AboutSean Martinfield Expertise I am a professional vocal coach in San Francisco. In addition to answers from a previous web site (Askme.com - where my "tag" was "VocalCoach") I have published over 2000 responses related to vocal training - particularly as it relates to Musical Theatre and Opera. I have 24 years of experience as Personal Trainer to singers and actors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sang professionally for 20 years and know what it means to live the life of a musician. I can determine your voice category, i.e., Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Alto Belter, etc., and how to broaden and strengthen your range. Need an audition song for a Broadway Musical? I will give you suggestions that are appropriate to your vocal category and to requirements specified in the audition notice. I have also created a vocal methodology, "The Belter`s Method". It will enable those in Musical Theatre to practice more efficiently because it focuses on the demands of professional performers as well as to those auditioning for school and community productions, and as University and Conservatory performing arts majors. If what you want is a better voice and more control over your career moves and choices, contact me. Also, as the Fine Arts Critic for SanFranciscoSentinel.com, it is my privilege to review productions at the San Francisco Opera, Ballet and Symphony, as well as Broadway National Tours booked into San Francisco's Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theatres. I also review works by A.C.T (the American Conservatory Theatre) and Magic Theatre. I cover select films, tributes and retrospects, and various international film festivals – particulary those booked into The City's opulent Castro Theatre – including both the San Francisco International and Silent Film Festivals. For private vocal instruction, I can be contacted through craigslist.com. Look under Musicians, then keyword: Martinfield.
Experience Distinctive celebrity voices and how they are used and promoted by the Entertainment Industry have always fascinated me. Drawing from all eras of film and animation, television, radio, Broadway plays and musicals, opera and a few politicians ? a huge bounty of actors and singers have had a profound effect upon my life, influencing all the choices I made with respect to my education and my dual careers as a professional singer and vocal coach. I am curious about what is promoted and, consequently, the competitive aspects of the Performing Arts.
I am a Theatre Arts Graduate from San Francisco State University. During the years of my attendance, the school enjoyed the reputation for having the best Theatre Department on the West Coast. My academic training equipped me as an actor, enabling me to prepare for professional auditions and to compete successfully. I learned how to take direction and to apply my skills during the rehearsal process. Along the way I learned to identify my assets as a performer, to market my particular abilities and to find the audiences interested in my particular product.
During my freshman year, I also began studying opera. For the next eight years, I trained as a baritone, learning the classical vocal methodology known as "Bel Canto" with well-respected coaches including Mr. James Schwabacher, then head of the San Francisco Opera's Marla Training Program. Because mastering the technique of Bel Canto is absolutely dependent upon its application to Italian opera and, consequently, perfect pronunciation of the language, I studied Italian as well as French and German with private coaches. I have performed the roles of ?Guglielmo" (COSI FAN TUTTE), "Marcello" (LA BOHEME), "Valentin" (FAUST), "Enrico" (LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR), "Dr. Miracle", (THE TALES OF HOFFMANN), "Top" (THE TENDER LAND), " Mr. Gedge, the Vicar" (ALBERT HERRING) and "Dr. Caius" (THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR). During these ten years, I also appeared in many classical recitals singing the standard classical Baritone repertoire. It was Mr. Schwabacher's training that expanded my upper range, turning me into a working tenor. My last appearances as a classical tenor were with conductor and pianist Robin Kay, performing Schubert's DIE SCHÖNE MULLERIN.
I then re-trained my voice, dropped the Bel Canto methodology, and went on to sustain another 10 years doing standard American repertoire including Broadway, Jazz, Blues and Standards. Throughout this period I appeared regularly on the San Francisco cabaret circuit and was a featured soloist with Bay Area bands, orchestras and choruses. I continued producing my own solo concerts, the last being at the New Conservatory Theatre.
As a vocal coach, I work primarily with singers and actors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. My clientele ranges from absolute beginners to working professionals, from pre-schoolers to retired Senior Citizens. The vast majority of them come to me through recommendation. I know how to identify any singer's vocal category, i.e., soprano, tenor, alto, baritone, etc. I know how to muscle-up every singer's vocal range and to expand it beyond conventional definitions. I have developed a vocal methodology for those who want to know how to belt, THE BELTER'S METHOD. As a singer who spent half of his career doing Bel Canto, I know for certain that classical or Italian methodologies do not work in Standard American music. Bel Canto cannot be "adapted" to meet the needs of contemporary American music, including the demands of the Musical Theatre.
There are two major components to my job. The first is to teach basic musical skills such as reading music, counting, breathing techniques, development and expansion of the vocal range, phonetics and diction ? specifically as it applies to Standard American English. The second is about presentation ? that is, everything involved with the client's audition and/or actual performance. In short, for any person relying upon their vocal endurance and performance skills to earn a living, my job is to enable them to compete for a job and, when hired, to maintain that job.
Over the years my clients have appeared in all of the available Broadway musicals produced in virtually every theater throughout the Bay Area. Some have worked in New York and gone on National Tours. Most recently, my clients have been praised for their work in AIDA and WICKED.
So, if you want to prepare for "American Idol" or the Broadway stage, contact me through http://www.geocities.com/broadwaybelters
Question QUESTION: Hello,
I am a 22 year old female and I am about to graduate with a BA in social work and a minor in music but recently have gotten interested in musical theatre. I am a musician and am very experienced in the music area and have played in the orchestra for a few musicals but never have sung on stage. I have pretty good pitch and am really good at harmonizing. My range is probably a mezzo-soprano/alto. Although I have never had any formal vocal training I have performed a few times before singing so it doesn't scare me. I also am comfortable with public speaking and won the state speech competition back in high school. Now that I am getting to the point of deciding what I want to pursue with my life I have been considering maybe musical directing on a community/high school level. I have enough experience to teach music but I am inexperienced with theatre and was thinking I need to perhaps be in a few plays to get a better feel and see if I want to pursue further education in that area. Problem is I have never auditioned for theatre before and don't know where to start. Do you have any suggestions on how to get started/ cast in plays?
Thanks so much.
Emma
ANSWER: Hello, Emma –
Thank you for your question. Why private? Many performers have concerns similar to yours. Let's share our exchange.
Please re-submit your question openly and I will respond.
I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco. When you want to book an appointment, contact me through Craig's List. This week’s connection is: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/1405517306.html.
Download Carmen Milagro’s BlogTalkRadio and her recent interview with Seán Martinfield. It’s all about singing and the 2009/10 San Francisco Opera Season:
Women and Legends Who Really Rock, 9/11/2009
Take a look at my You Tubes:
Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
SAMSON & DELILAH – Meet Seán Martinfield
CA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES – A Preview Look with Seán Martinfield
Below are links to my recent interviews and articles about what's happening on San Francisco's cultural scene:
QUESTION: I am a 22 year old female and I am about to graduate with a BA in social work and a minor in music but recently have gotten interested in musical theatre. I am a musician and am very experienced in the music area and have played in the orchestra for a few musicals but never have sung on stage. I have pretty good pitch and am really good at harmonizing. My range is probably a mezzo-soprano/alto. Although I have never had any formal vocal training I have performed a few times before singing so it doesn't scare me. I also am comfortable with public speaking and won the state speech competition back in high school. Now that I am getting to the point of deciding what I want to pursue with my life I have been considering maybe musical directing on a community/high school level. I have enough experience to teach music but I am inexperienced with theatre and was thinking I need to perhaps be in a few plays to get a better feel and see if I want to pursue further education in that area. Problem is I have never auditioned for theatre before and don't know where to start. Do you have any suggestions on how to get started/ cast in plays?
Thanks so much.
Emma
Answer Hello, Emma –
Thank you for the question and all the background information.
The answer is simple. You have to get out there and compete.
Of all the teachers I ever had – including those in my many years in Academia – four of them made a significant difference in my life in terms of what I needed at the time in order to increase my marketability and to sustain a living. They all had one thing in common. Each had enjoyed a career as a professional actor or singer. Consequently, they became great teachers.
You must achieve the same.
You know what it took to become sufficiently qualified to play your instrument in whatever ensemble that happened. But, did you ever do a major solo with that instrument in front of a paying audience and with the local critics taking notes? If so, somewhere along the way you would have competed against others with similar (perhaps better) qualifications.
From your description, you need to improve your skills as both a singer and an actress before you go to a theatrical audition or change careers to pursue the path of directing. Many of my high school students complain about the lack of insight their directors have along with their inability to communicate exactly what they want. Invariably, it’s about that teacher never having sustained a career in the commercial world.
Never underestimate the awareness and skills of young people who want to succeed right now. Communities are packed with talented and experienced performers who not only want to be in a production of quality, but are also looking to advance themselves into greater opportunities and to earn a living wage doing it.
My job as a professional vocal coach is to enable my clients to compete for a job and, when hired, to sustain their vocals through long rehearsals and the protracted length of a production. If I’m on your audition panel, you have to prove to me through your monologue and/or the 16-measures (or less) of your chosen songs that you are the best candidate for the role and that you’ll make money for the Producer and the Company. Simple.
I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco. When you want to book an appointment, contact me through Craig's List. This week’s connection is: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/1405517306.html. I am also the Editor and Publisher of SanFranciscoSentinel.com. All my articles and interviews about the Performing Arts provide a link to my personal e-mail.
Download Carmen Milagro’s BlogTalkRadio and her recent interview with Seán Martinfield. It’s all about singing and the 2009/10 San Francisco Opera Season:
Women and Legends Who Really Rock, 9/11/2009
Take a look at my You Tubes:
Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
SAMSON & DELILAH – Meet Seán Martinfield
CA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES – A Preview Look with Seán Martinfield
Below are links to my recent interviews and articles about what's happening on San Francisco's cultural scene:
