About SHURVOICE and Adda Shur

“Adda, we were well pleased [at the recital]! Our daughters [age 10 and 12 years old] have certainly matured in their voices and presentation! We feel blessed that you have come to Oxford…The girls are challenged, nurtured, and guided by you in equal measure…”

“I started lessons with Adda several years ago as an adult student in my 50’s. I have no formal training in music (unless you count piano lessons in the first grade) and I have minor hearing loss. It has been hard work, but Adda is patient and I have come to trust Adda’s holistic approach (which was tough as a scientist who Instinctually analyzes everything!). I am developing an unexpected feeling for voice and body and a new level of enjoyment in music. I recently started singing with a choir thanks to her training and encouragement. Working with Adda has been a life enhancing experience.”

“When I was in my twenties, I had an untrained but wonderful voice and played folk music professionally. After a few decades of neglect as well as surgery on my lung…my voice had a different idea…I didn’t know if it was physically possible to ever feel the joy of singing again. I reached out to Adda for help. She taught me the training techniques and vocal exercises I needed to reach inside and set my voice free again…”

“She has helped me build my confidence and embodied awareness for how I can use my voice for singing, as well as providing amazing coaching for speaking, which is my full time career. I just spoke for over 1,000 people throughout the weekend and Adda’s coaching gave me the guidance and support to be set up to speak and express in the best possible way. Adda is an extremely attuned and talented teacher, aware of the weave between the technical and spiritual sides of singing, and I can not recommend her highly enough. Thank you Adda!”

When it comes to voice and singing training, Adda Shur is fantastic…and has been a great voice teacher for the almost two years now that I have studied voice with her. She also taught me some gentle exercises to improve my enunciation and my lisp. This aspect of Ms.Shur’s vocal coaching has been a terrific help in my overall speaking and has made me much more confident. Adda compares a lot of things to different sports or instruments I have played in the past, which really helps me visualize what to do. Adda also does a great job of adjusting her methods and lesson materials to fit me personally, and I really appreciate it. As a result of my vocal training with Adda Shur, I’ve been able to notice a dramatic difference in my singing…”

“Adda’s amazing vocal guidance also allowed me to expand my song repertoire exponentially. And, opened my eyes to the powerful impact of singing and healing effects on the psyche. Under Adda Shur’s expert voice coaching [of three years], my singing recently earned me a semi-finalist spot in the 2021 National Classical Singer Vocal Competition [High School, Musical Theater Category]. Following that, I gave back to our community by singing in an outdoor public recital with other music students from the Oxford Music Academy. It’s been incredible to see how my singing touches the members of my community, bringing us closer together even in the tough times due to this pandemic.”

“I am a singer who came to Adda with a very “worn and torn” voice in need of reconditioning. I wish I had discovered Adda much sooner! I am enjoying my voice again after years of struggling to sing well. At my most recent lesson, I told Adda how well my performance went a few days earlier. I sang with a freedom that I am just now starting to experience and that is due to the fact that I am no longer fearful that my voice will betray me. And by “betray me” I mean losing control of the passaggio. That is the issue that led me to begin working with Adda many years ago. She has also helped me with postural issues that have affected my ability to sing freely. I truly believe if I had not found a teacher of Adda’s caliber when I was looking for help, that I would not be singing today. I am soon to be 69 years old and I feel I am singing better than I ever have before. Adda is amazing and I count myself very fortunate to have found her in Oxford, Ohio, no less!

“Adda, I and everyone for whom I’ve sung for also thinks I have made astonishing progress working with you [these past 3 months]. I can’t thank you enough. You are amazing.”

“Adda immediately and gently diagnosed me as singing material that was too high for my mature voice. We began work… in the dramatic mezzo and contralto repertoire. I found Adda’s knowledge and experience in opera to be extensive. She helped me enormously with my singing technique, especially breathing and posture, Italian and French diction, and phrasal shaping. Adda was also very helpful with my musical theater repertoire… and able to diagnosis the source of problems that had haunted my performances for years… Adda was also invaluable as a source of advice as to how to achieve maximum dramatic impact without straining the voice…Adda Shur would be an asset to any music faculty. She is knowledgeable, caring, and extremely enthusiastic. It is obvious that she loves teaching.”

I am writing to recommend Adda Shur…I worked with Adda in my capacity as a vocal coach, helping her prepare for international opera auditions. She has a virtuosic understanding of vocal technique… perfect command of diction and grammar in all the primary operatic languages. Moreover, her personality is very nurturing, patient, and positive. Beyond her musicality and skills as a singer, she also has enormous talent as a dramatist, and expertise in movement and dance. I am sure that Adda would bring her infectious enthusiasm and excitement for music, singing, and performance to all her students…

“I am certain that it’s only because of your help! My voice was much stronger than before. And, I regained the joy and freedom in singing that I’d thought was gone forever…Thank you from the bottom of my heart…”

“Adda has an ability to recognize an individual student’s learning style, and works to make sure that the student ‘gets it’ based on her intuition, instinct and immense musical knowledge. She is a born teacher and masterful voice instructor. I recommend her highly. She is well worth it…for me as a parent, and Stephanie as a student, to travel the 45 minutes…and Adda has a special warmth and charismatic personality that we appreciate.”

“Adda is a dazzling performer in any genre of music, from Opera to Broadway or Sacred music…She is devoted to her students and a wonderful colleague”

“In addition to Adda’s expertise a voice teacher, she brings her heart & soul into the work that she does. Her voice is from heaven and Adda’s passion has inspired me to find peace & balance within. Thank you Adda for allowing the world to experience your talents & gifts!”

“I heard Adda in a recent recital performance and her voice is, if possible, better than ever.  Most importantly though, Adda was trained in the true Italian Bel Canto technique that gave us the great singers from Caruso to Callas. She also brings contemporary techniques of mind/body awareness to bear on communicating the Bel Canto approach to the modern student.​”

“I warmly recommend Adda as a most delightful colleague, talented artist and teacher”