The Mindfulness of Singing
Denise Ritter Bernardini & Toni Crowder
Denise Ritter Bernardini
Dr. Denise Ritter Bernardini has taught Voice and Opera at the University level for over 20 years. She has taught at Radford University, Oklahoma City University, University of Oklahoma, Indiana Purdue University, Manchester University, University of Toledo, and Grace College.
She has performed internationally and throughout the US with Orchestra and Symphonic Organizations as well as Opera Festivals and Companies.
Denise has been a soloist in prestigious venues, such as Carnegie Hall, and a recitalist in London, England; Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia; and at the Certosa di Garegnano in Milan, Italy. She has also performed her one-woman classical cabaret in Leibniz, Austria, where she performed for the International University Global Theater to an audience representing 32 countries.
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Dr. Bernardini has completed over 40 graduate hours in mental health with an emphasis on mindfulness and performance anxiety pathologies. She is a presenter on the mindfulness of singing for educators and singers. The Governor’s School of the Commonwealth of Virginia named Dr. Bernardini the Director of Vocal Studies in 2023. This is the largest fine arts program sponsored by the Department of Education in Virginia.
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Denise leads a support group for music students to explore performance anxiety issues, and to develop resilience/coping mechanisms for performance success. She has written for the Journal of Singing about mental health in the applied vocal studio. Her quantitative and qualitative study, The Healthy Voice Protocol, concentrated on food as medicine, and movement to give resilience and increase stamina, for the aging singer.
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An avid social justice advocate, Denise is currently involved in a project focused on bringing awareness to human trafficking. A Thousand Hands: A Million Stars is an all-female artist collaboration and includes poetry, music, dance, and art. This unique one-of-a-kind performance has been presented at the annual Conference for Human Trafficking in Toledo, Ohio, and at the city’s premier arts showcase, Momentum, Ohio University in Athens, Ohio; Chapman University in Orange, California; Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California; and Reinhardt University in Waleska, Georgia.
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Dr. Bernardini is also a sought-after clinician, teacher, presenter, and author. She has presented at The Voice Symposium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the International Congress of Voice Teachers in Stockholm, Sweden; the Great Lakes Regional Conference of College Music Society; the Indiana Music Educators Convention; the Virginia Music Educators Association, as well as several National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) regional and state-level clinics.
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Denise’s book entitled: A Stylistic Guide of Classical Cabaret: A Stylistic and Historical Glimpse with selected songs by Satie, Poulenc, Schönberg, Weill, Britten, and Moore can be purchased through Amazon.