Christopher Sanders
he/him/his · Male
About
Chris Sanders (he/him/his) is a NYC based voice teacher. He received his masters degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from NYU Steinhardt and his BFA in Musical Theater from The University of West Florida. International studies include The Performing Arts Institute in Munich, Germany and the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. Currently on voice faculty at Marymount Manhattan; he has also served on voice faculty at Texas State University, Manhattanville University, and NYU Steinhardt. He acted as the Vocal Production Coach for the National Tours of TINA and Dear Evan Hansen and teaches for MTCA and Actor Therapy in NYC. Current clients can be seen working on Broadway, in various national and international tours, Disney and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and at regional theaters such as The Muny, PCLO, Goodspeed, MTWichita, and more. He has been published twice by VOICEPrints Journal and is on the Executive Board for the NYC NATS. To learn more visit his website: www.christophermsanders.com/studio.
Specializations
My Approach
As a voice teacher, I strive to help my students build a healthy, efficient, reliable technique that frees their voice and supports their artistry. During my own training as a voice student, I would find myself frustrated when being told how singing ‘should’ sound or feel without an explanation as to how or why. The result was years of chasing after something that I had no real concept of. Becoming a voice teacher has given me the in-depth knowledge of my instrument that I always sought. Now with a diverse 15 years of training under my belt, I teach voice in hopes of helping my students discover and develop their unique instruments. I base my work in Evidence Based Functional Training because I want to approach the voice from a scientific standpoint in order to take the guessing game out of voice training. The ultimate goal is to help students develop more kinesthetic awareness over their own body and voice. I tell all of my students that the real change will likely happen during their own practice time outside of the voice studio, so making sure that they are able to self-identify what feels most efficient is very important to me. Together with my students, I work to develop an accessible vocabulary that supports how they are experiencing things in their body balanced with the scientific knowledge of what is actually happening with the vocal mechanism. By utilizing a process-oriented approach, I strive to create a space in which progress is the only standard and therefore experimentation and vulnerability are encouraged. I have also dedicated a large portion of my training to understanding how our mental state has a direct impact on our voice production; therefore I begin all lessons with a check-in to encourage mindfulness with students. By understanding where my student is at mentally from day to day I am better able to know how to direct them in our work. Encouraging this mindfulness within themselves helps students on the path of kinesthetic awareness and ownership over their own body and voice. Ample preparation, consistent practice, and mindfulness will ensure a successful and productive lesson, which in turn will result in successful performances. “The voice you have is the voice you’ve earned by the way that you move.” – Andrew Byrne
Rates & Availability
$120/hr
Education
Masters Degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from NYU Steinhardt BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of West Florida
Students Accepted To
