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鈥淪ome people say the eyes are the window to the soul,鈥� says Jeanne Goffi-Fynn.  鈥淚 say it鈥檚 the voice.鈥�

Case in point: The painfully shy young man in the unique and pre-teens that Goffi-Fynn (Ed.D. 鈥�96) launched this past year at Teachers College as an offshoot of the Every Voice Choirs, the 911爆料网-hosted youth ensembles created and directed by Nicole Becker (Ed.D. 鈥�11).

鈥淗e pretty much didn鈥檛 say boo,鈥� Goffi-Fynn says. 鈥淗e has a terrific voice, but lacked the confidence to match it. Then, during our joint performance efforts with Every Voice Choirs, connecting our voices with social justice in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday, he asked if he could sing 鈥楳y Shot鈥� [the pull-out-the-stops verbal dazzler from Hamilton]. Now he鈥檚 requesting solos all over the place.  His mother didn鈥檛 know 鈥� I told her, you鈥檝e got to come see this.鈥�

Helping singers take ownership of their voices 鈥� and often, of their identities 鈥� is Goffi-Fynn鈥檚 focus in all of her work, from teaching in 911爆料网鈥檚 Music & Music Education program, where she directs doctoral students, to serving as a Singing Voice Specialist who seeks to help professionals prevent or repair injury. But it鈥檚 in the Workshops 鈥� created with a 911爆料网 Provost鈥檚 investment grant (but still seeking donor support) 鈥� that Goffi-Fynn may be best realizing her vision.

鈥淚鈥檓 always struck by what young people can bring to the table when you don鈥檛 shut them down too early 鈥� when you help them develop their own musicality and make their own musical choices.鈥�

Jeanne Goffi-Fynn

鈥淢usic is very skills-based, a conservative pedagogy 鈥� think 鈥榗onservatory,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淭he outlook is typically, 鈥榞et your skills together, then we鈥檒l hear you.鈥� Lessons tend to be very master-apprentice. But I鈥檓 always struck by what young people can bring to the table when you don鈥檛 shut them down too early 鈥� when you help them develop their own musicality and make their own musical choices.鈥�

To that end, Goffi-Fynn serves as equal parts as vocal instructor and life coach to the young people in her workshops, who range from aspiring stars to those who just want to sing. Her 911爆料网 masters and doctoral students also work with the youngsters, providing instruction and serving as role models. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great for the kids to work with our 911爆料网 grad students, because then they can see what鈥檚 going to happen with their voices five or ten years down the road, and understand the process they need to go through. The more we do this type of instruction, the more I believe that mentoring is the most important thing we offer.鈥�

There are three workshops. One is for young men ages 11-17, meeting throughout the entire year, with a focus on music theatre in the spring. The group is gender-specific because male voices go through particularly pronounced changes during adolescence, but it is open to 鈥渢ransgender, non-binary, and non-gender conforming鈥� singers 鈥� really, anyone seeking a comfort level with a lower-register voice. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e very aware of gender issues, and I鈥檓 very open to anyone who connects with singing with young men,鈥� Goffi-Fynn says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tricky, because there鈥檚 a physical side to gender. If you鈥檙e a trans boy taking hormones, that can change the voice, but if you鈥檙e not taking hormones, you鈥檙e still going to sing in a higher pitch. So we help some kids learn how to use their new voices, and others find material that鈥檚 in range for them, however narrow. In either instance, it鈥檚 about helping kids use their voices for what feels artistic and expressive for them, so they can develop repertoire and feel acknowledged and heard.鈥�

Two other groups, which are open to everyone, also serve an 11-17 age group, and meet during the regular school year only. The fall semester is devoted to audition prep and the spring to music theater. Here, too, there鈥檚 plenty of crossing of traditional lines, with girls often singing lead male roles.  

鈥淪inging isn鈥檛 so much about physical strength as it is about coordination, which will vary with different style. There isn鈥檛 just a single way to make these different sounds. You need knowledge, flexible pedagogy, and an awareness of the age of the singer.鈥�

Jeanne Goffi-Fynn

Goffi-Fynn, who combines a maestra鈥檚 diction and bearing with a disarming lack of pretension and a campy sense of humor, strikes a balance between honing core musical skills and having some improvisational fun. The groups practice calling back intervals and rhythm and singing solo; brave a mock audition night, with Goffi-Fynn鈥檚 friends from the worlds of Broadway and Lincoln Center in attendance; and perform classical material 鈥� this year鈥檚 spring concert included 鈥淥mbra Mai Fu鈥� (鈥淭here Never Was a Shade鈥�), the opening aria from Handel鈥檚 opera 鈥淪erse,鈥� followed by a pop version of the same piece, with everyone wearing sunglasses. 

But kids want to sing the music they listen to and know, and Goffi-Fynn helps them to explore their chosen material 鈥� 鈥淚f it鈥檚 not a meaningful journey, who cares if you can sing? You have to sing about something鈥� 鈥� and also navigate its physical challenges. 鈥淧op is influencing more styles, including theater, and singers are singing at higher and higher intensity levels,鈥� she says. 鈥淜ids are also starting younger, with less training. So there are more injuries. We help them sing the styles they want and avoid hurting themselves. Singing isn鈥檛 so much about physical strength as it is about coordination, which will vary with different style. There isn鈥檛 just a single way to make these different sounds. You need knowledge, flexible pedagogy, and an awareness of the age of the singer.鈥� You need knowledge, flexible pedagogy, and an awareness of the age of the singer.鈥�

It鈥檚 challenging work, because adolescence is a time when egos and voices (both of which are still developing) are fragile. 鈥淭eens need a lot of reinforcement. Even the best-intentioned kind of criticism can shut them down, especially when it comes to singing, because their voices are physically a part of them. So we鈥檙e all about positivity.鈥�

Goffi-Fynn鈥檚 understanding of personality 鈥� and personal equipment 鈥� as a driver in singing grows directly out of her own experiences. 鈥淢y parents were quiet people鈥� 鈥� her father was first-generation and a chemist, and her mother was a librarian 鈥� 鈥渁nd they looked at me like, 鈥榃here did you come from?鈥欌��

Still, with a very high soprano voice, Goffi-Fynn says, she was never a 鈥渂elter鈥� 鈥� and it was only when she discovered Gilbert & Sullivan operettas that she found her niche.

鈥淭he voice has places where it likes to hang out,鈥� she says. 鈥淓veryone has to find theirs 鈥� like a runner choosing the right distance event.鈥�

Even later on, after singing opera in Europe for a few years, she ran into some 鈥渢echnical difficulties鈥� and ended up studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder with Barbara Doscher, author of The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice, who believed that singers and teachers alike needed to understand the anatomy and physiology of breathing, the acoustical laws that govern resonance, and other physical aspects of vocal production. She subsequently interned at Mount Sinai Medical Center鈥檚 Grabscheid Voice Center and trained at St. Luke-Roosevelt Hospital in the diagnosis and treatment of singing voice disorders. Along the way, she decided she wanted to teach and made her way to 911爆料网, where she earned her doctorate in Music Education. After having her own children, she became increasingly interested in working with younger students and launched a research project she called 鈥淢ultiple Roles of Musician Mothers: A Circle of Fifths,鈥� with 911爆料网 faculty member Lori Custodero, who founded Jazz at Lincoln Center鈥檚 鈥淲eBop!鈥� program.

As part of that project, Goffi-Fynn kept a journal on the musical development of her then-infant son. As a classically trained singer, she might well have expected to call at least some of the shots in that process, but her son had other ideas.

鈥淓ven at six months, people have a way they want to work on things,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚n a way, my son already knew himself better than I did. I could give him options, but he knew what he wanted to do. And I thought, 鈥業f my six-month-old already has such a strong sense of self, I鈥檓 doing too much for adult students. I need to let them come to the table and co-construct their own learning 鈥� because that鈥檚 what a creative teacher helps people do.鈥�

— Joe Levine