An innovative, ‘multiplistic’ approach to vocal pedagogy
In August 2024, Nicholas Perna joined the College of Music faculty as associate professor of voice and director of vocal pedagogy. In describing the college’s wide-ranging approach to teaching the subtleties of the human voice, Perna draws on a unique term that bears the precision, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking he brings to his teaching style.
“I really like the word ‘multiplistic,’” says Perna, promptly conceding that it’s not liable to be found in a dictionary. “We teach across a variety of genres and styles, and we approach the singing voice from the perspective of functional voice training—not from any kind of tradition of ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’
“We view the human body as a functional system,” he adds.
This nuanced approach to developing the human voice has made Perna one of the world’s most in-demand vocal trainers, long before his arrival at 鶹ѰBoulder. Perna’s students have found success on Broadway stages and international touring productions; and they’ve won prestigious prizes and honors including the Lotte Lenya Foundation grand prize and the Chinese Art Song International Singing Competition. Perna himself—a 2025 鶹ѰBoulderArts & Humanities grantee for his “Adaptation of Singers Respiratory Plethysmography at Altitude“ project—has won praise and plaudits for his vocal work in companies like Opera Mississippi and the Santa Fe Opera.
Perna’s work at the College of Music has further advanced his innovative approach to music education, aligned with the college’suniversal musician approach to achieving its mission. “One of the things we try to do here is prepare our students for the future,” explains Perna. “We believe they need to be ready to navigate in and out of as many styles and genres as possible.”
In his current role, Perna teaches voice lessons and voice pedagogy courses, and supervises graduate theses and dissertations as well as vocal pedagogy teaching assistants. He also oversees theBerton Coffin Voice Lab, named after who established the college’s first doctoral program in voice and pedagogy.
“Berton Coffin was an internationally recognized, seminal figure and author in vocal pedagogy,” notes Perna, pointing to books like “Overtones of Bel Canto” that revolutionized methods for improving vocal strength and musicality through the lens of scientific phonetics. “He was actually writing about applied acoustics and physics in the singing voice at a time when to measure any of that would’ve taken a very large computer, a very high-tech lab.”
Perna is committed to making the lab one of the premier centers for research and innovation in the country when it comes to the science and craft of vocal pedagogy. “Over the past 18 months, we’ve been able to build out a very impressive facility,” he shares. “We’ve expanded to have one of the top five voice labs embedded in a music unit in the country.
“We’re doing significant work, not just on the singing voice, but also acoustics, aerodynamics. We’re now set up to measure respiratory physiology as well. Here at altitude, it’s an especially important consideration.”
For all the serious science and academic rigor that comprise his professional pursuits, Perna is also committed to including a degree of fun into his teaching and his own study of the human voice. In 2017, he launched the weekly “” that combines voice science, pedagogy and even dashes of sci-fi and nerd pop culture. To date, the podcast has logged over 250 hours of content featuring top vocalists, performers and teachers from around the world.
Since his arrival in Boulder, Perna and his fellow VocalFri creators have used the podcast to spotlight what’s happening at the College of Music; he’s involved students, explored the ins and outs of teaching voice and offered insights into the college’s priority to develop multiskilled, multifaceted universal musicians who are well-equipped for flexible career options.
“‘VocalFri’ has become the public-facing voice of 鶹ѰBoulder vocal pedagogy,” Perna says. “It’s certainly put this program back in the national spotlight.”
Perna is always on the lookout for ways to keep the College of Music connected to the broader trends and innovations in the field. He’s currently vice president of outreach for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), the largest association for professional voice teachers in the world..
“NATS has been so much of my professional life,” reflects Perna. “I’ve served at every level of NATS that there is.
“The most important thing with NATS is the networking—it’s a vast international network of singing teachers that has given me my professional colleagues and mentors.”
All these perspectives have culminated in an approach to vocal pedagogy that’s turned out world-renowned artists—and one that is evolving voice education at the College of Music to new heights.