CARMAN, Judith E. 1940-

PERSONAL: Born December 4, 1940, in Mayfield, KY; daughter of Roscoe Vernon (an automobile mechanic) and Mary Jewell (a homemaker; maiden name, Caldwell) Carman. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Attended Murray State Teacher's College (now Murray State University), 1958-61; George Peabody College (now Vanderbilt University), B.Mus., 1963, M.Mus., 1965; attended Stätliche Höchschule für Musik, Cologne, Germany, 1965-66; University of Iowa, D.M.A., 1973; University of Houston, postdoctoral study, 1989-90. Politics: Liberal. Religion: Episcopalian. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, cycling, camping, yoga, cooking.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—1404 Wood Hollow, No. 8805, Houston, TX 77057-1617. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music, Winchester, VA, instructor in music, 1966-69; Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, assistant professor of voice, 1973-74; Lansing Community College, Lansing, MI, instructor in voice, 1974-78; Houston Baptist University, Houston, TX, adjunct instructor in voice, diction, and vocal literature, 1978-79; private voice instructor in Houston, 1979—. Texas Southern University, adjunct professor, 1992-97. Trinity Summer Opera Theater, director, 1983-93; Yoga for Singers, teacher, 1999—.

MEMBER: National Association of Teachers of Singing (chair of committee on American song, 1975-76; president of Greater Houston chapter, 1983-85, 1998-2000).

WRITINGS:

(Editor and contributor) Art-Song in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography, National Association of Teachers of Singing, 1976, 3rd edition published as Art Song in the United States, 1759-1999: An Annotated Bibliography, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 2001.

Author of "Music Reviews," a regular column in NATS Journal of Singing, 1997—. Contributor to music journals.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Research on yoga and singing as natural partners; a historical survey of art song in the United States.

SIDELIGHTS: Judith E. Carman told CA: "My fascination with the written word began as soon as I learned to read, and I have been a lifelong reader. Books were my constant companions throughout my public school years, and the topic of the first research paper I ever wrote was the invention and development of the art of writing itself. In college I enjoyed writing papers, and occasionally a professor would suggest that I submit a paper for publication. However, my primary activity was music, and I did not consider myself a writer, or even particularly creative.

"My first publication other than my doctoral dissertation was an extensively annotated bibliography of art songs by American composers, which two colleagues and I researched and compiled as a teaching reference for the use of studio voice teachers. I discovered that I could write fairly easily about music, but for a number of years I did not write at all. In 1996 I read Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way and began writing whatever came to mind each morning. It was this exercise that kindled my desire to write as a creative outlet. That same year I was invited to take over the 'Music Reviews' column for the NATS Journal of Singing as an adjunct activity to editing the third edition of the American art song bibliography. At the same time, I was developing a yoga class specifically for singers and did quite a lot of instructional writing for that project, which I have recently written up as a journal article.

"Most of my writing to date has been instructional, descriptive, or scholarly in my professional field of vocal music. As I write more, my interest in poetry and fiction grows. The process of writing—the appearance of words on a blank page from my mind through my own hand—is very much like the process of singing—the phenomenon of audible melody from the music in the mind sounding through the voice. Both are creations born from my own center—writing perhaps even more than singing, because in singing I interpret the creation of someone else, whereas in writing the ideas and words are my own.

"At this point in my writing career, I have more to look forward to than back upon, and I anticipate enjoying writing for many years to come. I also hope that whatever works see the light of publication will bring information, insight, or inspiration to others."