Spotlight Seminars > Co-Vo Summer Conservatory

Co-Vo Summer Conservatory 2026

Conservatory-level training for singers who want to deepen their vocal technique

2026 Summer Session: Breath Support Practicum

A four-part live training experience for singers who want to learn how breath support is trained, diagnosed, and applied to actual repertoire.

Drawing on her work as Professor of Vocal Physiology and Vocal Pedagogy, Dr. Julia Nielsen invites singers inside a conservatory-style technical training environment focused on repertoire application, technical problem-solving, and the development of reliable vocal coordination.

Through live demonstrations, guided practice experiences, and the observation of real singers working over time, participants will learn not only what to do, but how to recognize when breath support breaks down—and how to intervene skillfully in the moment.

What You’ll Learn

Breath Support Bootcamp is a six-week intensive designed to give you a clear, applicable understanding of how breath support actually works—not just in theory, but in your singing.

Led by Dr. Julia Nielsen, a specialist in both voice science and historical vocal pedagogy, this course distills the technical training she provides to her professional students and makes it accessible, actionable, and directly relevant to your vocal practice.

Over the course of this series, you’ll learn:

• WHAT breath support actually is:
  A clear, functional definition that goes beyond metaphors.

• HOW skilled singers coordinate it:
  Specific ways to optimize inhalation, onset, and airflow throughout a phrase—sometimes called appoggio—and how those choices affect everything from tone clarity to vocal stamina.

• WHERE YOU START, based on your current habits:
  Breath support isn’t one-size-fits-all. You’ll learn how to identify your own tendencies and apply the concepts and corrective strategies that make the most sense for your voice and your current coordination.

By the end of the program, you’ll have a deeply informed understanding of breath support—and a set of tools to apply it with more precision, less tension, and greater confidence in your singing.

What’s Included

• Four 90-minute live Zoom sessions
  We’ll meet every other Saturday: June 28, July 12, July 26, and August 9. Each session includes a structured presentation, live discussion, breath-focused vocal exercises, and time for Q&A.

• Video replays you can work through at your own pace
  Can’t make it live? No problem. All sessions are recorded and available for replay through October 31, 2025 (Pacific Time).

• Vocal workouts in every session
  Each meeting includes at least 20 minutes of guided vocal exercises to help you apply breath coordination concepts directly to your singing.

• Four on-demand practice videos
  You’ll receive a new 12–15 minute workout video after each live session, so you can continue reinforcing key concepts between meetings. (Recommended 2–3 times per week.)

• An in-depth digital workbook
  You’ll receive an 80-page PDF workbook packed with clear explanations, anatomical insights, historical and modern breathing exercises, and notated vocal exercises to support your ongoing development.

• OPTIONAL: A one-on-one 40-minute Zoom lesson with Dr. Julia
  This optional private lesson add-on ($95) gives you the opportunity to work one-on-one with Dr. Julia on your breath support coordination. Limited to the first 25 singers who request a lesson. Learn more here.

Inside the Curriculum

Over the course of six weeks, we’ll explore breath support from multiple angles—anatomical, historical, practical, and experiential. Each topic is designed to help you strengthen your coordination and apply what you learn directly to your singing.

• Breathing Anatomy and Physiology
  What’s actually happening in the body when you breathe to sing? Learn which muscles are involved, which you can control directly, and how they interact during inhalation and exhalation.

• Common Breath Support Myths
  We’ll unpack the most widespread myths about breath support—why they persist, what makes them misleading, and what useful kernel of truth each one contains.

• Inhalation
  What does a good inhalation for singing actually involve? We’ll discuss how inhalation strategies change depending on phrasing, tempo, vocal onset, and registration.

• Onset
  At the moment of the first note of a phrase, what needs to happen in the body? Learn how breath-related coordination at onset can shape tonal clarity and vocal ease.

• Appoggio
  This frequently misunderstood term refers to a whole-body coordination that regulates airflow during singing. We’ll define it in practical terms—and explore what it feels like when the system is balanced.

• Historical and Modern Breathing Exercises
  From the Farinelli Exercise to Carl Stough’s breath counting technique, you’ll try a variety of time-tested tools that develop awareness, pacing, and control.

• Vocal Exercises for Support
  Build your personal toolkit of notated vocal exercises designed to strengthen breath coordination, increase stamina, and reduce tension in the jaw, tongue, and larynx.

Breath Support Bootcamp is a series, and participants are registered for all four dates when they sign up.

Bootcamp Dates & Times:

Saturday, June 27 10:30am–12:00pm PT

Saturday, July 11 10:30am–12:00pm PT

Saturday, July 25 10:30am–12:00pm PT

Saturday, August 8 10:30am–12:00pm PT

Cost: $295 for the series (workbook included)

Level: All levels

Video replays available! All participants are encouraged to attend all four live events. However, recordings of all meetings (and all practice videos) will be available to all registrants for three months after the final meeting, through October 31, 2026.