Florence Riggs
I’ve had the delight of knowing Casey and being his voice teacher from the time he was a teenager. His intelligence, artistic creativity, and fabulous voice have been a source of joy to watch.
I have enjoyed partnering with him through the years when we talk about a particular student and what their technical needs may be.
Casey’s holistic approach to teaching moves the student through a physical, mental and emotional journey. He ties everything together with a depth of consciousness that encompasses the totality of what it is to study singing.
When speaking specifically to the voice Casey has a unique language that goes far beyond mundane descriptions. He can pinpoint exactly what a particular voice needs and prescribe the right exercises necessary to improve that voice immediately.
I've been so impressed with Casey for almost all of his life. Watching him grow and become an amazing singer-songwriter, producer and voice teacher has been an honor.
Liza Oxnard
Casey Collins has been an invaluable teacher to me for most of my singing career from my touring band Zuba, to my solo project Liza and The Soulstars and now my current remix jazz band piKziL.
When I was introduced to Casey I had already been touring for many years and the rigorous schedule had become a very real strain on my voice. The techniques Casey taught me not only helped me heal my instrument but gave me the tone, freedom and stamina that had always eluded me.
He is, by far, my favorite teacher in all my years of studying music, and has become my very dear friend.
Casey is one of the best!
Katie Glassman
Casey changed my life. When I met him, I’d spent fourteen years touring and performing as a fiddler who also sang. It was only after working with Casey that I thought of myself as a singer. I hired Casey to be my vocal producer on my album Dream a Little Dream, and he taught me how to warm up, how to breathe, how to control tone and find a power in my voice I never knew I had. He turned me inside out as a vocalist, and I leaned hard into his knowledge and experience. But it was Casey’s incredible ear for emotional honesty that was just a total revelation to me. I’ve never met someone who can hear truth in the voice like Casey, who knows how to push for it and has the skill to guide a singer to it. Not only that, Casey makes this seem easy, even fun. And he put me on a path to get there myself, to hearing and finding that truth on my own.
Completing Dream a Little Dream was one of the highlights of my musical life, and it wouldn’t have happened without Casey. I’m so proud of the work we did. And when I went on to win “Female Western Swing Vocalist of the Year” a couple of years later, I tipped my hat to Casey. Like the album, I just couldn’t have done it without him.
Orange Peel Moses
No one understands the mechanics of my voice better than Casey Collins.
Being a mostly self-taught singer, I had bad vocal habits I desperately needed to break, and good habits I desperately needed to develop.
Having studied with Michael Jackson's voice coach, Casey was a fountain of wisdom on the subject.
He had also done time in 3 international music publishing houses, churning out songs for their catalogues. So I eventually began sharing original songs and soliciting his advice on lyrics, melody and composition.
On my most recent album “Butterflies”, producer Daniel Iyere suggested I bring in a vocal producer to guide me. Casey was my first choice.
In preparation for the studio sessions, we went through every single syllable in the lyrics with a fine-toothed comb. We worked for three or four days leading up to the sessions, often experimenting with multiple ways of delivering each take. Casey produced my vocals, and with his guidance and mentorship I’ve never sounded better.
Thank you Casey. I sincerely hope we get to make more music together.
Beth Quist
Love. From the first time I heard him sing in the 1980's, he consistently brings tears to my eyes with the silken beauty of his golden vocal chords & the depth of his complete artistic presence.
When I first sang backups (with Cari Golden) in a Casey production, he was a dream to work with. His feedback & arrangement ideas were always given with such a recognition of how to bring out each band member's strengths. This type of encouragement feels like a gift of coaching on every single project I've done & shared with him.
His feedback on impressions of compositions & mixes has steered me in directions that have resulted in some of my favorite work to date.
Cirque De Soleil “Ka”: lead soprano, multi-instrumentalist, character
Bobby McFarrin: Voicestra
Meryl Romer
Meeting a great teacher only happens to me once in every decade or so. I was 51 years old when I met Casey Collins in January of 2003, and by the time my first voice lesson with him ended, it was clear to me that I was about to embark on a journey of vocal transformation. Being seen and heard in my full potential through this teacher’s eyes was exhilarating and in all honesty, a bit intimidating. Casey was able to see and hear in my voice, what I could only try to imagine at that point. I shared my goals for the music with him, and he took them more seriously than I was ready to do at that time.
My passion and energy to learn the music was inexhaustible. I was starving to learn and Casey was a well of creative knowledge and skills. Through our work I began to understand/experience that every sound and note I made had a physical connection in my body; my breath was an anchor and an artery for relaying sound; and I was learning to sing fluidly from the bottom of my voice to the top. I began to have the sensation of power in my vocal experience that resulted from freeing my instrument. I could choose material to sing that previously I might have held back from. As my true tone emerged, Casey helped me to listen to and recognize the natural lilt or intonation in my sound.