My Teaching
With over 20 years’ teaching experience, and a career that spans professional ensembles to dramatic soprano opera roles, I am unashamedly technical in my approach towards teaching. A strong technique will help the voice to flourish safely, whether as a soloist or choral singer, and it is also crucial in allowing the voice to carry the emotional expressivity of the singer. I understand the vocal requirements of both soloistic and choral singing, and have experienced the journey from one to the other, and the technical requirements of singing safely and freely in each.
Once I left full time education, I studied with Marie McLaughlin, whom I still see today. At the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, I learned with Professors Susan McCulloch and Rudolf Piernay. At the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, with Dennis O’Neill OBE. These teachers synthesised the best traditions of the Italian and German schools of singing and above all taught me how to free and form my instrument in a safe and healthy way, helping me to develop from choral scholar to dramatic soprano.
I have received coaching from Phillip Thomas, Malcolm Martineau, Kiri te Kanawa, Thomas Allen, Michael Pollock, Mary Plazas, Paul Nilon, Lionel Friend and David Syrus, among other renowned conductors and repetiteurs.
In 2016, I began a Masters Degree in Professional Practice (Vocal Pedagogy) with UWTSD and the Voice Study Centre, where I specialised in research on motor skill acquisition, and emotional expression in performance.
I was awarded a Distinction for this course in 2022. Emotional expression in performance remains a keen research interest for me, as well as staying up to date with developments in scientific understanding of vocal technique.
I have been teaching Classical singing since 2000, and currently work with the undergraduate and postgraduate choral scholars at Oxford University, and as a Part Time Lecturer in Classical Voice at Southampton University.