Deonté W. (he/him/they/them)
Bachelor of Music in Music Theatre with a Voice emphasis, Belmont University
Master of Music in Music Theatre Vocal Pedagogy, Carthage College (in progress)
Senior Voice Instructor
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Deonté loves helping voice users of all kinds find joy, freedom, and agency in their own voices with personalized, carefully constructed lessons. He teaches music theatre at Carthage College and has taught out of a private studio since 2015. Deonté is also a professional singer and actor, having spent three years in Aladdin on Broadway and released his debut live album Love, Essential (Live in New York) in 2019.
Deonté works with both singers and speakers at The Voice Lab, and gender affirming voice care is a central tenet of his teaching. Why do you sing? "I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free." For me, singing is the ultimate expression of emotion and the easiest way to connect to the world around me. Why do you teach other people to sing? "The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away." -David Viscott. This quote says it all for me. |
How do you describe your lessons?
My lessons are full of joy, exploration, discovery, delight, and delicious failure! I like to start with an understanding of the student's aspirations and then build a plan to give each student the tools necessary to make those aspirations a reality. What would you tell someone who's thinking about taking voice lessons? DO IT! What are your favorite artists/genres/occasions to sing? Depends on the day! On any given occasion, I can be caught singing showtunes, R&B, Soul, Classical, Gospel, or Pop. My absolute favorite thing to do is to blend genres. Nothing brings me more joy than singing a classical aria and throwing in some gospel accompaniment and licks or taking a traditional musical theatre song and infusing it with R&B or Funk. So fun! |
