Voice Squad
The UNT Voice Squad is a service-related sub-group of the ACDA student chapter. Upper level choral music education students volunteer time to teach private voice lessons. This project has two components, university and community. The university component offers private voice instruction to UNT instrumental students who experience insecurities related to their singing voice. One success story includes that of a young flute player who participated in the program because of her vocal insecurities related to sight-singing in aural skills. The following year the student progressed to a point that she was secure enough to sing in UNT’s Women’s Chorus.
The Voice Squad’s community component includes the Adopt-A-Singer Project. In Fall 2006, the Voice Squad and Denton’s Calhoun Middle School came together to respond to the needs of middle school students, choir students with social and economic challenges, to create the Adopt-A-Singer Project. Twelve UNT choral music education students created a win-win situation by volunteering to provide individual and small group voice lessons to 35 Calhoun choir students: (1) music education students from UNT receive important opportunities to develop instructional skills; (2) the middle school choir teacher (a UNT alumni) is supported with energetic college student helpers; (3) the district high school choir directors benefit because 9th graders enter their choral programs with more self-confidence and higher level music skills; and (4) the middle school students receive personal attention in a one-on-one setting from an interested and talented college student. Fall 2008 will be the third year for this worthy program.