Voice and Speech Review

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rvsr20

Finding Grace: A Singing Teacher’s Journey with

Her First Transgender Student

CJ Greer

To cite this article: CJ Greer (2022) Finding Grace: A Singing Teacher’s Journey
with Her First Transgender Student, Voice and Speech Review, 16:2, 208-219, DOI:
10.1080/23268263.2021.1955457

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23268263.2021.1955457

Published online: 29 Jul 2021.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 207

View related articles

View Crossmark data

Citing articles: 1 View citing articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rvsr20
VOICE AND SPEECH REVIEW
2022, VOL. 16, NO. 2, 208–219
https://doi.org/10.1080/23268263.2021.1955457

ARTICLE

Finding Grace: A Singing Teacher’s Journey with Her First

Transgender Student
CJ Greer
University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
This article is an exploration in addressing the challenges of a voice Transgender; dysphoria;
teacher training her first transgender student, specifically assigned hormone therapy; singer;
male at birth (AMAB). The article addresses vocal fundamentals choir; vocal pedagogy;
repertoire
such as alignment, registration, passaggio transition points, expres­
sivity, and repertoire selection. The article includes conversation
surrounding choral assignments, fach, gender dysphoria, spiritual
delving, and the personal journeys of both the student and the
teacher during an academic year. Information and resources
regarding hormone therapy and community engagement are
offered. The author and participant hope that by sharing this jour­
ney other voice teachers will be encouraged to begin working with
the transgender vocal community with curiosity, courage, and
confidence.

Introduction
In the fall of 2016, a freshman music education major walked into my voice studio.1 They
came to me as a male identifying and presenting person studying as a tenor and, like most
18-year-old tenors, in need of grounding the middle voice, developing a more dynamic
alignment, and nurturing their expressivity as a singing artist. I assigned repertoire, mostly
classical, addressing the needs of a young tenor, and we began the work of building
a voice. Midway through the semester, our music faculty received a surprising e-mail
announcing that she would like to be referred to as Grace. Prior to college, Grace had
grown up in a traditional religious household with a family who were not open to her
expressing herself in a way that felt authentic and truthful. Now living on campus, she
could begin embracing life more authentically as Grace. I was so happy for her. And also,
as her voice teacher, I was completely stumped. I spent the better part of a teacher’s
holiday break researching online, reading what scholarly work I could find and networking
with colleagues from pedagogical and performance backgrounds for insights. I quickly
discovered that, at the time (in 2016), there was limited information and guidance
available.
I have long been committed to conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion, and
I recognize the barriers members of the music and theatre arts communities face. Casting
for commercial theatre is inherently, and often necessarily, discriminating. Elements we

CONTACT CJ Greer cjgreer@unr.edu

© 2021 Voice and Speech Trainers Association
 VOICE AND SPEECH REVIEW 209

cannot change—height, weight, eye color, skin color, features, age, etc—can often win or
lose a person the gig. But not all theatre is created for commercialism. Music and theatre
mediums historically have been platforms for bringing challenging conversation topics to
public attention. Despite the discriminating odds, many performers choose to persevere
and find career fulfillment using music and theatre art to bring about social awareness
and change. A voice teacher can have a significant impact on a “singers’ beliefs and
behavior concerning gender, voice, and appropriate modes of being” (Graham 2019, 243).
To support these social changes, future performers and pedagogues must consider
whether commonly accepted pedagogical approaches to repertoire and instructional
language learned from our renowned predecessors continues to serve today’s cultural
conversations and the needs of all singers. We must do more to bring awareness,
sensitivity, and an understanding of inclusivity issues into the studio and rehearsal space.2

The Questions
An individual’s voice is highly personal and a primary component of our self-concept. In
her book The Right to Speak, renowned voice/speech/Shakespeare instructor Patsy
Rodenburg, reminds us that “To the ears of others we are what we speak [. . .] just like
a fingerprint a voice-print is an almost infallible form of identification” (Rodenburg
1992, 4). It can, and must, serve as an outer expression of our self. Dr. Felix Graham, in
his dissertation “Singing While Female: A Narrative Study on Gender, Identity, and
Experience of Female Voice in Cis, Transmasculine, & Non-Binary Singers” offers that
“Vocal identity may be more properly understood as the lens through which a singer
understands themselves as an individual, and through which that individual interprets
and performs both their musical and day-to-day experiences” (Graham 2019, 11). Grace’s
request to change her name and pronouns took me by surprise—shocked me, if I am
honest, and initially, I was not certain how to respond. At the time, the conversations
surrounding the trans community were not as prevalent as they are today, particularly
within the voice pedagogue community. Already past the midterm, we agreed to finish
the semester on the current vocal path, building a young tenor voice. At the end of the fall
semester, Grace expressed an interest in exploring repertoire generally reserved for the
female voice. After some thought, I agreed to explore this further with her. However,
I soon realized that this would be complicated. My “ped head” began spinning with the
numerous emerging questions. What repertoire should I choose? Where would I find it?
Does it need to be “male/female” specific content? Is it the upper tessitura of her voice
that she is most interested in exploring? Is it the romantic poetry typically sung by
a cisgender woman? How does this affect her passaggio? What about exploring pants
roles? Would the industry embrace having a transgender woman dressed up as a male
playing these iconic roles? Could she sing these well-known arias in the “female” register,
or would she sing them an octave lower in her “male” register? Would Grace even be
comfortable with the “male-ness” of the content and role portrayal? (I use this proble­
matic language here in quotes because, at the time, this was the language I had).
Questions continued to pour out of me. In 2016 this was (and still is) a new area for the
singing community—performers, teachers, and audience members. Finding pedagogical
insight was challenging, as was repertoire suitable for a transgender person’s vocal
development with comfortable and relatable content.
210 C. GREER

In my search at the time (December 2016), it was challenging to find research and
experiences from singers or voice teachers directly from the trans community. I did find
several articles in the Journal of Singing published by cisgender teachers recalling their
observations and experiences training vocalists that had already transitioned (including
taking hormones and some divulging top surgeries). Most were transgender men who
had already taken testosterone hormones and were exploring their new low voices.
“Teaching Lucas: A Transgender Singer’s Vocal Journey from Soprano to Tenor” by
Loraine Sims (2017b) gave a beautiful reconstruction of a teacher’s path through
a testosterone induced vocal transition. One testimony was of a transgender woman
who trained as and chose to remain a baritone from Brian Manternach’s (2017) article
“Teaching Transgender Singers. Part 2: The Singers’ Perspectives.” That same student’s
teacher, Michael Chipman, relayed his experience of what repertoire he used to build the
voice, discussions surrounding appropriate Fach, etc. For Michael’s bass-baritone trans
female student, the repertoire changed slightly, but the technique did not, so “artistically
and technically, [their] work continued on its normal trajectory” (Manternach et al. 2017,
84). While informative, these examples were not a direct correlation. I thought of singers
in the public eye whose voices reminded me of Grace’s; Chris Colfer (from Glee) and Mitch
Grassi (from Pentatonix) came to mind. At the time, both identified as cisgender males,
and I could not find interviews or articles talking about their vocal training specifically.
I found only a few YouTube videos and article interviews from singers making strides in
their operatic performance careers and speaking openly about their journeys and hopes
for the future. I read about Holden Madagame’s (2016) hormone therapy and his vocal
transition from mezzo to tenor.3 I found several YouTube videos with Lucia Lucas—a
transfeminine singer choosing to retain her luscious baritone sound. One was
a fascinating video (narrated in German) accounting for her facial reconstruction surgery
which included some short clips of her singing iconic operatic male roles as a ­
transwoman,4 and then a 2015 interview article discussing her coming out as
a transgender woman.5 Perhaps the closest I came to a comparable scenario was finding
Breanna Sinclaire’s performance of the National Anthem from 2015,6 and an interview
where she mentioned the challenges that she had in her conservatory with the voice
faculty’s initial reluctance to train her as a soprano or mezzo-soprano.7 Articles and
performance videos were limited. Nowhere could I find anyone talking about or writing
about the training itself (repertoire, registration, applicable vocalises, etc). No one spoke
comprehensively about a transgender woman’s tenor transition to mezzo or soprano (no
surgeries/no hormones) wanting to sing repertoire traditionally reserved for cis female
singers. I was on my own. However, these resources were enough to get me thinking.
Being a creative “think-outside-the-box” brain, a plan began to emerge in my mind.

The Repertoire
In January of 2017 (the start of spring semester), many of the articles one can find today
had not appeared yet. And so, with the task of assigning repertoire for the spring
semester, I started with what I knew. An article I had read in December of 2016 quoted
Lucia Lucas as saying, “I can actually enjoy playing a man onstage now because I don’t
have to play one in real life.” (Lebrecht 2015, 1). So Grace and I discussed the idea of
portraying Cherubino in our opera scenes production, singing “Voi che sapete” from
 VOICE AND SPEECH REVIEW 211

Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. This assignment provided a valuable lesson for us both. My
intention was to begin by singing this iconic aria down the octave while exploring and
gradually building her upper register and remaining open and flexible to what must be
done to accommodate Grace’s vocal needs. However, she soon expressed that singing
in her lower register was taking a psychological toll and causing great sorrow in her
singing. She no longer enjoyed choir and felt she was losing her love of singing and
music. This was my first introduction to the concepts of “incongruence” and “gender
dysphoria.” She was not comfortable in her lower tessitura; she was not Lucia Lucas. This
was an “Aha moment!” for me. We immediately changed directions. I spoke with our
choir director who promptly and enthusiastically moved her to alto, and I revamped her
semester’s applied lesson repertoire by seeking out songs that would accomplish the
technical elements she needed to develop, while also feeling comfortable with the
context of the song itself. We explored songs with both female and male content to
determine what texts felt the most authentic and included songs with no specified
gender affiliation or pronouns. I researched contralto and countertenor repertoire,
explored high, medium, and low keys of iconic art songs, and eventually even (dare
I say it here) changed the key of several standard arias to better suit Grace’s pedagogical
needs. To many people, this is blasphemy, I know. But I no longer believe that. It was
a place to begin.
The following is a snapshot of our semester’s repertoire exploration. After discarding
“Voi che sapete,” I assigned Bradamante’s contralto aria “All’alma fedel” from Handel’s
Alcina. We used this piece to work registration shifts, strengthening head voice and
introducing Baroque ornamentation. It turned out to be her favorite piece. After looking
at several Vaughan Williams options, we settled on “Roadside Fire” from Songs of Travel;
though typically sung by cisgender males, it has no gender specific pronouns. We chose
the higher key of F major and used this piece to continue solidifying her lower chest
register, finding a lighter chest quality in the upper tessitura when called for, and
exploring her artistic expression by re-interpreting the poetry. We countered this iconi­
cally masculine content with “Seit ich ihn gesehen” from Schumann’s Frauenliebe und
leben—exploring feminine content, working her head voice and introducing German.
After trying several keys, we settled on the lower key of A♭ major. I knew I wanted my final
song assignment for the semester to be a lighthearted musical theatre selection that
would work Grace’s chest voice on open vowels with a speech-like quality and mid-level
laryngeal position (exploring laryngeal positions that sounded and felt more feminine
while avoiding the lower laryngeal position that was distasteful to her), and I wanted the
song to be fun to sing. For this piece I chose “I Got the Sun in the Morning” from Irving
Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun. Starting with the original score, we explored several keys and
eventually began with a lower transposition in B♭ major. By the end of the semester, the
Vaughan Williams and Irving Berlin had done their job, and we transposed her musical
theatre piece up a step. The Handel and Schumann had also done their job, and Grace’s
head voice/falsetto had become more comfortable and free. In the final recital, Grace sang
“All’alma fedel,” including an ornamentation on the recapitulation that soared her easily
through a G5. I could not believe it. It was beautiful to hear and see this happening right in
front of me. One of our regular patrons approached me after the recital and asked who
the beautiful woman was singing the Handel and why she had not been featured in the
fall recital. My eyes welled with tears for Grace’s triumph.
212 C. GREER

The Registration
During our second semester of work, when I really stopped to listen more closely,
I discovered Grace’s transition points did not quite follow the familiar passaggio chart
from Richard Miller’s (1986) Structure of Singing. Instead of coming to transition points as
a tenore lirico (D4-G4), as I had originally identified, she was more akin to a tenorino (F4-
B♭4). As she developed a more balanced coordination, she began shifting closer to
contralto (G4), or occasionally mezzo (F4-B♭4) transition points. It was not until I was
comparing these two charts (male/tenorino and female/mezzo) for the same student
that I noticed the tenorino and mezzo points Miller suggests are very similar (Miller 1986,
117–119). This was another “Aha” moment. I had found a correlation from one of our
stalwart pedagogues. However, I had completely missed these higher tendencies in my
initial vocal “diagnosis,”8 because of the person I had seen standing before me, rather
than listened to what the voice wanted to tell me and where it wanted to go. Lesson
learned.
Despite her psychological misgivings, I did feel the need to speak with Grace about the
vocal health and balancing elements associated with her new identity. She was comfor­
table from Ab3-Bb4 and sang this range of pitches in what I would describe as a “light
head mix” or “light speech mix,” depending on the style. Light head mix was easy for her.
Her soft palate awareness was challenging. Finding “true falsetto” was arduous. Baroque
music helped. The speaking voice she became most comfortable with included a lowered
soft palate, which assisted her finding a higher, lighter speech quality. As is often the case,
her speech patterns carried over into her singing as well—both in Mode 2 (CT) and Mode
1 (TA). When singing in Mode 1, lowering her larynx and lifting her soft palate gave her
a “rounder” masculine sound that she did not care for. We discussed the idea that singing
in her lower chest voice was necessary for longevity in singing and explored how she
could view singing in this register from a new perspective—that this sound quality was no
longer her primary vocal identity, but an exercise in coordination necessary for balance
and vocal health. We agreed she needed to sing the tenor lines on some of the choral
parts that were higher in tessitura. In every lesson we would vocalize in Mode 1 down to
a C3 on open and closed vowels, varying the consonants. Grace came to understand why
I felt strongly that exercising both Mode 1 and Mode 2 was important, and she put her
trust in me as her voice teacher—a responsibility I did not take lightly.

The Personal Journeys

I should mention that Grace was not taking hormones at the time but has since begun
them. Research tells us that it will not change her voice to any extremes since she has
already gone through adolescence and the size and thickness of her vocal folds and
cartilages have already been determined (Adler, Hirsch, and Pickering 2018, 324). Lorraine
Sims (2017a) writes, “once the voice has gone through a male adolescence, no hormone
therapy will reverse this process” (374). Our speech-language pathologists (SLPs) agree
(Adler, Hirsch, and Pickering 2018, 62), and Lucia Lucas’s personal statements confirmed
that for me. There are many SLP’s working with the transgender community assisting the
transgender woman to find a lighter mechanism in their speaking voice with a tessitura,
resonance, and prosody that is more customarily “feminine.” Having trained in both
 VOICE AND SPEECH REVIEW 213

classical and music theatre afforded me some familiarity in theatrical voice and speech
techniques and various pedagogical tools at my disposal to assist Grace in this way.
In his previously mentioned dissertation, Graham describes self-concept as “a complex
intersection of experience, observation, peer and parental influence, and the level to
which a singer’s self-perceptions and preferences are genuinely personal choices,”
(Graham 2019, 54) and incongruity as “when the singers’ voices, abilities, or personal
identities no longer conformed to those socially mediated principles, and there emerged
an underlying inconsistency between the singer’s self-concept, their understanding of
self-worth, and their experiences” (231). I assert that living a newly found, authentic
female life while singing with production that felt and sounded decidedly masculine
caused profound incongruity, also recognized as gender dysphoria, resulting in the
psychological distress Grace experienced. Then I watched her evolve. She moved into
the female dorms on campus. She began wearing wigs, makeup, jewelry, etc. I noticed her
in elegant, feminine sweaters and leggings that she wore beautifully. By mid-semester,
she came in with a very cute bob haircut and a black cocktail dress she purchased
specifically for our opera scenes performance. By semester’s end, she had a pair of knee
high, high-heeled black boots she wore like they were made for her and made me envious
for those “if you got it, flaunt it” days. The day her new make-up brushes arrived, she
brought them to her lesson to show me. She developed very close friendships with her
music peers who embraced her as Grace without question and were far better with the
shift in pronouns than I was. Over the course of the semester, I watched her self-concept
come into focus. She trusted me. She invited me into her journey in these small ways, and
she reaffirmed my own journey of understanding and acceptance every time I saw her
take another step toward presenting her most authentic self. She also had a personal
counselor and LGBTQIA+ support group through the school. I believe these mentors,
friendships, and available resources are one of the primary reasons she succeeded so
marvelously during her first full semester in transition—she found an unconditional
support group who served as her own personal cheering squad as she gradually
transformed.
Grace carries herself differently now. In the studio, she began standing with her legs
tightly pressed together in parallel or crossed at the ankles. This was a curious new
characteristic that came with spring semester and was something I had to consistently
remind her about in her singing (finding a comfortable, open stance that is more
grounded to allow pelvic freedom). Her spinal alignment improved greatly—she stood
taller and no longer rounded her shoulders or jutted her chin forward. She walked with
a grace akin to her chosen name. She laughed more often—a high-pitched silvery laugh
that made me smile every time I heard it. And some days, just like every other college
student we know, she did not do her hair or makeup and wore baggy, comfortable
sweatpants and flip flops—her favorite.

Lessons to Live By
In addition to growing as a voice teacher, Grace had a great impact on me personally.
For the first time, I was compelled to confront the question of a person’s gender identity
from a truly personal and spiritual perspective, not simply an outside “of course people
should do what is best for themselves” perspective. I spent a great deal of time in quiet
214 C. GREER

contemplation. I attended the Ally Training Series through my university to become

educated about how the LGBTQIA+ community has evolved. Through the trainings and
my conversations with Grace I found that familiar, formerly acceptable language refer­
encing the LGBTQIA+ communities no longer served the members of those commu­
nities. Coming to a better understanding of microaggressions, and the nuanced
difference between a person’s gender identity, sexual preference, and sex assigned at
birth helped me find more resolution to some of my own questions. Some might argue
that I should not have had questions in the first place. I might argue this as well—but
I am willing to admit that I did; confusions, mostly, as opposed to outright disagree­
ment. Perhaps the most frustration I felt with myself was how I regularly mixed up her
pronouns. At first, I felt immensely guilty about not being able to “flip the switch” or
“get it right” and I would apologize profusely and internally scold myself—which only
resulted in both of us feeling uncomfortable. Grace was patient with me. I learned to
accept that I would mess up—and I could apologize quickly and move on. Another
helpful tidbit from a Lucia Lucas interview reverberated with me when she spoke of her
mother and how her “understanding of [her] situation [came] much slower for her.”9
This quote all of its own helped remind me that this was new, confusing territory for me
and how I needed to approach it with Grace and myself—with kindness, patience, and,
as much as I was able, a mother’s love. As the language and information surrounding
cultural responsiveness has continued to evolve, new tools and resources have
emerged. I now have tools to better express myself as a community member and
educator with vocabulary conducive to one-on-one discussion and within the general
community. I am still an imperfect ally, as a human and as a vocal pedagogue, but
I desire to support and help this niche of singers learn how to use their voices as
extensions of their true self—something I have taken for granted until now.
There are many lessons to share, some of which I hope others can glean from this
article. I offer Eli Conley’s (2017) blog “Creating Gender Liberatory Singing Spaces:
A transgender voice teacher’s recommendations for working with transgender singers.”
I wish this resource had been available to me in 2016. But I thought I would include
a tangible list of my own lessons learned for easy reference along with some quotes that
resonated with me on this journey. They are as follows:

● Never “out” anyone without their permission. Grace has given me permission not
only to share her name but also tell her story from my perspective as voice teacher.
Additionally, she has read this article and approved my publishing it.
● Language matters—full stop. Using terminology such as “female or male” when
referring to register, timbre, repertoire, tessitura, or the collective voices in a choral
scenario can cause singers a sense of incongruity or dysphoria (and not just our trans
or non-binary singer friends10). Voices can be high or low and are independent of
gender. For choral and music directors (to quote Eli Conley directly), “Refer to voice
parts by name, rather than saying ‘men’ when you mean tenors and basses and
‘women’ when you mean altos and sopranos” (Conley 2017, 1). I have heard varying
perspectives on the use of our widely recognized and historically based voice part
terminology—soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, or bass. As a musician and music director,
it is helpful to hear from a leader in the trans singing community that this language is
 VOICE AND SPEECH REVIEW 215

not forbidden. Nevertheless, he goes on to recommend using “low voices,” “middle

voices,” and “high voices” as even more inviting and liberatory language.
● The Oxford English Dictionary defines dysphoria as “a state or condition marked by
feelings of unease or (mental) discomfort.”11 Students may experience some level of
dysphoria associated with gender, vocal, or musical identity—and they may not.
Teachers may as well. I encourage working through it together.
● The acronyms Assigned Male at Birth (AMAB) and Assigned Female at Birth (AFAB)
are acceptable terms (as of 2021) used in the medical communities and are useful to
help voice teachers better understand the instrument in front of us, what stage of
development it may be in (pre or post-pubescent, pre or post-menopausal, affected
by hormone therapy, etc).
● Avoid the names and pronouns prior to the transition. This is easier if you meet
someone post-transition. The name assigned at birth is often discarded for a name
that better embraces a person’s self-concept. The discarded name, often referred to
as their “dead name,” should not be used again. Same with elected pronouns. (I
slipped often at first, but with time the chosen name and pronouns became habit. Be
gracious with yourself and keep trying.)
● Regarding surgeries: do not ask about this topic. If they volunteer the information,
then you may talk about them as related to their singing only. See Eli Conley’s (2017)
blog for several insightful recommendations on studio intake forms.
● There were two great quotes that resonated with me. (1) “A teacher with a trans student
is charged with a certain care in choosing their repertoire, and even the unique
challenges of finding and negotiating vocal passaggi (or register transitions).” (2)
“Though their sounds may seem drastically different, the physical differences in the
instrument of the highest soprano and the lowest bass is mere millimeters in size.”
(Simeonov 2016, 1). Ultimately length and size of the instrument is not an indication of
gender.
● Perhaps the biggest lesson for me (and in my own words): Do not just see with your
eyes; rather, hear with your ears and listen with your heart wide open.

It is important to note that all trans people’s experiences are different, having and
forging their own unique path—just as every voice in the studio is a unique puzzle
to piece together. This article is unique in the research literature that I have read
thus far because of where Grace was in this process; she was truly exploring for the
first time whether this was the life she wanted to live—or, not. Many decisions had
not been made, and I was witness to the gradual implementation of a myriad of
challenges and choices. At the time, my primary role was to be a sounding board
and support system for her explorations, both vocal and personal. Since then, though
my path has taken me to a different university, she has continued to grow in her
voice, her confidence, and her choice to live a fully feminine lifestyle. My hope is that
sharing our journey together here offers insight to other voice teachers who may
find themselves in unexpectedly similar circumstances. The day came when I was
reflecting on Grace’s transformation alongside my own and all the curiosities that
had come along the way. I found myself internally quoting Albus Dumbledore,
“Actually, if I think about it, it doesn’t seem curious at all.”12
216 C. GREER

The Resources
In 2016 there was limited repertoire and pedagogical research available for a voice
teacher seeking to learn, as I was. It would have been more ideal to find a transgender
voice teacher’s perspective, but those resources were not available then. Even today,
though there is far more information available to anyone seeking it, more is needed.
Nevertheless, these resources are increasing in availability and accessibility. Since my
time with Grace, there are many books, workshops, and supportive groups that have
emerged.
A key resource is Eli Conley (2017), a transgender singer who teaches and coaches trans
singers. His blog has several helpful articles. Dr. Felix Graham’s body of research is also
helpful; Graham is a frequent presenter and author in the pedagogical communities.
Graham’s (2019) dissertation is an informative read with vast insights not only for cis
female, transmasculine and non-binary singers, but also for the impacts social constructs
can have on singers in general. Every voice teacher should be aware of this information,
and the word-for-word interviews are particularly enlightening.
If you have access to run a search through the National Association of Teachers of
Singing (NATS) and their Journal of Singing (JOS), do so. There are multiple articles that
have been written over the past several years including, many of which are cited in this
article. The Singing Teacher’s Guide to Transgender Voices by Hearns and Kremer (2018) is
an excellent resource, and Liz Jackson Hearns offers a course called “Transgender Voice
and Speech Training for Teachers.”13 I will be looking for an opportunity to join her
training session in the future. Hearns’s website Voicelabinc.com14 has a list of wonderful
resources, as does Chorusamerica.org15 for choral communities. Additionally, a workshop
panel was held at the 2018 National NATS convention in Las Vegas entitled “Teaching
Outside the Gender Binary.” The video of their discussions and supportive materials can
be purchased through the NATS Live Learning Center.16
If you work in or have access to a higher education institution with a speech-language
pathology program, look to see if they have a transgender voice clinic, as I recently found
my university does. You may discover a wealth of resources and personnel local to you.
There are more transgender singers in our performing community for our students to
look up to and learn from—aforementioned Holden Madagame, Breanna Sinclaire, Lucia
Lucas from the operatic community, and from the Broadway/musical theatre commu­
nities Ezra Menas17 (Jagged Little Pill, West Side Story/Movie), MJ Rodriguez18 (Rent, Little
Shop of Horrors, Pose), and Peppermint19 (Head Over Heels) to name a few.
There are several Facebook groups related to gender diverse singers (Teachers of
Trans/GNC Singers,20 Transgender and Non-Binary Singing Voice,21 and (Trans)position,22
to name a few), and I have discovered some significant articles and a welcoming and
a gracious community nonplussed by my ignorant questions. Newmusicusa.org23 has
a four-part article series by Brin Solomon (2019) called “Towards a Framework for
Responsible Trans Casting.” The website24 offers a number of training programs in
language, cultural sensitivity, etc. (The list is long and thorough.) This resource can be
either self-study, or it is offered to groups, conferences, etc. AC Goldberg’s (2019) of
Transplaining articles25 have shown me that language best-practices have been refined
even further,26 indicating to me that having done one ally training will never be enough;
this will be a continuing education.
 VOICE AND SPEECH REVIEW 217

Even with all the additional research that has come to fruition, I still have not found
research or pedagogical offerings directly comparable to what Grace’s and my specific
needs were at the time. I hope to see more of it emerge soon. Perhaps contributing
articles such as these will be a catalyst for continued research, exploration, and
a willingness from the trans community to share their journeys so that we, the voice
teachers and cisgender community, can become better for them. I also encourage voice
teachers teaching vocal pedagogy courses in higher education to consider more inclusive
language that does not perpetuate a binary, or “either/or” style of thinking. As teachers,
we need to encourage our future voice teachers to communicate more readily, include
liberatory studio practices, and deconstruct our social assumptions. In the meantime, I am
continuing to research and reach out to composer, performer, and pedagogical collea­
gues to learn as much as I can. It is important that we build a network and community of
support for Grace, for teachers like me with limited awareness, and for our future students
and pedagogues, so transgender singers can feel empowered to continue their growth as
musicians with greater ease and enthusiasm.
Recently, a new student walked into my office. He was forthcoming about his use of
testosterone for the past year and his current struggles as a vocalist, particularly in his
sight-singing class as a freshman music education major. Because of my time with Grace,
I had a vocabulary, pedagogy, and comfort level with his voice that allowed us to have
a very effective and fruitful first lesson. As I continue to move through this journey
teaching voice, I find myself incredibly grateful for Grace’s grace.

Notes
1. The language used in this article is the most up to date to the author’s knowledge as of the
publication date. It would be inappropriate to disclose a transgender person’s story without
their permission, so it is important to state the author received permission from the student
to publish their story, including their first name. The student has read the article and
approved it.
2. The methodology of this articles follows qualitative case study design within applied educa­
tion research (Creswell and Creswell 2018; Yin 2012). Within this article, I define the para­
meters of the case by exploring trans voice, and the voice methods I used to teach. In
addition, I follow a chronological narrative, telling the story of my time coaching Grace.
I use my field notes and self-reflection as data throughout the article in order to give analysis
and implications.
3. See http://www.trans.cafe/posts/2016/8/29/how-i-transitioned-in-my-workplace-im-an-
opera-singer
4. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy7e9lOSEOM
5. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy7e9lOSEOM
6. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxYh2WpCj2c
7. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=fyi63tj1iWA
8. James McKinney (2005) explores the idea of “diagnosing” the voice in a singing studio, which
is a term used widely within voice pedagogy. This kind of “diagnosing” is outside the scope of
a medical diagnosis.
9. See https://slippedisc.com/2015/06/exclusive-my-life-as-a-transgender-opera-singer/
10. See Graham (2019).
11. See the Oxford English Dictionary under dysphonia.
12. From the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.
13. See https://www.thevoicelabinc.com/owt-training.html
218 C. GREER

14. See https://www.thevoicelabinc.com/resources-transgender-voice-chicago.html

15. See Agha (2017)
16. See https://nats.sclivelearningcenter.com/MVSite/default.aspx
17. See https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Debut-of-the-Month-Meet-Ezra-Menas-of-
JAGGED-LITTLE-PILL-20200309
18. See https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/mj-rodriguez-pose-activism-1203246568/
19. See https://transgenderfeed.com/2018/04/18/actor-set-become-first-openly-transgender-
woman-broadway/
20. See https://www.facebook.com/groups/258329547844617
21. See https://www.facebook.com/transnbvoice/?ref=page_internal
22. See https://www.facebook.com/groups/trans.pos.i.ton
23. See https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/toward-a-framework-for-responsible-trans-casting-part
-1-words-words-words
24. See https://courses.transplaining.info/
25. See https://courses.transplaining.info/published-work
26. See https://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/leader.FMP.24042019.6

Acknowledgments
I thank colleague and friend, Adi Cabral, for their informative and candid conversations surrounding
transgender inclusiveness. Most importantly, I thank Grace, for bravely giving permission for me to
publish about her personal journey.

Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor
CJ Greer is an Assistant Professor of Voice/Music Theatre at the University of
Nevada, Reno, where she has consulted on the development and implementa­
tion of a new musical theatre program. A former Broadway performer, she
received her MFA in vocal pedagogy for music theatre and her MM for classical
performance and pedagogy from Penn State University. Her research interests
revolve around integrating performance disciplines to create new approaches
to pedagogy for developing elite vocal performers, training music theatre
voice teachers and techniques, bringing best practices for hands-on contact
into the voice studio, and collaborating with the medical field exploring where
science and singing can heal.

References
Adler, Richard K., Sandy Hirsch, and Jack Pickering, eds. 2018. Voice and Communication Therapy for
the Transgender/Transsexual Client: A Comprehensive Guide. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.
Agha, Ari 2017. “Welcoming Transgender Singers: Resource List.” Chorus America, December 18.
Accessed 1 July 2021. https://www.chorusamerica.org/conducting-performing/welcoming-
transgender-singers-resource-list
Conley, Eli 2017. “Creating Gender Liberatory Singing Spaces: A Transgender Voice Teacher’s
Recommendations for Working with Transgender Singers.” October 9. Accessed 1 July 2021.
https://www.eliconley.com/blog/creating-gender-liberatory-singing-spaces-a-transgender-voice
-teachers-recommendations-for-working-with-transgender-singers
 VOICE AND SPEECH REVIEW 219

Creswell, John W., and J. David Creswell. 2018. Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed
Approaches. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Goldberg, A.C. 2019. “Our Transgender Language Choices Make All the Difference.” Ashawire, April
1. Accessed 1 July 2021. https://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/leader.FMP.24042019.6
Graham, Felix Andrew. 2019. “Singing while Female: A Narrative Study on Gender, Identity &
Experience of Female Voice in Cis, Transmasculine & Non-Binary Singers.” PhD Dissertation,
Columbia University.
Hearns, Liz Jackson, and Brian Kremer. 2018. The Singing Teacher’s Guide to Transgender Voices. San
Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.
Lebrecht, Norman. 2015. “Exclusive: My Life as a Transgender Opera Singer.” Slipped Disc, June 19.
Accessed 1 July 2021. https://slippedisc.com/2015/06/exclusive-my-life-as-a-transgender-opera-
singer/
Madagame, Holden. 2016. “How I Transitioned In My Workplace (I’m An Opera Singer).” Trans.Cafe.
September 26. Accessed 1 July 2021. http://www.trans.cafe/posts/2016/8/29/how-i-transitioned-
in-my-workplace-im-an-opera-singer
Manternach, Brian. 2017. “Teaching Transgender Singers. Part II: The Singers’ Perspectives.” Journal
of Singing 74 (2, Nov/Dec): 209–214.
Manternach, Brian, Michael Chipman, Ruth Rainero, and Caitlin Stave. 2017. “Teaching Transgender
Singers. Part I: The Voice Teachers’ Perspectives.” Journal of Singing 74 (1, Sept/Oct): 83–88.
McKinney, James C. 2005. The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults: A Manual for Teachers of
Singing and for Choir Directors. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Miller, Richard. 1986. The Structure of Singing: System and Art in Vocal Techniques. Boston, MA:
Schirmer, Cengage Learning.
Rodenburg, Patsy. 1992. The Right to Speak: Working with the Voice. New York: Routledge.
Simeonov, Jenna. 2016. “From Tenor to Mezzo: One Singer’s Path through Gender Transition.”
Schmopera. November 25. Accessed 1 July 2021. https://www.schmopera.com/tenor-mezzo-
transition/
Sims, Loraine. 2017a. “Teaching the Transgender Students.” Journal of Singing 73 (3, Jan/Feb):
279–282.
Sims, Loraine. 2017b. “Teaching Lucas: A Transgender Singer’s Vocal Journey from Soprano to
Tenor.” Journal of Singing 73 (4, March/April): 367–375.
Solomon, Brin. 2019. “Towards a Framework for Responsible Trans Casting, Part 1: Words, Words,
Words.” NewMusicBox. September 9. Accessed 1 July 2021. https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/
towards-a-framework-for-responsible-trans-casting-part-1-words-words-words/
Yin, Robert K. 2012. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.