resound (verb)
1. To become filled with sound; reverberate
2. To extol loudly or widely; celebrate
About Resound NW
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Providing some of the finest musical instruction in the Pacific Northwest, Resound NW is a place to express yourself and find your artistic voice.
Located in downtown Portland, Oregon, Resound NW is a music studio specializing in voice lessons. Students can enroll in private lessons or group classes. In addition to providing guidance and support for experienced singers, Resound NW holds firmly to the belief that EVERYONE can sing. It is a place for each person to find "the singer within." No experience is necessary to enroll in voice lessons, only a willingness and desire to learn. There is a Chinese proverb that states: "A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." If you have a song to sing, Resound NW is the place to let it out! |
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Core Values
We believe in creating an experience for students that is:
Healthy
We value singing and speaking in a way that is healthy and sustainable for our voices.
Diverse
We value singers from many walks of life pursuing excellence in myriad musical styles and genres.
Individual
We value the freedom to sing in a way that is a unique expression of each individual.
Communal
We value learning and journeying together in a supportive community.
Meditative
We value the meditative peace and connection that singing brings to our lives.
Healthy
We value singing and speaking in a way that is healthy and sustainable for our voices.
Diverse
We value singers from many walks of life pursuing excellence in myriad musical styles and genres.
Individual
We value the freedom to sing in a way that is a unique expression of each individual.
Communal
We value learning and journeying together in a supportive community.
Meditative
We value the meditative peace and connection that singing brings to our lives.
Daniel Buchanan, Founder
Voice and Piano Teacher, SoulSinging Instructor
Daniel Buchanan has guided hundreds and hundreds of singers to learn to sing. From total beginners to professional performers, Daniel engages his student with care and encouragement, while helping each student to experience dramatic vocal transformation.
While maintaining a private voice studio for over 20 years, Daniel has also held faculty positions at the Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College, Houston Community College, and Lone Star College. He has served as an instructor for Northwest Children's Theater and PDX Vox.
In addition to his work as a teacher, Daniel maintains an active career as a professional singer, actor, and pianist. His performances have reached the stages of some of America's major...[read more]
While maintaining a private voice studio for over 20 years, Daniel has also held faculty positions at the Conservatory of Music at Wheaton College, Houston Community College, and Lone Star College. He has served as an instructor for Northwest Children's Theater and PDX Vox.
In addition to his work as a teacher, Daniel maintains an active career as a professional singer, actor, and pianist. His performances have reached the stages of some of America's major...[read more]
Staff Instructors
Courtney Freed, Voice Teacher
Courtney Freed loves sharing the JOY of singing with her students! She is a performing artist, teacher, producer and mom of two wild little boys! No stranger to the local theatre scene, her most favorite recent role was Trina (Drammy nom!) in Live on Stage's Falsettos. She has also tread the boards of Portland Center Stage, Pixiedust Productions, Broadway Rose, Lakewood, Profile, Triangle Productions and many more.
Courtney is the creator of the wildly popular local concert series, Portland Sings!, bringing together some of the city's finest vocalists for a magical evening in a variety of musical themes, a highlight being a fundraiser for the ACLU in 2016 called "Rise Up." An avid lover of vintage jazz...[read more]
Courtney is the creator of the wildly popular local concert series, Portland Sings!, bringing together some of the city's finest vocalists for a magical evening in a variety of musical themes, a highlight being a fundraiser for the ACLU in 2016 called "Rise Up." An avid lover of vintage jazz...[read more]
Claire Hudkins, Voice and Piano Teacher
Dr. Claire Hudkins, soprano, is an enthusiastic teacher of voice and piano and performs regularly as a soprano soloist. For the past seven years she has been pursuing her passion for training singers of all ages and abilities in all genres of music. She encourages creativity, consistency, musical growth and individuality in all her students. Through the beauty of music, Claire enjoys working with each of her students to find their true potential as a singer or pianist.
Claire has entertained the Portland area and the greater Cincinnati area in many operatic and musical productions. Past roles include Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff, Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Johanna in Sondheim’s Sweeny Todd. She is also an avid...[read more]
Claire has entertained the Portland area and the greater Cincinnati area in many operatic and musical productions. Past roles include Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff, Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Johanna in Sondheim’s Sweeny Todd. She is also an avid...[read more]
Emily Kinkley, Voice and Piano Teacher
Emily Kinkley has a deep calling to music as a teacher and performer. Pulling from over 15 years of experience as a music teacher, she believes there is so much that can be learned when we approach a piece of music with open eyes and ears. The magic of music begins once we have gathered enough knowledge of music to realize how infinite the learning can be.
As a private teacher, Emily places deep value on instilling an appreciation of music for EVERYONE. With the priorities of health and musicianship, her students are able to use the powerful tools of music theory, diverse styles of music, healthy technique, and performance as a learned skill to express themselves.
Emily grew up in a musical family, always singing in at least one choir...[read more]
As a private teacher, Emily places deep value on instilling an appreciation of music for EVERYONE. With the priorities of health and musicianship, her students are able to use the powerful tools of music theory, diverse styles of music, healthy technique, and performance as a learned skill to express themselves.
Emily grew up in a musical family, always singing in at least one choir...[read more]
Dru Rutledge, Voice Teacher
Marrying classical techniques with a fun, encouraging, student-centered teaching style, Dru Rutledge creates an environment where her students feel safe to shed expectations and notions of 'good' and 'bad' while also feeling centered to dig deep, have fun, and play! Teaching students how to connect with and know their own unique voice and instrument is an aspect of teaching that Dru completely relishes in!
Dru strongly believes that each individual is the expert in their own instrument and that everyone can sing. In helping bring out this self awareness, Dru's students are able to cultivate healthy life-long habits that encourage confidence and the constant pursuit of centering creativity and curiosity.
Equally at home on the stage for opera, music theatre, and cabarets, Dru has had the pleasure of portraying many of the most beloved women in the golden age of musicals and beyond. Locally, you might have seen Dru as...[read more]
Dru strongly believes that each individual is the expert in their own instrument and that everyone can sing. In helping bring out this self awareness, Dru's students are able to cultivate healthy life-long habits that encourage confidence and the constant pursuit of centering creativity and curiosity.
Equally at home on the stage for opera, music theatre, and cabarets, Dru has had the pleasure of portraying many of the most beloved women in the golden age of musicals and beyond. Locally, you might have seen Dru as...[read more]
Caitlin Brooke Scott, Voice and Guitar Teacher
Initially a singer, Caitlin Brooke Scott proceeded to study yoga, movement, classical acting, and improvisational comedy. Along the way, she discovered that these seemingly-unrelated fields held invaluable tools for singers. This drove her to become an instructor, in order to bring these concepts to her music students and - hopefully - save them years of unnecessary confusion, angst, and self-doubt in the process.
Caitlin believes that the best vocal sound comes from an acting-first focus, and that an integrated, full-body approach to technique yields the most growth and builds the most dependable vocal instrument.
Above all else: EVERYONE CAN SING. Singing is simply storytelling on pitch. Too many adults carry traumatic experiences from their youth, when trusted elders told them not to sing, or that their voice was "bad." They were wrong. YOU CAN...[read more]
Caitlin believes that the best vocal sound comes from an acting-first focus, and that an integrated, full-body approach to technique yields the most growth and builds the most dependable vocal instrument.
Above all else: EVERYONE CAN SING. Singing is simply storytelling on pitch. Too many adults carry traumatic experiences from their youth, when trusted elders told them not to sing, or that their voice was "bad." They were wrong. YOU CAN...[read more]
Stephanie Smith, Vocal Coach and Piano Teacher
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Somewhere along the way to becoming a concert pianist, Stephanie Smith fell in love with singers and discovered her passion for promoting composers and new compositions. After several decades of touring, conducting and producing, she is thrilled to live in Oregon full-time and embrace her love of teaching. Stephanie promotes a life of balance that includes the arts, self-care, and stress reduction.
Born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas, Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance (1998) from University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Music in Chamber Music Performance (2001) from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As a full-time musician, she has enjoyed a wide array of music roles and experiences. Stephanie was lounge pianist at the 5-Star Adams Mark Hotel in Denver for one year between degrees. This is where she learned to...[read more] |
Other Staff
Merideth Kaye Clark, Performance Coach
Merideth Kaye Clark is thrilled to finally be in the studio sharing her love of singing! She has an MFA in Musical Theatre from San Diego State University and continues to work internationally as a performing artist, songwriter, writer, and producer. Most of all, though, she loves playing her guitar, singing, and sharing music as a lifestyle.
She has played definitive leading theatrical roles nationwide, such as Elphaba in the First National Tour of Wicked, Eva Perón in Evita (Northern Stage), Nancy in Oliver! (5th Ave, Seattle), and has originated roles in two off-Broadway musicals. Clark is a sought-after concert artist described as "plain astonishing" and "a masterful performer" with "powerhouse pipes." She is a multi-instrumentalist and plays anything with strings, most notably the guitar, dulcimer and viola. Her solo album Young Stellar Object garnered critical praise from New York theater reviewers and the studio recording of her acclaimed Joni Mitchell's "BLUE" concert was successfully funded on Kickstarter in only four days... [read more]
She has played definitive leading theatrical roles nationwide, such as Elphaba in the First National Tour of Wicked, Eva Perón in Evita (Northern Stage), Nancy in Oliver! (5th Ave, Seattle), and has originated roles in two off-Broadway musicals. Clark is a sought-after concert artist described as "plain astonishing" and "a masterful performer" with "powerhouse pipes." She is a multi-instrumentalist and plays anything with strings, most notably the guitar, dulcimer and viola. Her solo album Young Stellar Object garnered critical praise from New York theater reviewers and the studio recording of her acclaimed Joni Mitchell's "BLUE" concert was successfully funded on Kickstarter in only four days... [read more]
Voni Kengla, Studio Administrator
Voni Kengla is teaching artist, actor, singer and creator born and raised in Portland. After being a music student at Resound NW for many years, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from The Hartt School in Hartford, Connecticut. After graduation, she moved back home to Portland and was selected to join the Portland Playhouse Apprentice Company as an Acting Apprentice where she continued her artistic training.
In the summer of 2021, she wrote and performed a one-woman musical called “Space Girl” about a scientist who gets the chance of a lifetime after encountering a magic spack rock. Voni is passionate about teaching acting and creative expression and has taught theatre classes and camps for all ages. Selected theatre roles include Daisy Buchanan in Great Gatsby’s Daisy, Meg in Tinderella (PNW Premiere), Shirley Temple in...[read more]
In the summer of 2021, she wrote and performed a one-woman musical called “Space Girl” about a scientist who gets the chance of a lifetime after encountering a magic spack rock. Voni is passionate about teaching acting and creative expression and has taught theatre classes and camps for all ages. Selected theatre roles include Daisy Buchanan in Great Gatsby’s Daisy, Meg in Tinderella (PNW Premiere), Shirley Temple in...[read more]
The Students of Resound NW
Resound NW students can be seen and heard around the country! Below are a few recent accomplishments.
Berklee College of Music
Tisch School of the Arts at NYU
American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA)
Baldwin Wallace University
Roosevelt University
Ohio State University
The Hartt School of Music
University of Texas
University of Oregon
Wheaton College
University of Houston
Sam Houston State University
Oklahoma City University
Oregon Symphony
Performances at Carnegie Hall
Lakewood Theater
Houston Grand Opera
Asheville Lyric Opera
Stumptown Stages
Northwest Children's Theater
Oregon Children's Theater
Opera in the Park
Journey Theater Arts
Finalist in the "Miss Texas" pageant
Winner of nationwide Hal Leonard Vocal Competition
Lead worship and conduct choirs regularly at dozens of churches and houses of worship nationwide
Sing in countless rock bands, classical choirs, jazz combos, a cappella groups, and church choirs
- Acceptance and attendance at college and university music programs, including:
Berklee College of Music
Tisch School of the Arts at NYU
American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA)
Baldwin Wallace University
Roosevelt University
Ohio State University
The Hartt School of Music
University of Texas
University of Oregon
Wheaton College
University of Houston
Sam Houston State University
Oklahoma City University
- Cast in musicals, plays, operas, and special concerts, including:
Oregon Symphony
Performances at Carnegie Hall
Lakewood Theater
Houston Grand Opera
Asheville Lyric Opera
Stumptown Stages
Northwest Children's Theater
Oregon Children's Theater
Opera in the Park
Journey Theater Arts
- Many other exciting and unique accomplishments, including:
Finalist in the "Miss Texas" pageant
Winner of nationwide Hal Leonard Vocal Competition
Lead worship and conduct choirs regularly at dozens of churches and houses of worship nationwide
Sing in countless rock bands, classical choirs, jazz combos, a cappella groups, and church choirs