Page 40 - CJJuneJuly25

On the Voice

getting into the business, but you can always reach out Micah Bland is director of choral activities at the Uni-
to the union and inquire about rates and other things. versity of Toledo.
I don’t mean this to sound inconsiderate, but I think
there’s a little bit of a stigma attached to someone who
is well known as being both a nonunion and union sing- NOTES
er. For certain projects, having a reputation for doing
both types of work can be a check mark against you. 1 University of Toledo IRB approval was acquired for this
However, there may be more people who are do- research. The interview was conducted via Zoom on
ing that than I realize. The union has made efforts to September 6, 2023.
reach out and get singers involved with the SAG-AF- 2 The Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Televi-
TRA singers committee. We encourage them to attend sion and Radio Artists merged in 2012 to form SAG-AF-
events and share information with them about their TRA.
union and what it offers. For example, the SAG con- 3 Additional notable appearances as singer or vocal contrac-
servatory regularly has workshops and events that are tor include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Grease
11
useful to singers. There’s also a lab where you learn (1978), The Little Mermaid (1989), Home Alone (1990), Last
how to submit and put together your own voice-over of the Mohicans (1992), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993),
demos. For a while they were doing meet-the-composer Forrest Gump (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Mulan (1998), Elf
events. There are a lot of activities like this that have (2003), The Polar Express (2004), The Avengers (2012), Star
started up again now that the pandemic is over. Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens (2015), and twenty
Academy Award ceremonies (Oscars).
Do you have any other thoughts or insights you 4 Sally Stevens, I Sang That: A Memoir from Hollywood (Atmo-
want to share with a prospective session sing- sphere Press, 2022).
er? 5 Ibid.
6 Author’s note: Auto-tune cannot be utilized during choral
It’s important to have a professional-sounding demo, recording sessions due to the simultaneous sounding of
but I also think it’s essential to understand that this pro- multiple pitches. Auto-tune can be utilized when each
fession is a community and group of colleagues. Unlike vocalist is recorded individually.
actors who compete against each other for roles, ses- 7 Residuals are payments made to performers when the work
sion singing is mostly ensemble work; you get to know is used beyond the initial compensation agreement.
the community by being around and working along- 8 Author’s note: Most American metropolitan cities offer
side each other. Networking is important. In a church union and nonunion employment opportunities for ses-
or community choir, you might find yourself standing sion singers. Nonunion session work can also be found
next to someone who is a working session singer and internationally.
impressed by your ensemble singing. They may pass 9 These words are the interviewee’s. The editor acknowledg-
your name along to a vocal contractor. In my own ca- es that it is possible to belt in a healthy way and that a
reer and the careers of people I know, I have grown breathy sound in and of itself is not a reliable indicator
so much through networking. There’s always a certain of vocal health.
amount of schmoozing and politicking; basically, it’s 10 For more information about the SAG-AFTRA National
about getting to know individual singers and learning Code of Fair Practice for Sound Recordings, visit https://
what each person does well. That’s what helped me www.sagaftra.org/production-center/contract/806/
when I had the opportunity to begin contracting. It’s rate-sheet/document.
important to find ways to get connected to the commu- 11 For more information about SAG-AFTRA conservatories,
nity, no matter how small or unimportant they might visit https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-conservatories.
seem.

38 CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2025 Volume 65 Number 9