Exposition, Development, Recapitulation

MY NOVEMBER 2008 LETTER to the membership addressed the question, "What's in NATS for me?" In response to this query, your national leadership, including the board of directors and executive office, has developed a new operating concept: maximizing your individual return on investment (ROI) from membership in NATS. ROI is a driving force behind existing NATS activities including national conferences and workshops, our renowned Intern Program, NATSAA and student auditions, and the Journal of Singing. There are several new developments, recently initiated or on the not too distant horizon, that will further increase your ROI.

By now, you should have all received the first installment of your complimentary subscription to Classical Singer Magazine. NATS is thrilled to provide you with this new membership bonus, which is offered at no additional cost to you whatsoever. Between JOS and CSM, you have access to just about all the professional information you need: JOS will continue to shine as the premiere scholarly publication devoted to singing; CSM provides up to the minute information on auditions and training programs, with additional content focused on career management and profiles of major artists. Let's look specifically at your ROI-your annual dues are significantly less than the combined price of these two subscriptions if purchased individually! NATS continues to explore similar partnerships with other organizations, publications, and websites, and we hope to have more exciting news for you soon.

As I previously reported, a national committee has been hard at work revising the guidelines for student auditions at the chapter and regional levels. That work is now complete and available at www.nats.org. Now it's time to see if the student audition program can be expanded to serve our members' needs even better. One strong possibility is a new, national level competition for chapter and regional winners. This biennial event would be held in conjunction with the NATS national conference, and includes divisions for classical and music theater (or CCM) repertoire, for high school, undergraduate, graduate, and adult recreational singers. Creating and administering this event will be a monumental task, which we hope can be completed in time for the 2012 conference in Orlando. I welcome your input as we proceed with brainstorming for this major new endeavor.

How many of you are aware of the NATS Young Leader Program? Created through the inspiration of past president Jane Dillard, this program has provided fellowships for NATS members under the age of thirty-five to attend national conferences. Participants receive special training in NATS structure and governance, and are expected to make a presentation to their sponsoring chapter or region following the conference. To better serve the broad spectrum of our membership, your NATS Board of Directors has elected to rename and update this program to serve our Emerging Leaders. Applications will be open to anyone who has been a full NATS member for no longer than ten years. Watch for application details in Inter Nos and the website.

In addition to the Emerging Leader awards, NATS will now offer a limited number of Independent Teacher Fellowships to attend national workshops and conferences. NATS members who teach exclusively in independent studios (no academic affiliation) are eligible for these competitive awards. Initially, grants will be limited to remission of all registration fees. As the economy improves, however, we plan to expand the program to include assistance with travel and other expenses. This program will augment funding several chapters already provide to help their members attend national events. Again, watch the website and Inter Nos for further details, including application procedures and deadlines.

NATS is also working to take better advantage of technology. By now, I hope you are all familiar with our new website. Plans are well under way to make better use of the Internet, including live and archived webcasts from our workshops and conferences, enhanced use of social networking through NATS-Chat and member forums, and through NATS related Facebook groups. We will also create a NATS Channel on YouTube, with pedagogic videos demonstrating successful teaching strategies and other items of interest to our members. Singing teachers are becoming increasing tech-savvy, and it is time for NATS to lead the way!

Developments in New Member Initiatives

Have you thought about NATS's mission lately? Our official documents state that we exist "to encourage the highest standards of the vocal art and of ethical principles in the teaching of singing; and to promote vocal education and research at all levels, both for the enrichment of the general public and for the professional advancement of the talented." In support of this mission, NATS works diligently to help all singing teachers become better at their craft. If we are truly to succeed in this regard, however, we must open our doors to everyone who teaches singing. To that end, your board of directors has approved a trial period of online registration for NATS membership. Existing NATS members already are able to renew their membership online. New members are now able to join the Association directly through our website. By simplifying the application process, we hope to attract a broader range of new members, including conductors, classroom music teachers, and organists-three groups of music professionals who regularly work with singers, but often have little or no personal training in voice. Several people approached me at the 2009 MTNA and ACDA conventions, stating they would like to join NATS, but didn't know anyone who could sponsor their application; online registration can help eliminate this roadblock to membership. Together with our ongoing "each one, reach one" campaign, our goal is to build membership to at least 7,000 by the time we come together for the Salt Lake City conference in 2010.

Adding new members to the NATS roster, however, is only part of the equation. In recent years, we actually have done very well in our recruitment efforts; unfortunately, we've not done equally well at retaining existing members. We hope to make significant inroads in that area through our enhanced return on investment, but you can help personally as well. NATS provides vital opportunities for networking and community building, so get out there and stay active in your chapter and region! As a profession, teaching singing can be an isolating endeavor. We tend to spend hour upon hour cloistered in our studios, seeing nobody other than our steady progression of students and their pianists. Independent teachers and academics alike need the support and personal growth provided by contact with diverse colleagues.

Money Matters

As I noted in my last "From the President" column, NATS members have been particularly hard hit by the prolonged economic recession. Once again, the arts seem to take the first and often largest hit when schools are faced with budget shortfalls. Also, with disposable income down, fewer people are studying singing recreationally. At the NATS board meeting last June in Jacksonville, every voting member reported a frozen or reduced salary for the coming year. Paradoxically, many colleges and universities found record numbers of young people applying to be voice majors; faculty members are expected to do more with less.

NATS also is striving to do more with less. The budget approved for 2010 includes major reductions in discretionary spending, including travel reimbursements for board members and executive officers. Salaries for all our paid staff members are flat. Nonetheless, the red ink cannot be avoided completely and a deficit is projected for the coming fiscal year. The board decided it was better to dip into our reserve funds than to cut programs or raise dues.

So how bad is it? The projected deficit is just under $20,000.00, or about 2% of the total budget (this is after scouring the budget to make cuts approaching $30,000.00). NATS can sustain this for a year, but not in the long term. Unfortunately, unexpected expenses coupled with shortfalls in income make 2010 the third consecutive year we must cover a deficit from reserve funds. Based on our history of dues increases and the current budget shortfall, we should be looking at a dues increase for 2010; however, this is clearly not the appropriate time to ask our members for more money, given the present economic situation.

You can still help. Current NATS membership is approximately 6,500. When emeriti are subtracted from the mix, we wind up with about 6,250 dues paying members. We have two realistic options as we move forward: increase membership or increase dues. With just 7,000 full members, we can balance the budget, restore prior cuts, fund new programs including Independent Teacher Fellowships and National Student Auditions, and remain in the black for several years without the need to raise dues. To accomplish this, you will need to get out there and recruit. It is safe to say that every one of us knows somebody who is not, but should be a member of NATS. Recruit! If we do not reach this goal, the impact is inevitable: dues will increase significantly in 2011. The power to ensure this does not happen is in your hands.

As always, I welcome your ideas and feedback. You can reach me through the NATS office or by e-mail at president@nats.org.

[Author Affiliation]

Scott McCoy is Professor of Voice and Director of the Presser Music Center Voice Laboratory at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, in Princeton, New Jersey. His multimedia voice science and pedagogy textbook, Your Voice, An Inside View, is used extensively by colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad. A long time member of NATS, he has served the Association as Vice President for Workshops, Program Chair for the 2006 and 2008 National Conferences, master teacher for the Intern Program, and now as president. Deeply committed to teacher education, McCoy is a founding faculty member in the New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA) Professional Development Program, teaching classes in voice anatomy, physiology, and acoustic analysis. He is a member of the distinguished American Academy of Teachers of Singing.