2025 SATS Practical course – booking page

2025 SATS Practical Course

Forsyth Room, Royal Academy of Music, London

 

Following the outstanding success of our 2024 course  (read testimonials below) we are delighted to announce that we will be returning to the Royal Academy of Music again in 2025, this time in the beautifully restored Forsyth Room.
Moving to the Forsyth Room will allow us to maintain the same format as the 2024 course, in which every participant can receive individual coaching within the course, but we can now expand the number of places available to 35.

 

The Forsyth Room - an elegant 40-seat space fully refurbished in 2022.

Testimonials from the 2024 course

Thank you so much for one of the most inspiring and life affirming weeks of my life. The combination of your rock solid pedagogical foundation combined with compassion and humour is truly unique.
I loved the way you bounced off each other, utilising your different strengths and approaches, and that you encouraged input and questions from the diverse cohort, allowing each person to feel valued and supported.
I loved the interweaving of the science and its practical application, but most of all the warmth and empathy that lie at the heart of your approach.
What a team x

 

The 2024 cohort of singers and teachers

 

What is the course?

An intensive, practical course , based on "Singing and Teaching Singing", Professor Janice Chapman's ground-breaking book on Classical Voice pedagogy.
Unlike some of our previous courses, there will not be a heavy focus on “chalk and talk” lectures.
The course will focus on the practical application of the SATS model, exploring the use of SATS concepts through warm ups, voice building sessions, group discussions, practical exercises, masterclasses in performance, and workshops on repertoire preparation.
All participants will have the opportunity within the course to perform and receive coaching from the team.
Teachers will also have the opportunity to work with participants in interactive, guided masterclass sessions. In these sessions, teachers who volunteer to coach will be guided by the three Directors who will suggest approaches to try and give ongoing feedback on the effectiveness of the session. These sessions have proved to be highly enjoyable and successful for both teachers and singers.
NEW FOR 2025 - following some very successful elective twilight sessions in 2024, as an integral part of the course we will discuss how to adapt and apply the SATS model into other genres, specifically Musical Theatre and CCM styles. More and more Classically-trained teachers are expected to understand the requirements of these genres and we want to ensure that our cohorts of singers and teachers are given the best tools available, in order to feel comfortable teaching cross-genre.


Who is the course aimed at?

Teachers, singers and singers who teach.
Familiarity with Professor Chapman's work (Singing and Teaching Singing) is recommended but is not a prerequisite of attendance as all concepts will be thoroughly covered during the week.


When is the course?

Dates: Monday 21st July  – Friday 25th July 2025
Times: 1030 - 1800
Venue: Royal Academy of Music, Marylebone Rd, London NW1 5HT

 

Fees

All 5 days (Monday - Friday) £700  £600 (Early Bird discount until 31/12/24)

 

RESERVE YOUR PLACE NOW

Spaces on the course will be limited and we expect demand to be high.

To reserve your place, please pay a £100 deposit by clicking the button below.

Pay Deposit (£100)

 

Catering

The Royal Academy has an excellent cafeteria serving hot and cold food. The cafeteria will be open from 0830 to 1530 each day, and the course is timed to ensure all breaks are taken during these hours.

As the Academy is very well placed within Marylebone, there are a number of cafes, restaurants and delicatessens within easy walking distance.

Each day will incorporate a 90 minute lunch break, giving all participants ample time to relax and mingle over lunch.

 

Accommodation

We understand that City Centre accommodation in London can be both difficult to find and also prohibitively expensive. This has sometimes deterred potential participants from signing on to our courses.

For 2024, we were delighted to partner with the International Students House, which is just 4 minutes walk away from RAM.

ISH offered course participants a very generous rate for high quality, comfortable City Centre accommodation.

If there is sufficient demand for 2025, we are hoping to arrange a similar deal.

Please state if you would like to stay at ISH when paying your deposit and we will put you in touch to make your reservation.

NB ISH can provide Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner for residents.

If you want to take advantage of the accommodation offer, please contact us at info@classicalvoicetraining.com when paying your deposit and we will put you in touch with the International Students House administration, with whom you can request your room.

 

 

 

Presenters

Professor Janice Chapman (SATS 4 Author: Chapters include Pedagogical Philosophy, Primal Sound, Postural Alignment, Breathing & Support, Phonation and the Speaking Voice, Laryngeal Registration, Resonance, Articulation, The Exercises, Artistry & Performance, Working with the Professional Singer, From Performer to Pedagogue: A Multidisciplinary Route. Classical Voice Training Workbook)

James Platt (SATS 4 Contributing Author, co-author of Classical Voice Training Workbook)
(SATS Contributing Author: Chapters include Breathing & Support, Phonation & the Speaking Voice, Laryngeal Registration, Resonance, Articulation, Applied Vocal Acoustics and Acoustic Registration, The Exercises, Glossary)

Andrew Follin (Classical Voice Training Director, co-author of Classical Voice Training Workbook, SATS 4 Contributor, Estill Master Trainer,  Private Vocal Coach specialising in CCM and MT.)

Michael Pugh (Repetiteur / coach with singers in role preparation on the staff of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.)

Course content

This 5-day course will focus on the practical application of the SATS model for singers who teach and teachers who sing. Unlike many of our previous courses, there will not be a heavy focus on “chalk and talk” lectures. We will focus on applying the SATS concepts through warm ups, voice building sessions, group discussions, practical exercises, masterclasses in performance, and workshops on repertoire preparation. We want to explore how singers learn most effectively and how teachers can help structure the learning process optimally.

This course will give is participants an insight into the process of artistic and technical preparation required for learning song, oratorio, and operatic repertoire.

The first two days will focus on the practical application through the lens of phonation types (breathy, flow, pressed), how to efficiently combine phonation and airflow through manually-and semi-occluded vocal tract techniques (MOVT’s & SOVTs), the application and diagnosis of airflow and the support structures, assessing and optimising postural alignment and how to build core stability. We will also explore Primal Sound as both a trigger to elicit holistic voluntary emotional vocalisation, and as a tool to appropriately shape the vocal tract for different voice qualities, pitch ranges and dynamic qualities whilst maintaining efficient singing.

The final three days of the course will focus on the addition of language, repertoire and musical and vocal style into the process. We will focus on laryngeal and acoustic registers, (the passaggi, chest voice, voix mixte, head voice and whistle register), optimising articulation for resonant singing, and the practical application of vocal acoustics and vowel migration.

We would ask singers and teachers to bring a variety of repertoire to work on. This will enable all participants to engage in the process of technical preparation, to develop their listening and diagnostic skills, and to increase their knowledge of the singer’s journey through technique to performance. We will explore these concepts through a variety of repertoire for different voice types thereby increasing our diagnostic and listening skills and improving our journey from practice to performance.

We will discuss working with a conductor, vocal coach, and director, and the journey between building voices and developing and honing artistry and performance techniques.

This course is perfect for:

  • singers who are preparing for auditions
  • teachers who prepare singers for auditions
  • singers and teachers who want to improve their singing and teaching skills
  • Vocal coaches and voice professionals who would like to explore a singer’s technical and artistic preparation.

 

New and updated content 

The Fourth edition of SATS represents a major update of the model, having 620 pages compared to the 350 pages of the Third Edition.

SATS 4 contains extensive new material and significant revisions to existing material, which we will cover in detail on the course.

These include:

Chapter Four – Breathing and Support – Janice L. Chapman, Ron Morris, and James Platt
A significant update to our breathing and support pedagogy, this chapter includes the role breath management in singing, and the role of Accent Method as a remedial tool for singers.

Chapter Five – Phonation and the Speaking Voice – Janice L. Chapman, Ron Morris, and James Platt
This update uses the most recent scientific explanations of phonation, phonation patterns, Bernoulli effect, and onsets and offsets.

Chapter Six – Laryngeal Registration – Janice L. Chapman, Ron Morris, and James Platt
A brand new chapter on laryngeal registration which outlines and defines in detail the physiological configurations of laryngeal mechanisms (M0, M1, M2, M3 etc.) and their practical application.

Chapter Seven – Resonance – Janice L. Chapman, Ron Morris, and James Platt
The resonance chapter includes updates in the areas of Singer’s Formant Cluster, The Open Throat & Collar Connection and Maintaining Pharyngeal Width.

Chapter Eight – Articulation – Ron Morris and Janice L. Chapman; James Platt contributed to the section on Pedagogical Application
The Articulation chapter includes further refinements in vocal tract vowel locations, helping to train those with an inability to roll an “R” (tongue trill), the Gross Oral Posture for Singing, the retroflex “r” as an awareness tool, refined Tongue Twister Exercises.

Chapter Nine – Applied Vocal Acoustics and Acoustic Registration – James Platt and David M. Howard
A brand new chapter exploring the practical application of vocal acoustics within the SATS framework. This chapter aims to give singers and teachers an acoustic “tool box” for immediate practical application and problem solving.

Chapter Ten – The Exercises – Janice L. Chapman, Ron Morris, and James Platt
A new chapter including all of our previous SATS exercises but with the addition of many new ones. This chapter presents a detailed description of the exercise, its rational and pedagogical application and includes lots of diagnostic tips.

Included resources

All 5 day course participants will receive a FREE copy of Classical Voice Training's 180 page Workbook, plus a printed summary of all the exercises used in SATS. Together, these are worth over £100 and are only available to course participants.

NB One day course participants will receive a printout of that day's presentation.