The soul of the voice: an interview with Trineice Robinson-Martin

The soul of the voice: an interview with Trineice Robinson-Martin

Within the field of contemporary commercial singing (CCM) voice pedagogy, Dr Trineice Robinson-Martin has been instrumental in developing pedagogy for African American folk-based music styles including gospel, soul, jazz and R ’n B. In recognition of this pioneering contribution, Dr Robinson-Martin was recently inducted into the American Academy of Teachers of Singing. She is the first African American academy member to come from a contemporary commercial music background. Dr Robinson-Martin graduated from Teachers College Columbia University in 2010 with a Doctorate of Education in music education, and has since forged a successful career as a singer, pedagogue and researcher. She is the author of the NATS guide, So you want to sing gospel? A guide for performers and the upcoming Voice training for the gospel soloist. In addition to her publications, Dr Robinson-Martin is on faculty at Princeton University as the jazz voice instructor and director of jazz vocal ensembles, and maintains a busy career as a performer. As demonstrated in the following conversation, there is a strong philosophical vein which runs through her work. For Dr Robinson-Martin, “soul” is more than a genre or style, it is the very essence of who we are as singers—soul is that part of our voice which cradles the unique, expressive, and undeniable self. Dr Robinson-Martin’s experiences within the academy and the profession of singing teachers remind us that singing and its teaching is a broad church where the soul of each unique voice can find a home.

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.