“Soprano Kathleen Roland dominated the dramatic performance.”
Los Angeles Times

“The soaring lucidity of her voice as a marvellous contrast to the haunting fullness of soprano Kathleen Roland…”
The Daily Democrat (Davis, California)

Look for Kathleen’s upcoming anthology of Swedish art song, which will include composer and poet information, phonetic and word for word translations, and selections from some of Sweden’s greatest composers of 19th and 20th century romanser, or art song.

Read my  article, “Romancing the Romanser: Exploring the Art Song of Sweden”, in the November issue of The Journal of Singing, the official journal of the National Association of the Teachers of Singing.  Romancing the Romanser: Exploring the Art Song of Sweden

Upcoming concerts:

Jacaranda-Music on the Edge concert series, January 2012

Boston Court, October 2012

University of Santa Barbara, May 2012

Southwest Chamber Music, May 2012

and in Stockholm, Sweden!

Dr. Kathleen Roland-Silverstein has taught in Los Angeles for twenty years, and has been on the faculties of the University of Southern California, Pepperdine University, Pasadena City College, World Mission University and the Pasadena Conservatory. She will be joining the voice faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the fall of 2011.

Kathleen’s students have gone on to many of the best graduate music programs in the country, including Julliard Opera Center, the Manhattan School of Music, the College Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, the San Francisco Conservatory, the University of Southern California, California State University, Long Beach, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her students have been chosen to sing at AIMS (American Institute of Musical Studies) in Austria, the Aspen Music Festival, Songfest, Operaworks, and the Hawaiian Performing Arts Festival, among others. They have garnered honors in numerous competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera auditions, the National Opera Association auditions, and auditions sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Dr. Roland continues to be a highly sought after master class clinician here and abroad.

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe an effective voice teacher must continue to learn and study, and to keep informed by and to network with outstanding pedagogues in the fields of voice science, performance and vocal literature. The result is that a variety of resources are shared with each singer in the studio, and each student is provided with information and help appropriate to their unique gifts and talents. Technically proficient singing is always a delicate balance between different functions of the voice, and a good teacher listens and judges carefully where each singer’s strengths and weaknesses lie and teaches to that, rather than applying a “band-aid” or “one-size-fits-all” approach. I try to impart a knowledge of vocal physiology and science, as well as to encourage a development of the singer’s own kinesthetic sense, so that we are collaborative partners in the process. I have found this approach to be highly successful, and I believe my colleagues and students have benefited greatly from this approach to teaching voice.

In the time I have pursued my two-track career as both an active soloist and as a voice teacher, I have continued to hone my teaching skills and to evolve as a singer and as a teacher. My own growth as a singer and performer has always enhanced and formed my approach to voice training and pedagogy. I finished my doctorate in voice at the University of Southern California in 1997, and firmly believe that, rather than being the end of my studies, my education continues to this day.

I am an active member of two professional organizations, the National Association of the Teachers of Singing and the National Opera Association. Both organizations have been extraordinarily helpful, with their frequent meetings, master classes and opportunities to learn from the outstanding educators in our field. I continue to keep abreast of current research and writing in the field of vocal pedagogy, through periodicals such as the NATS Journal of Singing, and the writings of scholars like Ingo Titze, Richard Miller and Johan Sundberg of the Karolinska Intitute. I continue my voice studies with Judith Natalucci, a highly esteemed voice teacher and pedagogue living in New York.