisco, at her home studio, at the Jazz School in Berkeley, as well as internationally via Skype.

Pricing: half hour lesson $55 hour lesson $100

Discounts given for lessons paid for in blocks of 4/month:

4 x half hour lessons- $200 4 x hour lesson: $360

Special youth programs available.

Please email sandrinha@homenagem-brasileira.com

Sandy also coaches vocal groups and bands on harmony and blend and does vocal production in the studio. For an example of Sandy's work with Vocal Jazz Groups, please go to www.hiseas.org to check out the High Seas, a great San Francisco Vocal Octet that Sandy musical directs.

UPCOMING MASTERCLASSES AND

EDUCATIONAL EVENTS:

JazzCamp West

June 20-27, 2009

Teaching Vocal Technique and Jobim Repertoire....swingin' in the trees

LaHonda, CA

www.jazzcampwest.com

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Stanford Jazz Camp

July 26-31, 2009

This is kids week--ages 12-18

www.stanfordjazz.org

Back by popular demand, this interactive intensive will explore the roots of samba, bossa nova and bolero contrasting rhythmic grooves, phrasing, vocal percussion and language. We will listen, play and sing standard and not so standard bossa novas, sambas and boleros to make them some of the sparklers in your set.

Not sure how to get into the groove? Not sure what a groove is? Learn to “play” various rhythmic grooves on your body in order to internalize the beat and improve your vocal phrasing. Excellent for musicianship and loads of fun!

We will explore the underlying rhythmic and harmonic structures of jazz standards in order to give singers a better foundation for jazz interpretation. Exercises include lyric rhythms, scat rhythms, exploration of basic jazz harmonic forms to give singers some "points of departure" for their interpretations.

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"I am twenty-three years old and study theatre at the American Conservatory Theatre, as well as piano and guitar at Blue Bear School of American Music. Sandy Cressman has broadened my vocal from a thought-to-be alto to a full range soprano. She has taught me voice control and given me the confidence to sing high range pieces. SandyCressman has changed my vocal technique forever and I could never thank her enough for doing so. Thank you Sandy!"

"Working with Sandy gave me more confidence and a very different approach to singing. Her fluency in French made it also very comfortable for me and she was able to understand exactly where I was coming from and what my needs were."

"Sandy taught me allot of great exercises and was fun, efficient and clear to work with! I highly recommend her!"

"I have been studying with Sandy for over a year now. My voice has improved and changed significantly. I have a technical understanding now of voice I never knew existed. I have found my chest voice and can nowmaneuver better between head and chest. I can really tell the difference when I sing songs that challenged me my entire life. Sandy’s breadth of knowledge, patience and focus is a blessing, and she is a joy to work with."

Sandy has been a great coach and mentor over the past 3 years. I was very close to giving up on singing since I had vocal health issues (nodules) and had not been happy with past instructors.

Connected-Voice singing has been the only answer and is, I feel, the best way to obtain a healthy, trained voice with much greater range and movement.

Sandy has worked diligently with me to help me reach a much more comfortable level of singing and one I feel confident with during performances. She has opened up a broad range of songs to me. In the past I would not approach certain songs, now I feel confident and ready to tackle any tune. Her approach allows for a much greater range and substance to the whole voice.

Sandy is a performer and has recorded a number of CD's so her expertise in these areas always come in handy. Her patience and encouragement have been extremely helpful!! I highly recommend her!!!

"Sandy has helped me achieve a vocal balance that has increased my range, broadened my tonal options, and strengthened my physical support. I have greater endurance and confidence, and don't get hoarse anymore after hours of recording or weeks of touring. Sandy's techniques for narrowing vowel sounds have helped me sing difficult parts with greater ease. She has given me invaluable tools that are second nature to me now such as: visualizing the notes before I sing them, relaxing my posture, and breathing techniques. I have studied with Sandy for - wow- nine years! I would not be the singer I am today without her coaching. Irecommend Sandy as a voice teacher to all singers, whether they are professional or just beginning!"

"Since I have been studying with Sandy, I have improved in the following areas: tone quality, focus of sound, extended range, expressiveness, and I am more relaxed and confident. Sandy exposed me to new singers (for me) and great repertoire. (Not the usual standards that are sung todeath) I learned new ways to interpret a song that work for me. I have never seen any other teacher pack so much into a half hour time slot. I always learned new things and had plenty of tunes and technique to work on between lessons."

"Sandy is truly an exceptional voice teacher. She teaches solid technique and facility with the voice in a very supportive and patient way, She'ssensitive to and supportive of her student's artistry and expression. A rare combination of qualities in the world of voice teaching. She has my highest recommendation!"

"Studying privately with Sandy has had a significant impact on my musical career. Her patient and nurturing teaching style in combination with her technical and aesthetic expertise of the voice has allowed me to reach a more advanced level of singing. On many occasions I have approached her with material from various traditions and languages. In every case she quickly adapted her teaching to suite my specific needs. In my experience the SERIOUS instructors are equally versed in performance as they are in teaching skills. Sandy is an incredible artist in both realms,one in the art of vocalperformance and the other in the art of teaching. She possesses all the qualities that sum up a great educator and I am grateful that she is my teacher."

"I started studying with Sandy over a year ago. Classically trained as a violinist, I was a novice in certain areas of vocal technique, jazz/popular phrasing, and improvisation while being extremely advanced in other areas. Through a balanced approach of building up my vocal abilities while working on a variety of song types, I have grown a great deal in a year. Sandy is a great artist in her own right, and with her help andsuggestions, she has shown me how to find my voice as both a singerand an interpreter."