Melissa Ford
About
Melissa has a passion for teaching grounded in science and healthy use of the voice while achieving the demands of musical theatre performance. Her lessons are specifically tailored to meet each individual singer’s needs and goals through functional exercises.
With over fifteen years of singing and performance experience, Melissa is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy’s Musical Theatre Integrated Program and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) from The New School University. She completed all three levels in Somatic Voicework ™: The LoVetri Method for Contemporary Commercial Music and actively continues to attend teacher training courses with internationally recognized voice teacher Jeannette LoVetri. Melissa also studied vocal pedagogy at the Mannes College of Music with Dr. Kate Maroney and The Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah University. An active performer, Melissa has been acting and singing in cabarets, TV/film, and Off-Broadway productions, including principal roles at the Harry De Jur Playhouse, Manhattan Repertory Theatre, and Times Square Arts Center. She is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association.
Melissa received her Master of Science (M.S.) in Communicative Sciences and Disorders at New York University (NYU) with a specialization in treating the professional musical theatre singing voice and conducting voice-related research. She provided singing voice rehabilitation at Mount Sinai West ENT and over telepractice with the Lions Voice Clinic in Minneapolis. Melissa received her certificate in Performing Arts Medicine: Vocal Performance from the Performing Arts Medicine Association and the American College of Sports Medicine. She was formally trained by Dr. Katherine Verdolini Abbott in Voice Therapy Spectrum (VTS), which includes Lessac-Madsen Resonant Voice Therapy (LMRVT) and Casper-Stone Confidential Flow Therapy (CSCFT). Additionally, Melissa participated in Dr. Edie Hapner and Dr. Aaron Ziegler's phonation resistance training exercises (PhoRTE) workshop.
Melissa teaches with a deep empathy and respect, and she passionately seeks to help her students achieve their goals. Melissa's teaching is primarily influenced by Somatic Voicework™, which merges the art and science of singing. Her voice pathology background contributes to Melissa's teaching from the perspective of achieving or maintaining optimal vocal health. With this niche training, Melissa guides her students to use their voice in the way that strive for while minimizing the risks of voice injury or vocal fatigue.
Melissa tailors each lesson to the student's individual needs. A full lesson typically consists of exercises aimed to achieve the student's desired vocal function and repertoire coaching.
Education:
New York University - Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Honors
The New School University - Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre
The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) - Integrated Program Certificate
Vocal Pedagogy Training:
Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music - Somatic Voicework™ Levels II-III
City College of New York (CUNY) - Somatic Voicework™ Level I
Mannes College of Music - Vocal Pedagogy Course, Dr. Kate Maroney
New York Singing Teachers' Association Workshop - Dancing with Voice: Integrating Techniques Across Performance Disciplines, Joan Melton
Research:
“Voice Patients with Acid Reflux: Students’ Perceptions of the Efficacy of Lifestyle Changes”
Professional Affiliations:
•National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
•New York Singing Teachers' Association (NYSTA)
•Somatic Voicework™ Teachers' Association
•The Voice Foundation
•National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA)
•New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NYSSLHA)