Elizabeth Santana, 29
Actress / Executive Assistant / Part-Time Grad Student
RGVS student since September 2007

"I was extremely honored to be asked to represent the Musical Theatre genre on Rocío's student showcase CD. Approaching the song, The Wizard And I, was a challenge to say the least, not to mention this would be my first time in the recording studio. Who knew that a microphone stand could be so intimidating! But Rocío's vast knowledge and guidance put my nerves at ease. The most exciting part of the process for me was after the technical work was complete - and for that I put my full trust in Rocío's expertise - I reached that moment where the song really came alive, by exploring the intention and meaning behind the song and letting those emotions come out through the lyrics. In Musical Theatre I am used to bringing the character out through the physical characteristics, but the challenge here was bringing that same character out strictly through the voice. I also reached some personal vocal milestones through applying Rocío's techniques during the process of preparing this song, and the wonderful thing about the recording is being able to hear all the hard work played back."

Elizabeth was referred to us by the Stanford Medical Center with a history of pre-nodules on her vocal cords. She had been trained in New York to belt by "pushing harder". We retrained her habit to a healthy belt, thereby increasing her higher range and bringing her vibrato up to speed. She has been nodule-free since.