Sara Callanan

I kin do Southern, "country", New Yawk, excited teen, cool sophisticated woman of the world, urban nasal bored, honey-dripping sweet-talkin', European accents, English, French, German, Italian, average East Coast urban or suburban, sing jazz, rock 'n' roll,warm and loving, cool and hot! blues, country, opera, both good and bad, old-fashioned, young, old, inbetween, everywoman, odd woman, Mom with apple pie, Grandma, child with annoying questions, conversational meowing, gruff strict teacher, bantering spouse.

When I was in the 5th grade, my reading aloud was so superior to my classmates' that my teacher would start me off reading a chapter in Social Studies and then leave the room to take a coffee break. Ever since then I've loved playing with my voice. I enjoy slightly exaggerating the natural regional accents that I heard from my Tennessee mother and New York father, and those I've picked up along the way, including south Jersey/Philadelphia, western NY/midwest, Washington, DC, northern Virginia (very elongated "oh"s). My sister now lives in LonGuyland and I like to make fun of the way she says "chawklit" instead of "chocklate" like we were brought up to do! I really have an ear for all the little things that make up a regional accent, since I have spent years studying voice as a singer, and a great deal of what I've learned applies to speech as well. I know how to speak in different pitch ranges, have experience with other languages, and sing in all different styles (and attitudes!) from pop to blues to Broadway to opera. I've acted in many theatrical productions and know how to speak from a character's voice. I have not done any voiceover work until now. Years ago I made a demo tape in hopes of getting some work at local Washington, DC studios, but I never shopped it around. I enjoyed making the demo, however, and realized that I enjoy showing off my voice. People tell me I have a great phone voice, and I use my voice in my job of teaching singing and piano to children and adults. I have lots of personality, and speak with feeling! But if the job requires a smoother, more businesslike voice, I can be cool as a cucumber. B. A. (with honors) in Music from the University of Maryland, 1975. First 2 years at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Private voice instruction for over 20 years. Post-graduate studies at U. of Md. for 5 semesters, all about voice. English, Latin, French, German and Italian diction. In-depth study of vocal anatomy and production in course called Vocal Pedagogy--I got an almost unheard of A plus in the class. Two semesters of Opera Workshop. 3-week Acting for Singers course at the Minnesota Opera Institute, 1986. Weekly Jingle Singing class offered by Nancy Calo, 1983-1984. Lots of experience working in a recording studio here and in recording my own music. Voice Over Class given in Washington DC by voiceover professional from NYC. 1995. Narrator in the production "Two Acts of Love" at the Seagle Colony in Schroon Lake, NY. Highly favorable review in The Albany Times-Union. Summersongs and Summersongs West songwriting and production workshops, 2008, 2009. I have a music studio in which I teach voice and piano lessons. All my voice students get their lessons recorded onto CDs. I have two microphones on mic stands placed so that they will be able to hear their voice over the piano, and also be able to hear my instruction. In another room, I have a new and very powerful iMac. I have Pro-tools, but haven't yet learned to use it. But I can make good vocal recordings with my CD recorder (and my Neuman mic!) and download the CD into the computer and send it in an email. I'm a pianist and flutist as well as a singer, and I write music. I have a Yamaha Motif 8 which I may in the future use to provide music for my voice overs. I'm picky about grammar, and can copy edit for correctness if needed. I'm self-employed as a private teacher, so I have time for projects like this. I like the idea of doing projects about things that interest me. I'm also an excellent writer, so I could possibly do writing for you. I have been fascinated with recording since I got my first tape recorder at the age of 12, so I really enjoy any kind of recording project. I spent two years as a general music teacher in 3 elementary schools. I learned a lot about how to present something in a way that will generate interest!