Teaching

Voice lessons are available for beginner through advanced students, age 8 through adult.  I welcome students who are keen to perform for audiences as well as people who just want to sing for themselves.  I teach healthy vocal technique to help with whatever style of music you wish to sing and I strive to realize each student’s full vocal and artistic potential as a unique singer.

Piano lessons are also available for beginners, adults and children.

All lessons incorporate music theory training.
   
Please feel free to contact me for more information.
 

The human voice is distinctive among musical instruments because of its intensely personal nature.  As a result, it is not unusual for students of any age group to feel shy and self-conscious about their singing.  (On the other hand, I have also had students who feel genuinely confident about singing in front of anyone willing to listen!  Personalities, and thus voices, come in all types.)  But it is precisely this vulnerable, personal quality of the instrument that is its greatest strength.  It has the power to heal people, to move people, to inspire.

My goal as a voice teacher is to help guide my students in the discovery their own voices.  My classical training allows me to provide a grounding in healthy vocal technique and to help students overcome roadblocks as they arise, so they can have greater freedom to express themselves through the music they love.  I incorporate music theory into the lessons to increase their understanding and enjoyment of music.

Discovery of one's voice, however, is not limited to technical learning.  Great singing is not just about good technique, but also great artistry, and the key to great artistry is honesty.  A singer is a musician, actor and performer, no matter what style of music he or she prefers to sing.  Audiences want to feel a connection to the performer, and that connection can't happen unless the performer has an honest connection to him or herself.

Music should be at the very least a playful, fun experience.  For some it is a deeply moving, spiritual experience.  In either case, singing is about expressing something inside of you, something uniquely yours, with your own voice.  Each voice is different, just as each person is different, and of value.

Although we work hard in lessons, I want my students to feel the music, and learn to allow themselves to express what they feel.  Sometimes that involves less striving and more listening to oneself, more playfulness.  The good part is, the more connected the performer is emotionally to the music, the easier it is to provide good technical support for the sound.  The whole body becomes more connected, conscious, alive and energized. 

If there is one thing I want my students to take away with them, it is an understanding that they must always have respect for their instruments.  And this means they must have respect for themselves, because the instrument is the whole human package, expressing the unique music that lives inside them.