Courses
Find Your Voice Course
Who: pre-formed groups of friends/colleagues anywhere in the UK or overseas
Content: A minimum of 15 hours tuition spread over a weekend or a week; exercises and songs are tailored to the experience level of the group.
Aim: For each individual to understand the factors that influence voice production, and learn techniques that will give them control over these so that they can sing a simple tune accurately with others, and depending on the length of the course learn multiple songs, possibly singing in rounds to provide harmony.
Protect and Project Your Voice Workshops
Who: Pre-formed groups of teachers/lecturers or anyone involved in public speaking anywhere in the UK or overseas.
Content: A minimum of 3 hours of presentation and workshop activities based around resonance and breathing, as well as communication and external factors that influence vocal health.
Aim: For each individual to understand how to be heard clearly and be understood in a variety of settings whilst using their body in such a way that they do not strain their voice.
Termly Courses
These courses require on-going commitment to weekly rehearsals.
Develop Your Voice
Once the Find Your Voice group reaches a certain level they become the Develop Your Voice group and start to work on the skills of singing in harmony and increasing vocal range as well as tackling more complex songs. New singers with some experience (either from individual lessons with me or from singing elsewhere) are welcome to join this group at the start of any term.
Sicure Voci
This was an annual (3 term) project that ran form 2014 until the outbreak of Covid in 2020.
The project aims were to help late-starter and returning singers develop their singing technique, confidence, and musicianship skills, whilst having fun singing more demanding repertoire. In past years the music for this course has been by classical composers. Singers in this group sang solos, duets, trios and quartets, and during the choruses were often asked to sing with only two or three singers to a part. There was a concert at the end of each year for family and friends. The inaugural “Sicure Voci” project of 2014 was developed in response to the needs of my students, as many had previously attended my ‘Find Your Voice’ and 'Develop Your Voice' classes and were ready to be stretched further. The project got its name because the multiple meanings of the Italian word ‘sicuro’ (singular of sicure) were very appropriate to the ethos I wished to create, and the elements I wanted to explore eg. safe, secure, reliable, steady, clear, assured. As a noun ‘sicuro’ even means safety place, whilst ‘voci’ means voices.
I hope to resume this project at some point in the future as it provided a great opportunity for my singers to collaborate with experienced instrumental musicians.
