About
Amy Morrison
Amy Morrison was the founder and CEO of the Effervescent Voice Academy (EffVA). She had been FFing up peoples’ voices since she was a college student back in the 90’s, including over two decades as an adjunct professor, first at Indiana Wesleyan University and then at the University of Sioux Falls. Her areas of experience were Musical Theatre, Western Classical, Opera, Popular Music and Modern Worship.
She loved helping singers discover their best, brightest, healthiest voice to express emotions and tell stories through song.
She was an avid performer in the local music and theatre scene, and kept a busy evening rehearsal schedule in addition to running EffVA.
Amy was also an instrumentalist. She played piano and synthesizer well. She also played the bassoon, accordion, cello and flute. Amy was a music theory nerd, and could write, arrange and transcribe music, and lead a worship or rock band. She could also tune pianos, because everybody needs a hobby.
How It All Started
“I get calls every day asking if I have room in my schedule for students. (Ok, maybe not every day, but I get a lot of calls.) Every voice teacher in Sioux Falls does. I started thinking about all these college music education graduates we are putting out every year, and why aren’t they teaching any private lessons? It occured to me that they’re not really getting trained to be studio teachers. Most university programs focus on music education as it pertains to classroom teaching. They usally include up to two semesters of vocal pedagogy, but no practicums, no mentoring, certainly nothing outside of Western Classical style and really, no encouragement to pursue private lessons as a career. It’s more of a “I’ll do this to supplement my income” kind of thing for many musicians.
In 2021, I turned 50, and decided it was time to make a change in my life. I have always burned the candle at both ends, and while I love having a full and varied schedule, I’m getting tired! I started thinking about what I would leave behind when I was no longer a part of this world.
Not a very effervescent thought, I know, but honestly, none of us know how much time we have left. I’m just more aware of it. I also happen to live with Stage 4 breast cancer, and have since 2013.
So in 2021, I enrolled in a couple of amazing online courses: a business course aimed directly at independent voice teachers, and a money management class.
The most important thing I learned from these two classes, when it comes to money and business, is that musicians don’t have to be starving artists! What we do takes skill, is special, important, needed and desired in our world, and it’s possible to make a living doing it.
My goal is to train promising young talent to be able to pass along what they’ve learned under my mentorship. I will not be doing most of the teaching at the Academy, but I’ll help new teachers discover their own skills as educators in a nurturing environment where they will be continuously supported by their peers, students and me as a mentor.”
-Amy Morrison, 2023
Effervescent Staff
Vinny Campbell- Effervescent Admin
Vinny comes from a visual art background, but came to Effervescent Voice Academy to be an administrative assistant. His other passions include making comics, youth ministry, and video games. Vinny resides with his husband, Xander, and their cats Astel and Patches.
What Plays in His Car: System of a Down, Gorillaz, Chuck Salamone, and any song from “The Legend of Zelda”
Matt Morrison- Owner
Matt has been a lifelong musician with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education (University of South Dakota) and a Master's Degree in Trumpet Performance (University of Northern Colorado). Matt is a multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, bass, ukulele, bells, foot percussion, brass, and other instruments as needed. Matt's vocal background includes jazz, choral, rock, pop, and modern worship settings where he has served since 1997. Matt is also a Good Night Theatre Collective member where he has performed in numerous cabarets and musical theatre productions. Matt and Effervescent's founder, Amy, were high school sweethearts who married in 1992 and performed together in a variety of settings over the years, including their own, two-person, multi-instrumental act Two White Squares. Matt also continues to perform in the Sioux Falls area with Midtown Coffee Radio Hour (bass, backing vocals) and CommonGround (vocals, multi-instrumentalist).
Matt serves as Associate Pastor at Asbury UMC in Sioux Falls and is an Ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church.
