Emily Tello Speck

Biography

Emily Tello Speck rejoins the Belmont Musical Theatre Faculty after a 5-year hiatus in Houston, where she was an Assistant Professor of Voice and the Musical Theatre Coordinator at Houston Baptist University. She is also currently serving as the Artistic Coordinator at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville.  She received her Masters of Music in Vocal Pedagogy, as well as her Bachelors of Music in Musical Theatre from Belmont University, where she went on to be an Instructor of Musical Theatre. Working for over a decade as a musical theatre performer, director, and choreographer, from cruise ships and summer stock to major regional theaters and national tours, Mrs. Speck has worked with numerous Tony-award winning directors, actors, designers and choreographers and is a member of Actors Equity Association, The National Association of Teachers of Singing, and is eligible for the Screen Actors Guild.  After meeting her husband Jake in New York, where they lived for nearly a decade, they moved to Nashville to raise their family.  They are now the proud parents of identical twin boys, Nash and Noah, and youngest son Leo. In Nashville, Mrs. Speck has appeared in television commercials, radio spots and music videos and served as the resident choreographer and company member of Studio Tenn Theatre Company. Mrs. Speck has directed and / or choreographed over 35 productions in her career, with her most recent projects being A.D. Players productions of The Sound of Music and West Side Story, to much acclaim in Houston.

Having a master’s degree in Vocal Pedagogy, Ms. Speck is deeply passionate about teaching singers the anatomy and mechanics of the voice.  As singers, our instrument is our body, and it is of utmost importance that singers understand how their voice works and how to properly produce sound and maintain a healthy instrument. She builds on a classical technique, teaching proper breathing and breath support, registration, resonation, placement and vowel modification.  Once a good classical base is establised, Ms. Speck adds other genres in a healthy manor, such as musical theatre and commercial styles, including belt.  She also teaches the “acting of a song” and focus on the storytelling, actions, and the deeper driving force behind each piece.