Cabaret performances are often known for bringing alive the Great American Songbook from the 1920s through the 1950s for contemporary audiences. But modern-day cabaret does much more than preserve the past—it also promotes and fosters the new generation of American composers and creates a uniquely vibrant musical and theatrical experience for its audiences. So You Want to Sing Cabaret is the first book of its kind to examine in detail the unique vocal and nonvocal requirements for professional performance within the exciting genre of cabaret.
With a foreword by cabaret legend Lorna Luft, So You Want to Sing Cabaret includes interviews from the top professionals in the cabaret industry, including Michael Feinstein, Ann Hampton Callaway, Roy Sander, Sidney Myer, Jeff Harner and many others. There are also chapters devoted to crafting your show, lyric connection, “do-it-yourself” production and promotion, and working with your musical team. David Sabella and Sue Matsuki have crafted the perfect one-volume resource for both the aspiring cabaret singer and the singing teacher who seeks to learn more about this unique art form.
The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Cabaret features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.
David Sabella is internationally recognized as a master teacher in music theater and contemporary commercial music voice techniques. He served as a two-term president of the New York Singing Teachers’ Association (NYSTA) and as an executive director of the Broadway Theatre Project. He has also served on the music theater voice faculties at Montclair State University and Fordham University, as well as NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, CAP21 Studio, the New School’s Mannes Prep precollege program, Purchase College, and SUNY at New Paltz.
Sue Matsuki is the recipient of the first Julie Wilson Award, given by the Mabel Mercer Foundation in 2004, and was personally chosen to receive this award by Julie Wilson herself. She is also a three-time MAC Award winner: 2002 for Female Jazz/Pop/R&B Vocalist; 2006 for Jazz Duo/Special Productions for Ten Years in the Making with her music director Gregory Toroian; and 2008 for Specialty Song with “One Stop Shopping” (Matsuki/Toroian/Page).
Chapter 1 – A Brief History of Cabaret, Erv Raible Chapter 2 – From Bounty to Bust to Blossom, Roy Sander Chapter 3 – What Is Cabaret? Chapter 4 – Critically Speaking: Roy Sander Chapter 5 – The Mayor of Cabaret: Sidney Myer
Part II – Singing in Cabaret
Chapter 6 – The Great American Songbook: Michael Feinstein Chapter 7 – The Singer-Songwriter in Cabaret: Ann Hampton Callaway Chapter 8 – On “Legit” Singing: Dawn Derow Chapter 9 – Finding Your Authentic Voice Chapter 10 – Singing and Voice Science, Scott McCoy Chapter 11 - Vocal Health for Singers, Wendy LeBorgne
Part III – The Craft of Cabaret
Chapter 12 – Crafting Your Show Chapter 13 – Lyric Connection Chapter 14 – Using Audio Enhancement Technology, Matthew Edwards Chapter 15 – The Music Director: Alex Rybeck, Tracy Stark, Gregory Toroian Chapter 16 – The Director: Jeff Harnar, Lina Koutrakos, Tanya Moberly, Lennie Watts
Part IV – The Business of Cabaret
Chapter 17 – DIY (“Do-It-Yourself”) Production Chapter 18 – DIY (“Do-It-Yourself”) Promotion Chapter 19 – Organizations and Associations
Part V – The Royal Family of Cabaret
Chapter 20 – The Queen of Cabaret: Andrea Marcovicci Chapter 21 - The Crown Prince of Cabaret: Steve Ross Chapter 22 –The Countess of Crossover: Karen Mason Chapter 23 - The Princess of Birdland: Natalie Douglas
Part VI – The Future of Cabaret
Chapter 24 – Training Tomorrow’s Singers: Private and Institutional Training Chapter 25 – Spanning the Generations: A Multigenerational Art Form
