Abigail Whitman is an LA-based performer-composer, improviser and Alexander Technique teacher, with a specialization in operatic and experimental vocal techniques. Their artistic practice centers around the voice as a whole body instrument. They strive to bring an updated approach to classical repertoire by modernizing staging and acting to transcend the stereotypes of these beloved older works. Beyond traditional repertoire, they work with living composers to premiere new vocal works that utilize non-traditional vocal styles. Abigail received their Bachelors of Music and Alexander Technique Teaching Certificate from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and their Masters of Fine Arts from CalArts.
Performance
Abigail’s performance practice involves a variety of genres including classical techniques such as oratorio, opera, and art song; choral singing from Baroque to Contemporary, and extended vocal techniques including, but not limited to: screaming, growling, ululation, chittering, clicks, squeaks, and what their collaborators fondly call “dolphin noises”.
Abigail is a seasoned improvisor, and blends classical sounds with extended vocal techniques. Their sound ranges from haunting melody lines to screams and growls. Abigail is the vocalist in the voice-electronics duo Mystic Elevator, along with electronics improvisor Jack Herscowitz. Their debut album, It Burns With a Sweetness, was released by Harmonic Ooze Records in 2025 and can be found on Bandcamp.
Improvisation
Composition
As a composer, Abigail writes pieces that explore collaborative storytelling by using improvisatory notation, which allows space for performer agency. Their works have premiered at CalArts, First Church Congregational of Los Angeles through the NEO Voice Festival, and in residency at Oracle Egg in Downtown LA.
Performance of “a quiet rumbling in the dark” written for the NEO Voice Festival Recurrence, 2023. Soloists: Rachel Steinke and Daniel Newman-Lessler
Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique (AT) is a mind-body unity work that uses a combination of non-manipulative physical contact and language to help students learn how to change their habitual movements. It increases an individual’s awareness of the physical self and the connection between the brain, where all movement begins with a thought, and the body, where movement is executed. Individuals who study AT learn to be more observant, both of their surroundings and the way they react to their environment. The Alexander Technique is common amongst musicians and actors, but is applicable to anyone, because ultimately it is a work that teaches us to connect to our existence as human beings, and from their, connect to our world.