Jocelyn Medina
Somatic Voice Work
The sounds and styles of vocalist/composer Jocelyn Medina cross cultures, creeds and continents. Her original music fuses elements of Brazil, Spain, Africa and India with jazz harmonies, neo-soul/funk grooves and adventurous improvisations.
Born into a family of singers, Jocelyn determined her identity as a musician at the tender age of five through choirs and piano lessons. She later pursued opera work at Stanford University, earned a Bachelors degree in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music, and a Masters in Vocal Jazz Performance from Manhattan School of Music.
Further musical explorations brought Jocelyn to Ghana, West Africa, as well as Salvador, Brazil, and most recently 6 months teaching, performing and studying in Mumbai, India, where she was exposed to more of the wide-ranging elements that continue to inspire her creative projects. In addition to her degree credentials, Jocelyn is certified in all levels of master vocal pedagogue Jeannette LoVetri's Somatic Voicework™, a functional, body-based method of vocal training whose techniques have been adapted by a number of her previous and most influential teachers, including vocal jazz virtuosos Theo Bleckmann and Luciana Souza.
As an educator, Jocelyn has over 18 years of experience as a private voice instructor, and has worked as a choral music and ensemble director in public and private education throughout the 5 boroughs, including at Fordham’s Jazz at Lincoln Center and as an adjunct lecturer at LaGuardia Community College. Internationally, she served as Head of the Vocal Department at the True School of Music, an affiliate school of Manhattan School of Music, in Mumbai, India. As a Master Class Clinician, Jocelyn has been invited around the world to present workshops in voice, composition, improvisation and vocal jazz to students at both the college and professional level, and is on the voice faculty of the Bloomingdale School of Music, the Dalton School and the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music.
