Personal Statement/Bio:

GRAMMY Award and 3 GRAMMY Nominations. Two #1 Albums also voted Best Vocal Album 2007 & Best Holiday Album 2007 by Broadcasters Worldwide. Two Telley Awards. Emmy Award Certificate. Sing on several Platinum Albums. Featured soprano soloist in "Yanni, Live at the Acropolis" DVD & PBS-TV Special. Choir Nun, production vocal coach and music director for both Sister Act films with Whoopi Goldberg. To mention just a few performances, on the Classical side, I have sung with or for the Royal Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills, Sir John Rutter, Lyric Opera Guild of Chicago, former member Chicago Symphony Chorus under Margaret Hillis, DIVAS Simply Singing, David Byrne's "The Forest," soloist for many oratorios, . . . On the pop side, Pink Floyd, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Ritchie, President Clinton and many more. Have sung on thousands of recording sessions in all styles of music and received an MVP Award for Best Session Vocalist from The Recording Academy - Los Angeles. Also touring with my own solo concerts and vocal workshops. Please visit my website for complete bio and resume highlights.

I am a vocal contractor so I sometimes hire and refer from my pool of qualified students. I have a 5-Octave range and sing professionally in many styles of singing and can teach those styles as well as how to have an extended range. The student has the opportunity to study with a Grammy winning vocalist with years of deeply embedded experience in the world of studio recording, recording artists and labels, and live touring in both classical and popular genres. I am a concert pianist, accompanist, and keyboardist as well. I also teach healing with vocal toning and other sound healing modalities in music therapy. I own a recording studio and produce award winning albums and other projects. I taught my Dalmatian how to sing, matching pitch and rhythm and . . . I have a pretty whacky sense of humor.


"Thanks … for all that you have done for our students!!!!! I can't believe the difference I am hearing in your students after only one quarter of study. You are terrific!"
–David Connors, CSLA Chair, Dept. of Music

“You were absolutely wonderful! You truly are a master in the truest sense of the word. I've been a music writer for over 35 years and I don't think I've ever heard the information you shared given in such a clear practical manner. The SCL Board [Society of Composers & Lyricists] is excited about the prospect of revisiting this topic, if you're willing, either in late summer or fall. Once Again, Thanks for a terrific experience.”
—Ira Hearshen, Composer, Pulitzer Prize 2x Nominee, Los Angeles, CA

"Darlene is an extraordinary singer. She moves effortlessly from the voice you hope angels really sound like, to singing lead in the hippest of jazz vocal groups. There seems to be no limit to her range, and she is the role model for the right way to use the voice. I wish I had studied with her when I first started singing. We have sung together on many projects, from large choruses in film scores to small groups on records, and I am always in awe of her consummate musicianship, keen sense of style, and simply that great sound!
–Ian Freebairn-Smith, KCSN "Morning Classical" Radio Host,
Grammy winning arranger, composer

"There is one class of teacher that is very rare-and you can consider yourself lucky if you get one per life. It is what can be called a "Magical Teacher." This is the teacher that changes your life and puts you on a completely different track. Most people have heard of these fabled teachers that can turn a "math-hater" into a mathematician that loves numbers or can bring history alive with their storytelling abilities. A few have actually been touched by one of these gems.

Darlene Koldenhoven is that kind of teacher. She is magic. It is neither just her extensive training, nor her enormous versatility and vocal range. The music comes alive, and so does my 12-year old daughter, who is often hungry, cranky, and tired after school. She has been studying with Darlene for only about seven months now, but she has learned more in that short time than in the previous three years. Darlene doesn`t just do scales, she teaches music. And my daughter is understanding it. With Darlene`s guidance my daughter`s natural talent can be turned into greatness. And that`s magic . . . I suggest you get her while you can. Teacher`s like her are a once in a lifetime event."
-Russell K. Dollinger, Ph.D
President Booksmythe, Medical Book Publishers

Education/Training:

Master of Music - Voice (magna cum laude), Bachelor of Music Education (cum laude) both from Chicago Conservatory College, California Life Time Teaching Credential K-College, Certified NLP Practitioner. Private Students and Group Classes for over 30 years including major names in music and film/television. Studied private voice with (in this order) Virginia Parker, Ron Anderson, Seth Riggs, Robert Edwards, Bruce Eckstut. Vocal pedagogy with Richard Miller and Robert Edwards.

Teaching Philosophy:

I teach with a very positive approach. Bel Canto and modified Speech Level Singing. The two most important things in singing are #1 Breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) and #2 Listening (to how one is making the sounds (and formants) with the mouth, pharynx, soft palette, tongue, lips, and so forth and to how one is in tune and in rhythm.) I evaluate the student's learning style and teach accordingly, including appropriate communication styles. Motto: Sing more, talk less! Singers are (or should be) musicians too. I make the esoteric practical and help the student how and why the voice works like it does.

For additional voice exercises, ear-training, & music theory, all students are using my book with 7CDs "Tune Your Voice: Singing and Your Mind's Musical Ear," distributed by Alfred Music, endorsed by faculty of Juilliard, NYU, Berklee and more.

Music Programs:

AFTRA, SAG, Musicians Union, Society of Composers and Lyricists, Western Arts Association. I am the founder and director of The Young Vocal Artists of Los Angeles, a semi-professional group of tween and teen singers.

Some work experience includes:
Adjunct Voice Faculty CSUN, CSLA, UCLA, Citrus College.
CSUN Extension: Music Readiness to Infants, Toddlers and Young Children.
General K-5 Music Illinois School Districts 59 & 140.
Production Vocal Coach for DIsney films "Sister Act" and "Sister Act: Back in the Habit."
Founder/Director The Young Vocal Artists of Los Angeles (Pro kids/teens choir)

Cancellation Policy:

48 Hour. Each lesson is paid one in advance unless a valid credit card number is left on secure file at my office. Those who do not cancel 48 in advance will be notified by email and charged full price for the missed lesson. As a first time only courtesy, if you miss the lesson without notification and can make it up later that same day provided I have appointments open, no fee is charged. If not slots are open, you will be charged the full fee for the missed lesson.

Promotions:

Discounts for multiple lessons paid in advance. Partial scholarships available based on need and talent. Discounts on private lessons when taken in conjunction with group class. Group classes form quarterly for adults, teens, young children.