What happens when a singer is told she cannot sing for almost a year?
In this conversation, Yolanda Wyns shares how tonsil and adenoid surgery in her last year of college forced her into vocal rest, and how that silence became the foundation for everything that followed. What felt like a curse forced her to stop relying on natural talent and learn the voice technically: vocal folds, breath, head voice, middle voice, and mix.
That study became a vocal coaching business serving ages 7 to 65, from beginners to professionals. It led to Harlem School of the Arts, where a mock class turned into a teaching job, then a 10-plus year run as Director of Music. Her students have gone on to Broadway, national tours, recording careers, and American Idol.
Then comes the twist. She took her students to an audition for The Color Purple at the Apollo just to show them how to audition. Six months later, Telsey Casting called her back. She booked the show as a swing covering all six female roles, stepped into a principal track, met Fantasia, and finally got to coach her.
This is a story about faith, stamina, reinvention, and why retirement didn’t go as planned.
Topics Discussed
- Vocal surgery and vocal rest: Tonsil and adenoid removal, almost a year without singing, and what it is like to tell a singer not to sing
- Learning the voice technically: Vocal folds, breathing, speaking on and off the breath, head voice, middle voice, and mix voice
- Building a coaching business: Coaching all levels, from age 7 to seniors, including professionals rebuilding their chops
- Harlem School of the Arts: How a mutual colleague from Manhattan School of Music led to a mock class, a teaching job, and later Director of Music
- Mentoring performers: 10-plus years at the school, students on Broadway and national tours, and an American Idol finalist
- International coaching: Clients in Japan, London, and across Asia
- A career in three acts: Recording artist and gospel project, Broadway performer, then coach and educator
- Auditioning for The Color Purple: Going to the Apollo audition with over 1,000 people just to teach her students how to audition
- Wanting to coach Fantasia: Concern about American Idol singers burning out doing eight shows a week without Broadway stamina
- The surprise callback: Getting the call from Telsey Casting six months later and auditioning without formal acting or dance training
- Booking as a swing: Learning six female roles and being ready to go on at a moment’s notice
- Stepping into a role: Covering for an injured cast member for weeks until the role became hers
- Meeting and coaching Fantasia: Telling her the story on tour and finally working together
- Faith and the next act: Planning to retire in her late 30s, and why she believes that was not the plan
#Broadway #VocalCoach #TheColorPurple #Fantasia #HarlemSchoolOfTheArts #Singing #VocalTechnique #AmericanIdol #TheIndustryCosign #YolandaWyns #BIGCED
Yolanda Wyns: From Vocal Surgery to Coaching Fantasia: A Career in Three Acts