After six years as president of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing – Victorian Chapter (ANATS Vic), I have now handed over the baton to the wonderful Curtis Bayliss. I am however still a member of of the ANATS Vic chapter committee and a board director of the national council of ANATS Ltd.

The ANATS Vic committee comprises of representatives of a broad spectrum of styles ( contemporary and classical) and teaching settings (studio, secondary school and tertiary/conservatory) and together we work tirelessly to continue to provide a wide range of professional development opportunities to all our members.

There is still room for improvement in voice teacher education and training, particularly where collaboration and knowledge-sharing between the contemporary and classical as well as voice science and artist “camps” are concerned. If you are a voice teacher or singing student, please check out the ANATS Ltd website and consider joining.

Please visit https://www.anats.org.au/ for all information pertaining to ANATS both in Victoria and nationally.

My teaching philosophy:

Teaching Singing…

…encompasses work on posture, breathing, support, vocal-tone production, articulation, diction (in several languages, apart from English usually in Italian, German and French), intonation, expression, phrasing, musical style etc. It is highly individual and rarely a case of one size (‘approach’) fits all.

My work focuses on healthy and efficient voice use and is based on the bel canto tradition of Western classical singing. I am happy to work with students of different levels (beginners to professionals) as long as they are keen and committed to the journey that learning singing entails.

Although at home in Early Music, Oratorio, Opera, Art Song and German Lieder (native German speaker) I do not limit my students to classical repertoire and also teach contemporary styles like Musical Theatre, Jazz or Folk. However, where a student has serious aspirations as a contemporary singer, I usually recommend to see one of my colleagues who specialize in contemporary voice.

I often incorporate gestures and movements into my teaching where appropriate and my research interest into the ‘role of the body in learning’ has actually grown from recognizing what powerful learning tools specific gestures and movements can be. Specific movements for instance can help to energize or relax the body whereas specific gestures can facilitate the understanding musical and acoustic concepts and the functioning and coordination of the physiological mechanisms necessary for singing. In fact gestures and movements can mirror the singing process and the singer’s thought whilst singing, thus making the voice ‘visible’.  To read more about the Visible Voice method and some of my research, please go to Research.

I currently teach at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and in my Private Voice Studio where I cater for all vocal needs including AMEB and VCE singing exam preparations.

For more information please contact me via the contact page.

Since early 2019 I am honored to teach voice at

AUSTRALIAN DUNHUANG ARTS ACADEMY 澳大利亚敦煌艺术学院

Please feel free to contact the school for more information

https://www.dunhuangartsacademy.com/

Vocal Freedom:

Developed by Dr Julia Nafisi, Vocal Freedom draws on elements of Yoga, Tai Chi, Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais to achieve relaxation and positive energy in body and mind. Highly successful in Germany over many years, the work utilizes specifically designed gestures and movements to visualize physiological mechanisms, singing related imagery and acoustic phenomena to aid efficient vocal tone production. The work is carried out undividually or in small groups (of up to four) in a positive and unthreatening environment.

This class is for you if …

…you want to benefit from the healing effect of singing;

…you want to feel the deep connection of breath, body and voice;

…you want to experience the inner freedom that singing can give;

…you always wanted to sing and never really gave yourself permission;

…you love to sing but don’t quite like the sound of your voice;

…you want to improve the resonance of your voice – in song and speech;

…you were made to believe you have little or “no” voice but dare to challenge this;