I’m Katherine Kaufman Posner
Master Teacher of Voice
Learn Online or IN PERSON!
What is Bel Canto?
I teach Bel Canto. Bel canto translates as “beautiful song.” Actually, it is several things.
About Katherine
A proponent of a functional approach to singing, based on an understanding of the nature and physiology of the vocal mechanism. Her teaching brings about a transformative experience leading to healthy, free, and beautiful singing.
Why do I teach singing?
I teach singing because I consider singing to be a tremendously BIG DEAL. There is an ancient tradition that sound is spirit in action. If so, then making sound is an act of expressing the spirit in us. I believe this. Our voices express our very nature and creative power.
Wait! Breathe! Sing!
A short video documentary, detailing Katherine’s teaching style, vocal style, and singing technique along with 10 tracks from "Sweet Harmony" by Katherine Kaufman Posner.
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Whether you’d like to schedule online vocal lessons or follow-up with a question, I’d love to hear from you! Please use the form below to write me a message.
Why Do I Teach Singing?
I teach singing because I consider singing to be among the most beautiful sounds human beings can make. There is an ancient tradition that sound is spirit in action. If so, then making sound is an act of expressing the spirit in us. I believe this. Our voices express our very nature and creative power. Also in both concrete and subtle terms, we express our thoughts and feelings with our voices. So, if we can utilize our voices freely, perhaps we can free up our personal expression, something of enormous importance. When you add to that the fact that singing can be stunningly beautiful and wonderful to listen to, you have the reasons I want to teach and enjoy teaching so very much.
Why Study Singing?
Good question. If you’re not presently a trained singer, you’ll just have to take my word for it that singing with freedom and power is as self-fulfilling as anything I can think of or have ever experienced. So do not struggle on in your choir or chorus, or wherever you sing with a voice that does not please you and will not do what you want it to do. Really, truly, learn to sing freely, learn bel canto (beautiful singing) and find out what singing is supposed to be about. It is way too complicated to explain in a few words what I do. You have to know how the voice is meant to work to figure out how to make it work that way. Contact me and I will explain it to you.
One of my students, 16-year-old Cecilia Harrison, who just won an award from the International Young Musicians Competition.
“Perfection in singing is attained by obtaining true pitch and purity of vowel. These two create an ideal balance of the vocal registers, proper laryngeal function, and a tone that is free from tenseness and constriction. Understanding the relationship between vowel and pitch and a healthy registration of the voice is at the heart of the bel canto approach to singing.” – Katherine Kaufman Posner
My Inspiration
Many talented singers have inspired me over the years, probably too many to mention. There are those, however, that deserve special mention and are listed here:
Sopranos
- Luisa Tetrazzini
- Mary Garden
- Amelita Galli-Curci
- Alma Gluck
- Frida Leider
- Kirsten Flagstad
- Rosa Ponselle
- Hellen Traubel
- Zinka Milanov
- Dorothy Kirsten
- Eleanor Steber
- Birgit Nilsson
- Eileen Farrell
- Renata Tebaldi
- Leonie Rysanek
- Regine Crespin
- Montserrat Caballe
- Martina Arroyo
- Teresa Stratas
Mezzo-sopranos
- Gladys Swarthout
- Jennie Tourel
- Ebe Stigniani
- Regina Resnik
- Christa Ludwig
- Rosalind Elias
- Teresa Berganza
Contraltos
- Ernestine Schumann-Heink
- Louise Homer
- Maureen Forrester
Tenors
- Enrico Caruso
- Leo Slezak
- John McCormack
- Tito Schipa
- Beniamino Gigli
- Lauritz Melchior
- Jan Peerce
- Josef Schmidt
- Jussi Bjoerling
- Nicolai Gedda
- Jon Vickers
- Fritz Wunderlich
- Luciano Pavarotti
- Placido Domingo
Baritones
- Tita Ruffo
- Lawrence Tibbett
- Leonard Warren
- Herman Prey
Basses
- Feodor Chaliapin
- Ezio Pinza
- George London
- Cesare Siepi
- Giorgio Tozzi
- Norman Treigle
- Walter Berry
- Thomas Quasthoff
About Me
A proponent of a functional approach to singing, based on an understanding of the nature and physiology of the vocal mechanism. Her teaching brings about a transformative experience leading to healthy, free, and beautiful singing. Katherine has a reputation as a gifted, caring and down-to-earth instructor who is highly successful in leading singers to increased vocal health and high level performing ability.
In 1965, Katherine became a student of the world-renowned Cornelius L. Reid, author of five highly respected books on singing, including The Free Voice and Bel Canto: Principles and Practices. She became deeply committed to understanding and also replicating the teaching of the Italian masters of the bel canto tradition.
Reviews
“Katherine Kaufman captivated…She gave notice of a major talent.“
“The hit of the evening was Katherine Kaufman. Her voiced matched… her ability to communicate with the audience.”
“…the most brilliant was Katherine Kaufman…strong-voiced, well-controlled and superbly comic…”
A Special Thank You:
I am a disciple of the world-renowned Cornelius Reid, rediscoverer of the principles of the bel canto tradition. I was also was fortunate to study under the great Elisabeth Parham who was a professor of voice at Oklahoma University, and who guided me to a national award in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. I will always be grateful to these two teachers who changed my life and made it possible for me not only to be successful as a singer, but also to teach in a way that enables the human voice to be as nature intended, to function correctly and therefore to be beautiful and free.
Contact me today!
You CAN improve your singing!
Tel: (984) 200-1344