An End-of-Year Reflection from the DJC Voice Studio

Dear Students,

With 2025 coming to a close, I thought it might be fun and useful to reflect on the past year in the studio. It was certainly a busy one! In 2025, we had our first September studio recital, and what turned out to be our largest recital, to date. (Stay tuned in 2026 for more frequent recitals to better accommodate the number of performers!) Students were cast in a variety of musicals, including Oliver, The Addams Family, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, Charlotte’s Web, Alice in Wonderland Jr., Aristocats Kids, Willy Wonka Jr, Little Shop of Horrors, Elf, Jr., Jungle Book, Jr., and more! Singers were actively involved in ensembles including a capella groups, school choruses, district and All-State Choirs, and national honors choirs. Singers competed and won awards in competitions, including first place Maine’s first Maine Teen Idol competition!! Several singers  composed, performed, and/or recorded original songs. Singers sang in rock bands, and for fundraising and community events. In lessons, we studied singing, piano, singing while playing piano, songwriting, music theory, vocal anatomy and more! We explored many genres, including musical theater, opera, art song, jazz, folk, pop, rock, and choral music. 

In 2025, I worked closely with Artistic Director Matthew Glassman (and other CCAC staff) to expand the Chocolate Church Arts Center Music Education offerings. In the Fall, I launched the Chocolate Church Community Choir, an adult educational choir! This has been a long time dream of mine, and I am so thrilled this was the year it finally happened. We will have our first performance later this month!  I brought on Freddy Larrosa, a local producer, musician and music teacher, to offer instrumental lessons (guitar, percussion, electric bass). He also started a monthly drum circle (the next date is Dec 14!) The CCAC Music Ed program  partnered with the Laureen Swanson Music for Youth Foundation to offer music lesson scholarships; so far we have awarded 1 full and 2 partial scholarships. 

One of my favorite parts of teaching is all of the conversations that emerge with students around various music-related themes; technical, practical, artistic, and even philosophical. This year, some themes that came up included navigating perfectionism as an artist, how to listen to recordings of yourself (you’ll eventually get used to the sound of your own voice!), how to reconnect to the joy of singing after burnout, is it possible to choose the perfect song that will make people want to listen to you, how to make a living as a singer, how to build the voice when it feels like you’re starting from zero, and what DOES AI mean for artists? All of these questions reveal an underlying thread of anxiety that is present within the artist's soul; which is really just evidence of how deeply we care about our craft. We want to share our talents with the world, but we fear irrelevance, failure, rejection, burnout, or even being replaced. In our fast paced world where everything feels like a competition, the answer to these questions appears to be a matter of urgency. But what every artist also learns is that art cannot be rushed; it happens in its own time. The artist’s job is to invite creativity, never to force it. The artist learns that it is often in the tedium of mundane vocal exercises, detailed song study, and regular practice over time that true growth is found - we just have to be patient.

One end-of-year practice that I have adopted in recent years is to reflect upon the past year and choose a word - an intention with which to guide the coming year. So, this year, I chose the word “patience”. To me, patience means taking the time to connect with others and appreciate the beauty around me. It means savoring the slow unfolding of a new endeavor. It means moving slowly and gently with my own singing and instrumental practice. As a teacher, it means meeting students where they are at, teaching at their speed, and encouraging them to embrace patience with themselves.  It means playing the long game when cultivating growth and creativity. It means bearing witness to the pace at which others grow and change, and asking them to bear witness to my pace. It means being in the present moment, whether listening to an orchestral symphony, a rock concert, a student recital, or a run-through of a song in a voice lesson (and in the privacy of a voice lesson, I have many times been the lucky sole audience member to some of the best performances I have ever seen!).

So this December, I invite you all to feel into what patience might mean in your life and practice as an artist. Take some time to reflect on the past year, and see if a word signifying an intention for 2026 emerges. What will your word of 2026 be? Shoot me an email or leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you. Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season, and a joyous new year! 

Warmly,

Dr. Jane