Kiera Matthews Voice Studio

Come take singing lessons with an Adjunct Instructor of Voice at NYU! Kiera Matthews is a multi-hyphenate artist in performance, teaching, and directing. She has performed in Santa’s Little Helpers (The Manship Theatre); Nietzsche**, Alice in Wonderland (Off-Broadway); and several concert engagements at 54 Below and The Green Room 42. Her teaching credits include a robust private studio, The Harmony Program, New York University, Imagine Works Youth Theatre, First Stage Theatre Academy, Sunset Playhouse, and more. Directing credits: [lab]: “Sparks” (Off-Brand Opera); Addams Family Jr., Mean Girls Jr. (Imagine Works); 54 Sings Off-Broadway Musicals (54 Below); Beauty and the Beast, 101 Dalmatians (First Stage), and more. —————————- We use our voices every day to communicate with each other and express ourselves. Using your everyday speaking voice is easy, so why shouldn’t singing be the same? By taking voice lessons with me, we can work on: 1. Comfort in the highest and lowest parts of your range 2. Relieving tension while singing 3. Foundation for belt technique 4. Strong acting choices while singing 5. Confidence in your voice and yourself My values as a teacher are: 1. If you can speak it, you can sing it. - Singing is not all that different from speaking. Taking from the methodology of Mary Saunders Barton, we will use speech exercises to find your natural singing voice and eliminate any extra effort you may feel in your vocal process. As your voice teacher, I will make clear connections to your speaking voice and the different types of sounds that we can make everyday. If you can speak it, you can sing it. 2. There's no such thing as right and wrong - there are only choices. - Singing is a vulnerable art form. We are sharing a deep and personal part of ourselves when we sing. We often have a clear idea in our heads of what good singing sounds like. In reality, there is a whole palette of sounds to choose from. There are no right or wrong sounds to create - only different choices to make. As your voice teacher, I’m here to support your journey and encourage you to challenge your preconceived notions about yourself and your voice. 3. Goals help shape our practice habits. - The only way we can measure progress is by creating and setting goals for ourselves. As your voice teacher, I’m here to develop short and long-term goals for you to work towards in your vocal journey. Also, I want to enable you to set vocal goals for yourself and to provide you with the tools to work towards those goals outside of the studio. 4. Voice training should be supported by voice science. - Many singers have worked with teachers who teach by tradition because “it works”. We shouldn’t do vocal exercises solely for the sake of just doing them. As your voice teacher, I want to take the “guessing game” out of your vocal process. With my background in voice science and vocal pedagogy, we can diagnose specifically what’s happening in your voice and use tailored exercises to tackle those challenges. ---- Special skills: Healthy Belting - In my own performances and in my studio, I work to establish a belt technique that is healthy, easy, and sustainable. By challenging previous notions of what belting should feel or sound like, my students are able to tackle contemporary repertoire with ease and expand their vocal range.