35 workshops, master classes, round tables will be held at FIAP Jean-Monnet, October 27-31, 2025
- Daily Schedule
- Workshop survey – which do you prefer?
- Round Tables
- List of Workshop Topics
- Workshop details
- Visit the Preparation page to get ready for the workshops.
The daily schedule from Monday through Friday:
- 9:00 AM Doors open to complete registration and get ready for the day.
- 9:15 AM, Jeanie Carroll will lead a vocal warm up in the large classroom.
- 9:30 AM Three concurrent morning sessions
- 12:30 PM Lunch: we recommend the FIAP cafeteria
- 1:30 PM Round Table discussions in the large classroom.
- 2:30 PM Three concurrent afternoon sessions
- 5:30 PM Refresh, travel and dine, including dinner shows.
- 8 PM Evening concerts and encounters
Round tables (RT) – proposed themes
The Round Tables are an opportunity for us to learn more about the history of cabaret, to take a look at some of today’s challenges, and to imagine its future. Topics will be refined as we get closer to the dates. Your suggestions are welcome.
- Bringing in New Generations and How Cabaret Can Save the World (with Camille Germser in Lyon)
- Building Your Show
- Producing and Touring Your Show
- Vocal Health with Dr. Susan Arjmand
- Swing! Dance and Song History
- French Cabaret vs Broadway Cabaret with Margot Sergent
Class Offerings
- Angelina Réaux — Leading with the Lyric
- Anne and Mark Burnell — Biz of the Biz
- Anne Fromm — Theater techniques for singers
- Claudia Hommel — Patter Matters: communicating with your audience
- David Hoffman — Give Good Face: the Emotional Face Map
- David Hoffman — Vocal Technique: Switching Styles
- Elisabeth Howard — Stage Presence Essential for Cabaret Performance
- Elisabeth Howard — Vocal Technique Essential for Cabaret Singing
- Elisabeth Howard — American Song Styles Essential for Cabaret Performance
- Elizabeth Doyle — Diction for Singers
- Éric Tavelli — The Voice at the Service of Emotion
- Hilary Feldman —Vocal PLAYground
- Hilary Feldman — VoiceLab: Troubleshooting Vocal Struggles
- Hilary Feldman, Michèle Barbier– Putting It Together: How to Build your Show
- Isabelle Georges — Experiment! Strengths and Vulnerabilities
- Jean-Claude Orfali, Wilfried Touati, Howie Pfeifer, Michael Sokol, Stefan Kukurugya — Talking with Your Accompanist
- Jean-Claude Orfali — Musical Tips Working with your Accompanist
- Lou Ella Rose — Using Technology: Hands-On with your Devices
- Michael Sokol — The Art of Franglais: Cabaret in Two Languages
- Shelley Schneider — Unlocking the Middle Voice: A Workshop for Vocalists
- Tassia Minuzzo — Bring Foreign Languages into Your Repertoire
- Wilfried Touati — Complicity between Singer and Accompanist
- Jeanie Carroll leads daily warm-ups
Workshops (W) and masterclasses (MC)
Master classes will focus on individual singers one-by-one (usually 10-15 minutes for each) whereas workshops offer a more collective round-robin experience. In both cases, get ready to sing! Non-singing auditors are welcome to observe all sessions.
Session details
(In order by first name of presenter)
Angelina Réaux—Leading with the Lyric (W)
I look forward to opening up the performer to look at the lyric and the melody as a team, as a map in telling the story. The meaning of each word, how it helps create the thought, the mood, the truth in the moment.- how it feels in the mouth, on the tongue – the smoothness or percussiveness of the words and how that influences the thought. How each lyric leads in to the next as if by surprise, and how it helps to form the thought and the story as a whole.
Anne & Mark Burnell: The Biz of the Biz (W)
Take the next steps in your music career. Workshop covering how to book a show, venues, non- traditional spaces, websites, artist collaborations, recording and releasing music/arrangements (Spotify, Apple, Amazon), promotion, social media, graphics, reviews and listings.
Anne Fromm — Theater Techniques for Singers (W)
We will use theater techniques to place a song in a context and embody a character, so that it’s no longer just about singing but about telling a story. We begin with a few theater-inspired exercises to encourage engagement and freedom of expression. Then, each student takes turns presenting a song of their choice and learns to interpret it as if it were a theatrical scene. The use of body language, eye contact, and presence within the environment plays a key role in conveying emotions more authentically to the audience. Experimenting with how letting go can lead to more authentic results than control.
Claudia Hommel — Patter Matters: Communicating with Your Audience (W)
While other workshops will explore text and subtext of our lyrics, let’s take a look at what happens in between the songs. What setup or context connects the song to your audience? Whether the song serves as soundtrack to the world we live in or is a time-travel vehicle to another time, its “patter” helps point the way.
David Hoffman —Give Good Face: the Emotional Face Map (W)
The average human face has about 30 different muscles on each side. The possibilities for expressing emotion using individual muscles and combinations are enormous. Would you like to harness that kind of expressive power in your performance? The first part of the workshop will review the various muscles and organize them into some basic emotions. The second part will be a performance lab exploring the ability to portray and change expressions with detail to add deeper meaning to your presentation in performance.
David Hoffman —Vocal Technique: Switching Styles (MC)
Elisabeth Howard —Stage Presence Essential for Cabaret Performance (W)
How to enter and exit the stage, how and when to move from point to point on stage, how and when to move your hands, how to use the mic, stage “presence”and body language. IMAGE: clothing, hair and make up will also be discussed.
Elisabeth Howard — Vocal Technique Essential for Cabaret Singing (MC)
Whether you sing opera, jazz, Broadway or pop, Elisabeth will address vocal techniques to make the healthy and most resonant choices for each. Elisabeth will lay her hands on your voice to find new expression. We will cover breathing, support, power, projection, dynamics, vibrato, vocal colors and resonances, head and chest registers, personal expression, and blending registers and the Mix for high powered high notes. Handouts with vocal techniques for practice will be distributed. Audio demonstrations will be played throughout this session.
Elisabeth Howard — American Song Styles Essential for Cabaret Performance (W)
Instruction on the elements that comprise authentic Blues, R&B, Country and Jazz. We will cover the Blues scale and Pentatonic scales for “licks and runs” and how to use them for authentic embellishments of words. We will discuss the use of vibrato, delayed vibrato and no vibrato. Back Phrasing and anticipation will be addressed. Diction in various styles. A pronunciation guide for Jazz will be handed out. Audio examples will be played. A handout sheet for pronunciation will be distributed.
Elizabeth Doyle — Diction for Singers
With Maryline Rollet to monitor the French diction, too!
Éric Tavelli—The voice at the service of emotion (W, followed by MC)
You will learn the secrets of Bel Canto, applicable to all musical styles. He’ll bring out your true voice, revealing the artist in you. The first session (open to all, but required for those taking his master class) introduces Master Tavelli’s vocal technique and approach to interpretation: breath, voice placement, air column, articulation… Two 3-hour masterclasses in the afternoon over two days are limited to 10-12 participants, who perform a song of their choice to then apply this technique, enhancing their interpretation. Each will learn a number of vocal exercises to warm up and improve your vocal technique. Master Tavelli will work with each to solve technical and interpretation problems.
Hilary Feldman — Vocal PLAYground (W)
Learn how to combine brain training and play to bypass muscle memory, break through vocal barriers, accelerate your learning time to build a voice that is powerful, versatile, and always dependable. P (prepare your brain), L (let go and play), A (align with sensation), Y (your sound, your style). The main objective of this workshop is to show students how to start working WITH their brain’s natural process, instead of fighting to get around it. Students will know how to practice more effectively and efficiently, and how to incorporate play into their learning process for faster results.
Hilary Feldman — VoiceLab: Troubleshooting Vocal Struggles (MC)
Bring your problems, leave with solutions. Got a note that you just can’t get in that song? A general vocal challenge that keeps rearing its ugly head? Vocal questions you’ve always wanted answers to? I guarantee you’re not the only one with said struggles or questions. VocalLab is your chance to get answers and solutions for you and your peers. Walk away with solutions or answers in the moment and techniques for doing their own troubleshooting in the future.
Hilary Feldman & Michèle Barbier— Putting It Together: Constructing Your Show (MC)
Intimidated by the blank page and all it represents? Don’t know how to begin? Unsure of what makes a good show? This masterclass is perfect for those who already have a show idea but are not sure where to begin or how to get past a list of song ideas. Learn the elements of storytelling, and how they apply to your relationship with your audience; how to select the best music; how to create a ‘script” and clever construction techniques that will add interest and variety to your show. Gain an understanding of the creation process, from beginning to end, and leave with tools to use in the construction of your own show. Michèle will address appropriate repertoire for your persona.
Isabelle Georges —Experiment! Own Your Strengths As Well As Your Vulnerabilities; They Are Your Best Assets! (MC)
Stretching. Breathing. Choosing a song. Experimenting – exploring the possibilities of interpretation
Let’s start from your point of view, connect with your body, and be in the moment. Get out of your comfort zone. Isabelle brings methods on how to learn a text and work on it, to give you more confidence and a larger range of interpretation choices.
Jean-Claude Orfali, Wilfried Touati, Howie Pfeifer, Michael Sokol, Stefan Kukurugya — Talking with Your Accompanist (W)
We’ll begin with all the accompanists (pianists and accordionists) and break out into three sessions after we explore: Speaking the Language of your Accompanist. Whether meeting for the first time at an open mic or working for years with a pianist partner, there’s an essential vocabulary to share. The relationship between pianist and singer soloist is technical, psychological and spiritual. Let’s explore what each brings to the partnership. For singers and accompanists.
Jean-Claude Orfali — Musical tips working with your Accompanist (W)
Bringing a clean score, specifying the key tonality and other details. What you “hear” and what you want the pianist to hear. Tempo, Key, and Song Form, Phrasing, the beat, the rhythm, not to mention the pickup and longer anacrusis, slowing down and accelerating, guiding, breathing, vibrato and vibration, climax and coda.
Lou Ella Rose — Using Technology: Hands-On with Your Devices (W)
How to drastically improve your voice and your performance using software tools/apps and other gadgets.
Michael Sokol — The Art of Franglais — Cabaret in Two Languages (W)
The cabaret artist is often faced with a dilemma: how do I communicate the beauty and flavor of a beloved song in its original language but still make it accessible to an English speaking audience? My masterclass will teach the art of the blended song—including key passages that guide the audience in their own language while retaining the framework of the original beloved language.
Shelley Schneider —Unlocking the Middle Voice: A Workshop for Vocalists (W)
We will introduce and explore the concept of the middle voice or mixed voice in singing. This vocal register is often misunderstood or overlooked by many singers, but it plays a crucial role in achieving a smooth transition between chest voice and head voice, providing vocal flexibility, control, and a richer sound palette. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the middle voice, learn exercises to develop it, and apply this knowledge to enhance their vocal technique and artistry.
Tássia Minuzzo — Bring Foreign Languages into Your Repertoire (W)
Foster multicultural contact with song; expand the possible sounds that singing in other languages produces; enrich your repertoire, find the performance, vocal gestures, creativity and feelings that a sound evokes, even if the lyrics aren’t fully understood. The workshop is for all who wish to connect with other cultures through singing, and who would like to get to know and explore their voice more, whether for stage or educational projects.
Wilfried Touati — Complicity between Singer and Accompanist (W)
I want to teach how to interact with an accompanist. Putting them at ease. How to approach a first rehearsal, and how to be clear about your intentions and interpretation. As the accompanist follows the soloist, the soloist must listen and follow the accompanist! When we play music, we need to have fun, and enjoy creating together by following each other’s suggestions!