2026 East Haven Mini-Conference

Welcome to the 2026 East Haven, Connecticut Mini-Conference! Location New Haven Academy of Performing Arts , 597 Main St, East Haven, CT 06512 Pricing $149 for both days, $85 for one day, $25 per single session Lodging Home2 Suites East Haven New Haven 30 Frontage Road, East Haven, CT 06512 We have secured a hotel with a special $259 rate. Use this link to book: https://group.home2suites.com/aagobb (valid through June 1, 2026) Or use Group Name IVTOM and Group Code CHTIVT. Schedule FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2026 (1pm-6:30pm) 1-2:30pm – Dean Kaelin: Teaching the First Lesson and Finding Mix Quickly Discussing the keys to an amazing first lesson that will make sure they come back for more! How to assess each voice and pick the perfect exercises to help the student feel a big and immediate difference to get them started right off on the right track. 2:30-3:45pm – Curt Stock: Voice Physiology (How Mix Works) 3:45-4pm – Snack break 4-5:15pm – Dean Kaelin: “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Analyzing and Working with Voices Analyzing voices, recognizing potential problem areas and sticking points and choosing the best exercises then applying these new feelings to songs so the singer feels an immediate improvement. Master Class – working with actual voice volunteers. 5:15-6:30pm – Teri Stock: Voice Care SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2026 (9am-6pm) 9-10am: Billy DiCrosta – Building a Vocal Business 10-11:30am: Kerrie Obert – Approachable Voice Science (Zoom) 11:30am-1pm – Mark Baxter #1: Vocalpalooza. Did you know there are other melodies besides the Rossini scale? Haha – of course you do! But we all can get stuck in procedural ruts. Allow me to fill your pedagogical tool bag with ideas and inspirations. This presentation will be jam-packed with interesting vocal exercises to challenge your students and keep your teaching fresh. 1-2pm: lunch break 2-3:15pm: Mary Saunders-Barton: Training the Triple Threat The vocal skill required for a successful career in musical theatre today is worlds removed from what was expected 40 years ago. To be competitive and stay competitive, musical theatre actors must have resilient flexible voices with enough stamina to survive eight shows a week and come out swinging! The singing voice needs to “speak” from the lowest to the highest note in a finely tuned balance between treble and bass qualities. Encouraging playfulness and imaginative choices in a dramatic context can help take the fear out of the process. 3:15-4:30pm: Mary Saunders-Barton Master Class – Working with Voices 4:30-6pm: Mark Baxter #2: Split-Second Singing Every vocal sound is determined before phonation. In this presentation, we’ll turn back the clock to understand the influences affecting vocal behaviors from a split-second before singing, a minute, an hour, a day . . . right back to birth. With simple solutions for each phase. Afterwards, you’ll never listen to a student struggle without hearing the song by Sister Sledge – “We Are History, I got all my baggage with me!”