Professional voice analysis software inventor completes two-day residency at Shorter

January 30, 2012 - Shorter University students and faculty recently enjoyed a two-day residency with Dr. Donald Miller, Inventor of the VoceVista professional voice analysis software. Dr. Miller is also the author of Resonance in Singing: Voice Building Through Acoustic Feedback, a popular textbook that is published by Inside View Press.

Since its invention in 1996, VoceVista has become the most widely used voice analysis software in the world. Many teachers of singing regularly use VoceVista in their studios, and over 100 conservatories and institutions of higher learning are labeled as official VoceVista institutions. Shorter University became a VoceVista institution in 2009.

Dr. Donald Miller is widely recognized as one of the world ’ s preeminent scholars in the field of voice science as it relates to singers, ” said Dr. Matthew Hoch, assistant professor of music and coordinator of vocal studies at Shorter University. “ Currently a full-time researcher at the Groningen Voice Research Laboratory in the Netherlands, he regularly presents his research at national and international conferences. We are grateful and honored that he was willing to take time out of his busy American tour to spend two full days working with the talented students and faculty of Shorter University. ”

During the residency, which took place Jan. 23 and 24, Dr. Miller delivered three lectures to the vocal pedagogy, opera preparation, and voice seminar classes. He was also available for individual, one-on-one work with students over the course of the two days. The students who worked directly with Dr. Miller included seniors Trey Smagur, Ryan O ’ Leary, Chris Vizurraga, Sarah Brackett, and Mary Diesch; juniors Cody Bowers and Emily Alderman; sophomores Sarah Justus, Maranda Rossi, and Wesley Henson; and freshman McKinley Starks.

Dr. Donald Miller works with Shorter University sophomore Sarah Justus.

Prior to arriving at Shorter, Dr. Matthew Hoch and Dr. Deborah Popham, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Opera Theatre, spent two days in intensive training with Dr. Miller at the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa. They then drove Dr. Miller to Rome for his residency at Shorter University.

Dr. Donald Miller began his career as an opera singer and voice teacher. Having completed his formal studies at the Yale University School of Music, he continued with singing lessons in Milan and Berlin. After a year-long engagement with the Wiener Kammeroper, he joined the faculty of Syracuse University, where he rose to the rank of Professor. He eared a PhD from the University of Groningen in 2000.

Founded in 1873, Shorter University is a Christian university committed to excellence in education. The Princeton Review annually includes Shorter on its lists of best value and best Southeastern colleges. The university offers traditional bachelor’s degrees in 48 major areas as well as undergraduate degree programs for working adults, the Master of Business Administration, the Master of Education and the Master of Arts in Leadership. General education and calculus courses are offered in an online format, and Shorter recently launched online programs that lead toward the Associate of Science, the Bachelor of Business Administration, and the Master of Accountancy degrees. For more information, visit www.shorter.edu.


###