West Orange singer to help teach master class in NYC

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Jeff Alani Stanfill doesn’t spend much time on Twitter, but when he does, the West Orange resident and New York City vocal coach follows people he admires. That’s how he met David Phelps, a world-renowned vocalist who has won Grammy and Dove awards, and began a friendship and teacher-student relationship that will be carried into their master class on Sept. 23 at Ripley-Grier Studios in the city.

“I had followed him on Twitter and made a comment that a lot of my male students over the years have wanted to model their voices after his,” Stanfill, a master of the Swedish-Italian vocal style, told the West Orange Chronicle in a phone interview on Sept. 8. “He responded to the post and said he was going to be in New York, and I thought it was a joke at first.”

Phelps, who was a member of the prestigious Gaither Vocal Band for 15 years, met with Stanfill at his New York studio, Voice Soaring Studios.

“I asked if he wanted a voice lesson, and we had 10 of my students sit in on it,” Stanfill said. “They were all sitting there mesmerized listening to him.”

The duo is joining forces to host another master class, where Phelps will again work with Stanfill and eight other vocalists who specialize in genres ranging from opera to R&B.

“It’s geared towards anyone who wants to learn about singing,” Stanfill said.

Stanfill has been singing since he was a child, when he started belting out notes in his church, where his father was a pastor. But growing up in Memphis, Tenn., his first career path was not music — it was horses. Stanfill rode and trained show jumping horses on the National Horse Show Circuit until he was 18.

“I got a lot of encouragement when I was singing in my dad’s church,” Stanfill said. “And I was heavily involved in the horse circuit, showing them all over the state. I was good at it, but I was never really good enough to take it to the next level.”

Stanfill said he would often end up taking the stage along with the band at the parties that happened at equine events.

“At one of those parties someone said ‘You know Jeff, you’re a pretty good rider, but you’re a better singer,’” he said.

That was the encouragement he needed to decide to leave the stables behind and pursue music as a career. After graduating from Florida State University and the New England Conservatory of Music, Stanfill performed in summer productions at the Buck’s County Playhouse in Pennsylvania. He eventually expanded his musical taste while at sea performing with Norwegian Cruise Line.

In 1999, Stanfill began studying with vocal coach Leona Mathews, and remained her student until her death. He then studied voice with David Jones. The teaching he received inspired him to start coaching young vocalists himself.

“I’m really focused on the student and helping them find their voice,” Stanfill said. “When you’re a singer, you have to focus on you. I had vocal struggles at the beginning of my career because I started studying after the fact. Singing very well is hard because the voice is strong, but can be fragile. It takes time to find your voice, and I love sharing that information. I think it’s really fulfilling.”

Stanfill credits Mathews as his inspiration to begin teaching.

“She saw something in me that said I would be a good teacher and that I could help students,” he said. He teaches technique in a wide variety of genres —ac from opera to pop to Broadway.

Even though Stanfill is the teacher, he said his lessons with Phelps have taught him about music as well.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned from him is that he’s the most normal guy in the world,” Stanfill said. “He has the same struggles as everyone else, and for someone at his level he’s really open to sharing about them.”

When he’s not teaching, Stanfill sings with a wedding band and posts instructional vocal videos and covers of popular songs to his YouTube channel. Songs from popular artists like Journey, Ed Sheeran and Tori Kelly are sung by himself and his students.

“In anyone’s lifetime their voice is changing constantly,” Stanfill said. “So in order to be a singer, you have to be a student of your voice.”

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