FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I charge $45 an hour. This includes, at the very least, technical instruction, coaching and accompanying the lesson. Where it is applicable, I am also conversant in the several languages relevant to singing - Italian, French and German. I am also very experienced in a number of styles with many years experience in Jazz, Music Theater, Opera and Concert as well as the commercial side of music in recording, film and arranging and composition.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
The first meeting with a prospective student is about introducing myself, my background and how I work in general. There can often be some nerves at the start so I want to keep it low key and establish a level of comfort. In the initial contact, I will ask if the student would like to bring a piece or an excerpt that they would like to sing for me. If not, we can vocalize a little bit so I can learn something of the voice. From this I can gather the singer's skill level and would also want to learn how comfortable the student is in reading music. We would spend some time discussing what the student would like to achieve, whether it be performing better in their church choir, or preparing for an audition or performance. With the remaining time, we would then hold a "sample" lesson and discuss how one goes about practicing, if that is necessary, and how we would like to proceed.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have studied with numerous well-known teachers/performers (James King, Gary Kendall, Robert Macfarland, Sandra Sliker-Bowman, Herbert Eckhoff, Don Everette) and coaches (John Wustman, Louise Sherman, Ruth Baker) of the art of singing around the country. This has exposed me to a large variety of approaches as to how one develops the technical side of the voice as well as a firm grounding in musicianship, knowledge of various styles, and how one prepares for and executes in performance. I have taken part in masterclasses given by various famous singers (Jerome Hines, Renata Scotto) and teachers allowing me to observe how different teachers approach students with may themselves have a wide variety of ways in which they learn. My experience as a performer under noted conductors (Julius Rudel, Mattias Kunsch, Klaus Donath) and directors (Terrence Mann, David Morelock, Chas Rader-Schieber) provides me a great depth of background on the skills necessary for continued, successful preparation and performance.