W A N D A B R I S T E R
S t u d e n t c o m m e n t s
Among the lady's many qualities, is her level of attention— interest—that strikes me. She is that rare teacher of singing who is also a consummate musician. Her level of attention, her awareness and curiosity about the myriad aspects of singing, mark her as a teacher of distinction, an exemplar, I'd say.
I was at all times encouraged to use my own voice, my own sound, not to produce a "studio sound" or to imitate the teacher. In the studio, it was about discovering our own voices and we all did.
Dr. Brister is fiercely loyal to her students and their pursuits.
A safe and supportive learning environment.
Our studio rocks!
She always encouraged me to go more deeply into the poetry/character so that I could find my own inner voice as well as my singing voice.
I was a music education major and was sure that I would be treated differently from the performance majors. I can honestly say we were held to the same standards and required to prepare as though we had public performances at all times. No slacking off here!
I immediately tell Dr. Brister of all of my successes. She takes such joy in our good fortune and offers sound advice.
I was able to secure management right out of undergraduate school with Dr. Brister's advice. She knew the right person to handle my set of skills and it has been an amazing journey.
I often run into people who worked with or knew Dr. Brister in her own singing career. It is immediately obvious how well she is respected in the business.
Dr. Brister's knowledge of repertoire and curiosity never ceases to amaze me. If she has not heard about the piece, by the time of the next lesson, she has researched the composer, poets, and their output!
As Dr. Brister coached me on different aspects of music, I got the feeling that her knowledge was experiential rather than learned in books. She spoke about recital, oratorio, and operatic lit with confidence and knew the performance practice firsthand.
Whenever I had a competition to prepare, Dr. Brister's advice on repertoire choices was great. Her instincts for choosing winning pieces is intuitive, having participated in many competitions herself..
My voice took a long time to mature. Most people wanted me to do low songs and wait to sing any opera. Dr. Brister immediately chose something for me that would teach me how to handle it more easily. In my years with her, I was able to sing larger rep and to get the attention of the right people for the right reasons.
Highly recommended.
Sound teaching!
Dr. Brister always has an anatomy book handy, ready to explain what is actually happening in the body so that I don't get my concepts confused with what is going on in my body. So helpful!