About CVL

At its core, the Creative Vocal Lab strives to empower students with the knowledge and skills to make the music they want.  

One of the signature features of the Creative Vocal Lab is the use of "labs" to reinforce musical skills and concepts in a large group setting.  
During each CVL course, mini explorative workshops are held on a specific musical aspect before students are broken up into lab groups
of 4-5 to experiment with the challenge presented.

The Creative Vocal Lab was founded in 2010 by Evan Feist as a part of his second masters degree at Columbia University, Teachers College.  
The aim was to create a "student-driven non-repertoire based" ensemble music class that could be successfully replicated in public schools.

 

CURRENTLY, THE CREATIVE VOCAL LAB OFFERS A CAPPELLA WORKSHOPS
SPECIALIZING IN SONGWRITING AND 
IMPROVISATION.

YOU CHOOSE THE PLACE, THE TIME, AND THE FOCUS.
ALL AGES AND LEVELS.

                   5 hour workshops                    
45 minute class periods                    
 2-3 day weekend workshops                    

 

 

Testimonials

I’ve been a student of Evan’s at the Creative Vocal Lab for 3 summers now and although I’d been singing my entire life, I never had any vocal training until CVL. I didn’t know the slightest thing about vocal percussion, arranging, spontaneous creation or a cappella music. I didn’t even know much about harmony!

Evan is a seasoned professional and is able to teach a wide range of levels. His curriculum for Creative Vocal Lab has evolved and is ever-changing to give even returning students new material to work on in both a cappella and improvisation. Both in and outside of CVL, Evan has been present in my development as a musician and has truly become a mentor (and a friend) to me.
During my Freshman year of HS, Evan inspired me to start an a cappella group at my high school and I am now the musical director and arranger.

Without the CVL’s curriculum and Evan’s instruction, I can confidently say that I would be unable to teach my peers. I can attest to the fact that anyone looking to break into song would certainly benefit from the skills taught at the Creative Vocal Lab. Evan is living proof that you can be successful in today’s music industry.
— Elena Robustelli, SUNY Purchase CVL
Having worked with Evan as my instructor in these workshops and with my a cappella group, I think I’m well within my right to say that he is the best vocal coach I’ve ever had!

Especially within Creative Vocal Lab, Evan encourages everyone to step out of their comfort zones by creating such a supportive and fun environment that makes stepping out of your comfort zone comfortable, exciting, and hilarious. With his help, and in such an environment, I have watched my vocal skills and knowledge transform from the most basic to more complex than I had ever thought possible. Thank you Evan for being both a mentor and a friend!!
— Leah Kratochvil, SUNY Purchase CVL
We were very fortunate to be working with Evan and Marc in our SoJam 2014 masterclass, and we took the opportunity to run a few of our future recording pieces for them. Their advice was excellent, and they took the time to understand our group’s voices and make recommendations and tweaks based around our strengths, what we were missing, and what could take us from sounding good to sounding awesome. They had great energy and was an absolute pleasure to work with, so much so that we decided to contact them for a custom arrangement for our recording project this year.

Since then they have been a great source of advice and constructive criticism on all of our current projects, and they’ve made an active effort to select potential songs that reflect the spirit of our group and help patch holes in our repertoire.

Their assistance and advice has been invaluable, and we highly recommend them to anyone looking for a positive, honest, skilled arranger, adviser, or producer to help give their group that extra edge.
Seriously, they’re professional and personal. It’s wonderful to see someone who cares that much about clients on an individual level.
— -Crescendudes, University of Central Florida