music and vocal direction

i’ve music directed for professional companies and for childrens’ theatres, and i know that every production calls for different priorities. my true love is vocal direction.

teaching

i love teaching. i’ve worked as a private music instructor and teaching artist for the past five years, where i’ve worked to motivate and educate people to be able to play and make the music they want to. i still teach and am available for private lessons either on zoom (can be based anywhere) or in-person in nyc. we can discuss pricing based on any interest in the classes listed below.

class offerings:

voice lessons  (individual 30-minute to 1-hour lessons)

i focus on strengthening vocal consistency with healthy vocal practices. i also want to strengthen the musicianship of singers by developing initial sight-reading and other aural skills. a lesson typically would consist of a third of vocalizing/warmups, and two-thirds of working on one to two songs to train the voice and build repertoire material. with zoom, i can act as the accompanist or we can find a solution with tracks depending on the scenario. i also recognize that every student is different and will cater the material and course of study to the individual (based off a mix of my observations, what the students communicated goals are, and what the parents communicated goals are) above all of this, my main goal is to spark and maintain the joy for singing, and to foster the thought that control over the voice just boosts the passion for it.

piano lessons  (individual 30-minute or 45-minute lessons)

i typically teach out of fabre's piano adventures series. this establishes technique, aural skills, sight-reading skills, and then i'll add on my own exercises for compositional skills and improvisational skills. i am flexible to work outside of the books as well, and to learn songs and material that might be outside of the book. i also recognize that every student is different and will cater the material and course of study to the individual (based on a mix of my observations, what the students communicated goals are, and what the parents communicated goals are) above all of this, my main goal is to spark and maintain the excitement for making music! the only reason i'm still pursuing music today is because i love it and i want to encourage others to do the same.

guitar/ukulele lessons (individual 30-minute or 45-minute lessons)

i like to teach guitar and ukulele like i was taught, which is through an exploration of music that the student's already like. i start with basic technique, then move towards chords and other chord shapes, then we would move to more technical tablature. there would be a lot of opportunities to practice compositional skills and improvisational skills. i also recognize that every student is different and will cater the material and course of study to the individual (based on a mix of my observations, what the students communicated goals are, and what the parents communicated goals are) above all of this, my main goal is to spark and maintain the excitement for making music! the only reason i'm still pursuing music today is because i love it and i want to encourage others to do the same.

musical audition preparation (individual 30-minute to 1-hour lesson)

this would be a vocal lesson session to prepare, find, and refine any material for upcoming auditions for school productions, community productions, etc. this would include: helping to find audition material, teaching the song, helping to make a cut, marking the sheet music, making a track (if necessary), and anything else the musical audition process requires.

songwriting lessons (individual or writing team 30-minute to 1-hour lessons)

this would be a full on study to work on the craft of songwriting. starting off exploring the different components of songwriting (melody, harmony, form, lyric, etc) and then starting to work through easier forms until we no longer need form. we could freely explore any genre or purpose of a song. we would also talk about musical notation ranging from a lyric sheet with chords to a fully orchestrated notated song. this is a class that is solely curated to the student's wants, so it would be an ongoing conversation. this is a lesson that can be taught to individual composer-lyricists (or singer-songwriters) or writing teams (two composer-lyricists, one composer, one lyricist, etc.). a series of this class could also lead to a full on advising of writing an original musical or dramatic musical narrative. 

let's write a song for you! (individual 30-minute to 1-hour lesson)

nyu has a cool program set up with penn state musical theatre students where writing teams are paired with actors to write songs based on the actors personal life experiences. i thought this would be a cool experience to offer for those interested! it would be an active collaboration between myself and the student, but it would result in the student having a song about them notated and written for auditions or anything else. 

 dramaturgy

i am looking for opportunities in both new works dramaturgy and production dramaturgy.

a portfolio of dramaturgical materials can be provided upon request.

 performing

i’ve worked in new developments as well as more traditional pieces in the canon. i’m a performer who loves the process more than the performance, so i’m always looking for opportunities that highlight the process.

performing press

“Both Fulginiti and Walton are engaging actors, and it’s easy to like them both individually and as a couple.” - Karen Topham, Chicago Onstage

“Benjamin Walton as young Greg provides much of the show’s humor.” - Reno Lovison, Chicago Theater and Arts



“The energetic charisma, and sweetness of rising stars Will Fulginiti and Benjamin Walton instantly invest the audience in the couple’s legendary love, full of first-date flirtation, puppydog confessions, and stomachs filled with butterflies. And their voices are even better to behold.” - Ian Rigg, ChicagolandMusicalTheatre



“The show was full of standout performances. Benjamin Walton excelled with a marvelously funny performance of “Sara Lee” and an appropriately sheepish 'Mr. Cellophane,'" - Alex Storer, Central Florida Future

"The comic numbers come off the best.... Kander and Ebb's ill-fated "The Act" provides two silly songs, both delivered with an appealing light touch. Benjamin Walton croons an ode to the maker of packaged desserts in "Sara Lee." - Matt Palm, Orlando Sentinel  

stage combat

i’m an advanced actor-combatant through the society of american fight directors, with some experience as a fight captain and as a fight choreographer.

please reach out if you are interested to talk about opportunities involving this!