Financial Disclosure: Dr. Jordan has no financial relationships to disclose.
Non-Financial Disclosure: Dr. Jordan has no non-financial relationships to disclose.
Darrell J. Jordan, DMA
Seattle-based lyric baritone Darrell J. Jordan has been praised for his “shining, beautiful voice” (Broadway World), his "expressive baritone and facial expressions" (The SunBreak), and has been called “the star of the show” (Columbia Heart Beat). He holds a B.A. in both Psychology and Music and a M.M. in Voice Performance from the University of Missouri, and a D.M.A. in Voice Performance from the University of Washington. Dr. Jordan has served on the faculty at the University of Missouri, the Swinney Conservatory of Music at Central Methodist University, Columbia College, and Stephens College, where he taught a full private voice studio, voice class, and separate Italian, German, English, and French lyric diction classes. He currently teaches voice lessons at Seattle Pacific University. In demand as a recitalist and concert soloist, his recent solo concert engagements have been with Saltwater Music Series, Tacoma City Ballet Orchestra, Amherst Early Music Festival, the Odyssey Chamber Music Series, Rolla Choral Arts Society, Choral Arts Alliance of Missouri, the Missouri Symphony, the Southside Philharmonic Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony, Thalia Symphony, Olympia Chamber Orchestra, and the Seattle Art Song Society. Dr. Jordan has performed over 30 full roles, some favorites being: Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Ignacio in Lucrezia, Count Gil in Il segreto di Susanna, Bunthorne in Patience, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, and the title role in Falstaff. Opera credits include Opera West, Tacoma Opera, Wilmington Concert Opera, Music On Site, Inc., St. Louis Opera Collective, Haymarket Opera Company, Gateway Opera, the Institute for 17th Century Music, the Show-Me Opera, Lawrence Opera Theatre, the Puget Sound Concert Opera, Northwest Opera In Schools Touring Company, Operamuse, Seattle Modern Opera Company, Pacific Northwest Opera, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Seattle, Opera on Tap, OperaBend, and Seattle Opera. In 2023, Dr. Jordan will make his debut with the Seattle based choral ensemble, Radiance, and will sing the roles of Diego/Bonito/Eduardo in the West Coast premiere of Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World with Seattle Opera. He then goes on to perform the role of George in the world premiere of The Great Gatsby by Ager, with Barn Opera. He is a member and co-artistic director of the nationally recognized, award-winning professional vocal chamber ensemble, Vox Nova.
Paper Presentation: Teaching the Whole Singer: An Examination of Methods Used to Address Student Wellness in the Collegiate Voice Studio
Various researchers and professionals have suggested ways to incorporate wellness in the music studio (Cockey & Kalmanson, 2009; Savvidou, 2021). Because of this, an investigation of how and if collegiate voice instructors address student wellness seems warranted. This study examined the perspectives and experiences of collegiate voice instructors regarding strategies to address wellness in the collegiate voice studio. We sought to answer the following research questions: (1) What are voice instructors’ perceptions of student wellness in the collegiate studio?, (2) What methods of addressing student wellness in the voice studio have instructors used?, and (3) What methods of addressing wellness in the voice studio have instructors valued or prioritized? We invited collegiate voice instructors from 13 states (randomly selected to represent a different region of NATS) to participate in a researcher-designed survey. The survey was based on extant literature and research related to musician wellness. Data from closed-response and Likert-type prompts were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Open-ended prompts were analyzed using qualitative methods of codifying, categorizing/axial coding, and combining them into themes (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Saldana, 2014), using open coding procedures (Miles et al., 2018). Findings provided insight into what strategies voice instructors valued and used to address wellness in the voice studio. All respondents (N = 74) strongly agreed that students' wellness impacts their performance abilities, which strengthens the case for addressing wellness in the voice studio. Respondents seemed to use, value, and were most familiar with breathing exercises and stretching, so future researchers may consider a study of the effectiveness of these strategies as they relate to wellness.