Carlene Kyte (née Freeman), 31
Project Manager
RGVS student since November 2006

"My love for singing began at an early age. At age four, I could be found crooning Patsy Cline songs or pretending I was Sandy from Grease singing 'Hopelessly Devoted to You'. From that time on, I was always singing and starred in various musicals during my middle school, high school, and college years. In 2006, I suffered vocal damage from being hospitalized for an allergic reaction, which escalated to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). When I began seeing Rocío in 2006, my vocal range was severely diminished and I was disheartened by the fact I could no longer sing remotely close to the level at which I was singing prior to being hospitalized. My vocal cords were bowed and I had vocal cord nerve damage from being on a respirator during my hospitalization. Rocío truly has been a godsend and a miracle worker! She has helped me to regain my ability to sing again, and she has helped me to regain one of my loves - my love of singing. Being selected for the Showcase has been an honor. It is also a testimony of how far I have come in my vocal recovery and a testimony to how hard both Rocío and I have worked to get my singing voice to the place where it is now. "

Carlene was referred to us through Stanford Voice Clinic. Due to a medical procedure at another hospital which had her intubated for a month, her vocal cords had bowed and nerve damaged occurred which literally "killed" her highest range. Now this former soprano had to learn how to bring her vocal cords together again, and, due to permanent damage, get to know her new lowered, mezzo soprano range with a husky undertone. We encouraged Carlene to make the best of her new vocal tone by matching her up with new repertoire and embrace her new sound. We think it's beautiful and thus decided to include her on this year's Showcase!