Your current Michigan chapter board of directors:
State Governor - Robert Doyle
B.Mus. Michigan State University
M.Mus. The University of Texas at Austin
Level III Certified Teacher of Somatic Voicework™ - The LoVetri Method
Robert Doyle, Michigan District NATS Governor, is an active performer, director and teacher. Mr. Doyle serves on the Voice Faculty at Albion College and is the Director of Choral Activities and Theatre at Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn, Michigan. In performance and as a stage and musical director, Mr. Doyle is equally at home in Oratorio, Opera, Operetta and Musical Theatre, performing with various orchestras and theatre companies throughout Michigan.
He holds degrees in Vocal Performance from Michigan State University and The University of Texas at Austin. He also has advanced study in Organ at The University of Michigan with Dr. Marilyn Mason. His voice teachers include George Shirley, Lorna Haywood, Rose Taylor, and Ethel Armeling. His Opera and Art Song coaches include Gerard Souzay, Fiora Contino, Terry Lusk, Timothy Cheek and the late David Garvey (exclusive accompanist for Leontyne Price.) His Level III Orff Schulwerk Studies were completed under Dr. Susan Snyder and Margarete Campbelle-Holman. He is a Level III Certified Teacher of Somatic VoiceWork™- The LoVetri Method and continues his studies and collaboration with Jeannette LoVetri and Robert Marks of New York. He is one of the Teaching Faculty for the Shenandoah University’s Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute, and continues to present Master Classes and Training in Somatic VoiceWork™- The LoVetri Method with Miss LoVetri.
He is a Master Adjudicator and Clinician for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association and is currently the Governor of the Michigan District of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He is in constant demand as an adjudicator for many scholarship competitions throughout the state. His students have gone on to become teachers of Music and Performers in Opera, Oratorio, and Musical Theatre. He has formerly served as a Music Instructor for Olivet College, Siena Heights University, Lansing Community College, and Saginaw Valley State University. An avid equestrian, Mr. Doyle and his family operate Doyle Quarter Horses in Concord, Michigan.
President - Ken Prewitt
B.A Bob Jones University
M.A. Bob Jones University
D.M.A University of South Carolina
Ken Prewitt is an Assistant Professor in the School of Music at Western Michigan University, where he teaches applied voice. He previously taught at Emporia State University (Kansas), Lander University (South Carolina), and Bob Jones University (South Carolina). Prewitt received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice performance from the University of South Carolina, and Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in voice performance from Bob Jones University. His distinguished teachers include Willis Patterson, Waldy Anderson, Glenda Maurice, Rachel Mathes, Richard Miller, Gene Ferguson, and coach Stephen Dubberly.
A tenor, Prewitt has sung major opera and oratorio roles with the Columbia Lyric Opera, Bob Jones Opera Association, Greenville (South Carolina) Chorale and Chamber Singers, Long Bay Symphony, Columbia Choral Society, Greater Anderson Musical Arts Consortium, Wichita Chamber Chorale, and Reno Choral Society. He has performed as an oratorio soloist in Bach's Magnificat, Bruckner's Te Deum, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Mozart's Solemn Vespers, and Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music. His stage experience includes roles in Andrea Chenier, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Die Fledermaus, Faust, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Rigoletto. He has presented solo recitals in Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and South Carolina, and in Mexico City, Mexico; Seoul, South Korea; and Pohang, South Korea.
Prewitt has served as a conductor, clinician, adjudicator, language coach, stage director, and music director during his career. From 2002-05, he conducted the AMPHION Men's Ensemble in concerts throughout Kansas and Missouri. He has given master classes at Anderson (South Carolina) College, Barton County (Kansas) Community College, Bethel College (Kansas), North Greenville (South Carolina) University, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the National University of Mexico, Shorter College (Georgia) and throughout Kazakhstan. Additionally, he has served as Music Director for Flint Hills Christian Church in Kansas, and Trinity Bible Church and Heritage Bible Church in South Carolina.
Prewitt is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has served as president of South Carolina NATS.
Vice President - Art Joslin
B.A. Madonna University
M.M. University of Michigan
D.M.A. University of Illinois (in progress '11)
American baritone Art Joslin recently made his Krannert Center debut appearing as Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro with the University of Illinois Opera Theatre. The Champaign News-Gazette said his stage antics “...added fun to the second act finale.” As a resident artist with the Toledo Opera, the Toledo Blade stated his performance as Angelotti in Tosca was “...equal to the challenge...” and the Opera News stated his role was “...well handled.” Other recent performances include Pistola in Falstaff, Pâris in Romeo & Juliet, Melchior in Amahl & the Night Visitors, Don Alphonso in Così fan tutte and David in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge and as baritone soloist with the Terra Choral Society performing the Brahm’s Requiem.
Mr. Joslin has performed in Washington, DC at the National Cathedral, National Shrine and at the 2006 Minor League Baseball World Series.
Equally at home on the musical theatre stage, Art has appeared as Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Father in Children of Eden, and as Professor Bhaer in Little Women.
As a sought-after voice teacher and clinician, Joslin’s students have won numerous awards and prizes in local, district and state vocal auditions and competitions. He is an active guest speaker on vocal technique practices and conducts master classes for soloists and choirs alike. Many of his students continue in the music world as performers and teachers. He holds professional memberships in several organizations including the College Music Society, Music Teachers National Association and is an adjudicator/clinician for the Michigan School Vocal Music Association. He currently serves as vice-president of the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has served on the faculty of several noted music organizations most recently with Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
In 2006, Art attended Richard Miller’s Institute of Voice Performance & Pedagogy at Oberlin Conservatory. He had the opportunity and honor of performing for Mr. Miller during a master class presentation during the 20th anniversary of this 9-day event. In addition, he recently performed in a Spanish Art Song master class in San Diego at the National Association of Teachers of Singing winter workshop.
Art Joslin has studied voice with some of the world’s leading operatic artists including Ara Berberian, Rick Fracker, Stephen Lussman and currently studies with renowned Metropolitan Opera tenor Jerold Siena. His coaches have included Jean Schneider, Timothy Cheek, John Wustman and Nathan & Julie Gunn.
Upcoming performances include the role of Budd in Britten’s Albert Herring returning to the University of Illinois Opera. In the summer of 2010, Joslin will present a lecture/masterclass entitled, “Teaching Solo Singers - What Choral Teachers Need to Know” for the annual MSVMA summer workshop.
Art Joslin holds degrees in voice performance from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Madonna University. He temporarily resides in Champaign, Illinois where he is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance and Literature with secondary emphasis in Speech and Hearing Science. Art expects to complete his DMA in 2011 and is currently researching the teaching of formant tuning and resonance balancing in the pre-collegiate male voice for his doctoral thesis.
Secretary - Barbara Burdick
B.M. Indiana
M.M. Indiana
D.M.A. University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Dr. Barbara Burdick holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance and Opera Direction from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Master and Bachelor of Music degrees in Vocal Performance from Indiana University. She has sung professionally with such opera companies as the Santa Fe Opera, the Washington Civic Opera, and Karlsrud Concerts. Her numerous concert appearances include a concert with composer Ned Rorem. In 1992 she was chosen to participate in the NATS Foundation Internship Program, where she studied with James McKinney and Barbara Doscher.
Dr. Burdick has taught at Longwood College, Shenandoah Conservatory, St. Mary’s College, the University of Cincinnati, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Her students have often placed in NATS Competitions throughout the United States, including three First Place winners in Music Theater. She has presented her research on the belt voice at the Wisconsin Music Educators Convention, the International Congress of Voice Teachers, NATS Conventions, the College Music Society, and at the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute. Her article, “Vocal Techniques for Music Theater: the High School and Undergraduate Singer,” appeared in the January 2005 Journal of Singing. She is a certified instructor of Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method, specializing in both classical and contemporary commercial music technique. She is currently Assistant Professor of Voice at Central Michigan University and Adjunct Professor of Voice at Alma College. She teaches privately in Alma and Mt Pleasant. Her website is burdickvoice.com.
Treasurer - Barbara Witham McCargar
B.M. Aquinas
M.M. University of Michigan
Barbara has been teaching Voice on the campus of Aquinas College since 1987 and is now an Associate Professor of Music, teaching Voice Techniques, Private Voice, Vocal Pedagogy and Literature, and Music Appreciation classes. As a soloist, she has given many recitals in concert halls and churches in addition to having been a featured singer in Grand Rapids Symphony Pops Concerts, with the Kalamazoo and Calvin College Oratorio Societies, the Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys, St. Cecilia Music Society, the Ann Arbor Cantata Singers, at Lake Michigan College, Western Michigan University and a College Music Society's Spring Conference in Madison, Wis. Ms. McCargar sang in Austria and Hungary, recorded a CD and performed as a member and soloist with the Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids.
Her performing career has spanned over three decades, from Art Song to Musical Theater. She has performed roles on stage with Lansing Lyric Opera, Opera Grand Rapids (most recently as Mercedes in Bizet's CARMEN), Youth Opera USA with composer Sanford Jones, Circle Theater (most recently as Desiree in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music), Spectrum Theater, and been featured debuting songs by Roelof Bijkerk in the composers forum at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, with the composer at the piano. Ms. McCargar is also releasing a CD of Women Composers' works for soprano and piano, which evolved from annual lecture recitals with her colleagues on the campus of Aquinas during Women's History Month. The 2005 CD includes songs for solo voice and piano by Libby Larsen, Florence Price, Undine Smith Moore, Amy Marcy Beach, Sylvia Glickman, and Betty Jackson King. Fellow faculty members performing on the CD are accompanist and piano soloist, Mary Hurd, and pianist, Catherine Williams, O.P., playing extended works by Rhene Jaque and Lili Boulanger, respectively.
In the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Barbara is an instructor with the School for Cantor Training, Chapter Director of the National Pastoral Musicians (NPM) Association, and a Cantor and an Artist in Residence for the Cathedral of Saint Andrew as a member of the medieval chant trio, Vox Angelica, specializing in the chants of Hildegard von Bingen. In December 2003, Vox Angelica released its first full-length CD, "Hildegard von Bingen - Chants of Heaven and Earth." They performed two concerts at the Immaculate Conception Church in July 2004 as part of the church's centennial celebration and the Chicago Regional Convention of NPM. In January 2005, the trio performed in Spain and Portugal as featured artists on tour with the Diocesan Choir of Grand Rapids, under the direction of Dr. Brandon Spence. Recent performances include February 26 in the Basilica of Saint Adalbert Anniversary Year Concert series, "Celebrating 125 years of musical excellence" debuting a new program of chants by Hildegard von Bingen which was presented again at the Regional Convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians on July 17, 2006.
Associate Professor McCargar holds a Master of Music in Voice, with secondary emphasis in Opera from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor , with further study at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz , Austria . She received the BM in Vocal Performance from Aquinas. She has been a member for over 20 years of the Michigan and National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Her current professional study includes: training for certification in WEM - What Every Musician (Singer) Needs to Know About the Body - with Andover Educators, www.bodymap.org, and the music of Women Composers.
Member-at-large - Donna Green
B.M. Northwestern
M.M. Michigan State University (voice)
M.M. Michigan State University (choral conducting)
BIO forthcoming
Member-at-large - David Little
B.M. Eastern Illinois
M.M. Illinois State
D.M.A. Indiana
David Little is the Voice Area Chairman and a Professor of Music at Western Michigan University where he teaches applied voice, Italian diction, and is music director and conductor of the opera productions and selected music theatre productions. He holds a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Illinois State University and a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University. His professional affiliations include Pi Kappa Lambda, Michigan School Vocal Music Association, and the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, for which he is a board member having served as Treasurer for over 10 years.
A baritone, Little has received acclaim for his expressive and energetic singing. Coupled with his stage persona and charisma, Little is a delight to see and hear. His versatility as a performer has brought engagements in opera, oratorio, and music theatre productions. Richard Simon of the Sacramento Union described him as having "...a big and resonant voice that he colors effectively and a superb diction that heightens the drama of the texts."
Favorite operatic appearances have included Figaro in The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro; Marcello in La Boheme; Papageno in The Magic Flute; Danilo in The Merry Widow; Eisenstein, Dr. Falke, and Frank in Die Fledermaus; Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale; Dandini in La Cenerentola; El Dancairo in Carmen; and the title roles in Gianni Schicchi, Don Giovanni, and Rigoletto.
On the concert stage, Little has performed many works suited to his warm, rich voice including Handel's Messiah; Vaughan Williams' Hodie; Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass; the Requiems of Brahms, Durufle, and Faure; Rossini's Stabat Mater; and Mendelssohn's Elijah. Other appearances have included performances of Orff's Carmina Burana with the Sacramento Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, Adrian Symphony, and the Traverse and Richmond symphonies, among others; Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Grand Forks Symphony and the Boise Philharmonic; and Haydn's Creation with Robert Shaw conducting. Little's artistic skills have provided pleasure to audiences in many diverse styles of repertoire including recitals and pops concerts.
Member-at-large - Elizabeth Mumford-Cowen
B.M. Wittenberg
M.M. Southern Methodist
G.D. New England Conservatory
She has done additional study at Westminster Choir College and the Chautauqua Institute and has taught at Florida International University and the New World School of the Arts in Miami.
She has sung with opera companies across the U.S., most notably Santa Fe Opera and Dallas Opera, and has been the featured singer in master classes for many famous teachers, including Robert Merrill, Margaret Harshaw, Martina Arroyo, Shirlee Emmons and Rosalind Elias.
She was the 1994 Metropolitan District winner in Dallas, named the North Texas Singer of the Year, and was the featured recitalist for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) convention at North Texas State University. A winner of the Wagner Society solo competition in Dallas, a Dallas Opera Guild career grant winner, and a concerto competition winner at SMU, she was also a finalist in the San Antonio Vocal competition and the D'Angelo vocal competition.
An adjudicator for many major vocal competitions, her students have sung all over the world and have won major national and international singing competitions. She has worked with such notable conductors and stage directors as John Copley, John Crosby, Marc Astafan, Dejan Miladinovic, John Moriarity, and has performed on stage with singers such as Fredericka von Stade, Dawn Upshaw, Kevin Langan, Timothy Noble, and Erie Mills.
Member-at-large - Kathleen Segar
B.M. University of Michigan
M.M. University of Michigan
"…a deeply nuanced performance, filling the theater with her ripe mezzo…" - Baltimore Sun
The breadth of Kathleen Segar's career earns the mezzo-soprano vast acclaim and recognition. Her multifaceted understanding of signature roles such as Siebel in Faust are "intense" says the Chicago Tribune and "glowed warmly" says the New York Times. Of her musical portrayal in Madama Butterfly the Detroit Free Press says "To Suzuki, KathleenSegar brings a rich and creamy mezzo." Other noted roles include Siegrüne in Die Walküre, Amneris in Aida, Thisbe and Angelina in Cenerentola, Mamma Lucia in Cavallaria Rusticana, Meg Page in Falstaff, Marcellina and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Adalgisa in Norma, Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte, and Maddalena in Rigoletto. Ms. Segar is a house favorite at the Michigan Opera Theater and has recently worked with the Metropolitan Opera, Washington Opera, New York City Opera, Philadelphia Opera, and Toledo Opera.
After winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions early in her career, Ms. Segar has steadily built an important career in the U.S. and abroad. More specifically, she recently covered Siegrüne in Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera, and has performed roles with the Washington Opera such as Driad in Ariadne auf Naxos, Mama McCourt in Ballad of Baby Doe¸Thisbe in Cenerentola, Mother in The Consul, Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible, Annina in Der Rosenkavalier, Bianca in La Rondine, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Giovanna in Rigoletto, Mrs. Ott in Susannah, Mother's Voice in Tales of Hoffmann and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, which she also performed with Eugene Opera and Virginia Opera. In the 2007-2008 Season, Ms Segar returns to the Michigan Opera Theatre in several roles including Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Teresa in La Sonnambula, and Duenne (cover) in the world premiere of Cyrano by David DiChiera and Bernard Uzan.
As part of the New York City Opera tour, she performed Siebel in Faust, and enjoyed success at the Philadelphia Opera as Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin and Mamma Lucia in Cavallaria Rusticana. She additionally reprised the role of Mamma Lucia at Opera Pacific. As a Michigan Opera Theatre regular, Ms. Segar has performed a multitude of roles such as Amneris in Aida, Anoush's Mott in Anoush, Smeton in Anna Bolena, Driad in Ariadne auf Naxos, Meg Page in Falstaff, Mercedes in Carmen, Annina in Der Rosenkavalier, 3rd Lady in Die Zauberflote, Jadwiga in The Haunted Castle, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Emilia in Otello, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin, Martha in Faust, Auntie in Peter Grimes, which she also performed with Opera de Montreal. Additionally, with the Dayton Opera she has much success with roles such as Siebel in Faust, Suzuki
in Madama Butterfly, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Adalgisa in Norma, and Stephano in Romeo et Juliette. With a long standing career at the Toledo Opera, Ms. Segar has performed Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Amneris in Aida, Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte, and Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible to much acclaim.
Ms Segar currently resides in Michigan where she serves on voice faculty at Eastern Michigan University.