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Aaron Copland School of Music - Queens College - City University of NY
Bachelors/Masters of Music BA/MM
Continuing Education Courses: The Juilliard School, The New School, Berklee School of Music,
I am a dedicated, passionate, motivated, serious and fun-loving Music teacher for over two decades. I am a graduate from The Aaron Copland School of Music with a BA/MA in Voice and Music Education. I have supplemented these studies by completing courses and attending various conservatories and colleges such as The Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music, Amherst College and, Berklee College of Music. I love teaching my private students, which range from 10- 82 years of age. I am an avid Choral Music performer in NYC with the Cecilia Chorus of New York and Oratorio Society of NewYork. We perform three to five times annually at Carnegie Hall. I have performed at Alice Tully Hall, Metropolitan Opera, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Avery Fisher Hall. Teaching Singing and Piano are my passion and the longer I teach, the more I love and appreciate my students and music.
My vocal teaching experience dates back to my high school years. My Choral conductor gave me the opportunity to give sectional rehearsals to the Sopranos and Altos while he would work with the Tenors and Basses. I learned then that I had passion for teaching music which led me to my musical education and performance journey. I began teaching Private students Voice and Piano in College. I am a dedicated, energetic and motivating teaching professional. My goal is to help develop my students love and knowledge of music,. I teach Classical, Musical Theatre, Jazz, Pop, Folk and love to help my students grow and learn to appreciate diverse styles of music. As we work together, it brings me great joy to watch their musical skills flourish and their confidence blossom. I encourage my students to be exuberant and joyful performers in addition to excellent listeners. My goal is to nurture their love of music and talent so they may find joy and share it with others throughout their lives.
My methodology continues to grow which keeps my teaching exciting, fresh and current. My Voice lessons always begin with helping the singer discover and improve the fundamentals of the breath. Breathing is the fuel for our vehicle and once we have that, we can travel musically wherever we desire. I have various breathing exercises to strengthen the core. We then work on tone quality, vowel modification, phrasing and interpretation. Selecting repertoire is a collaboration and I enjoy discovering the student’s taste and style. Motivating the singer to experience different styles is often motivating and surprising. Teaching Piano unveils a new method of teaching. Since I teach all levels of students, it is just as important to learn their level of understanding as well as what they need to discover and perfect. I begin with posture and relaxation at the piano. We move through all the fundamentals of note reading, scales, chords pieces and songs. I love teaching the piano student finger flexibility by using Hanon, and various exercises. I use progressive books, Bastien, Faber, Schaum, Thompson and numerous sheets with recognizable songs that the students love to play. A fun way to improve sight reading is to scan through the pages of a songbook and stop, look and read through the song. This skill is invaluable, fun and the students very much enjoys the challenge.
I have been studying Voice with Jill for three years. I changed from another a teacher and Immediately clicked with her warm knowledgeable personality. Jill makes me feel so confident which in turn improved my breathing technique and performance ability. I auditioned for an Off- Broadway Musical and got the role that I wanted. Jill made me so prepared for my audition and made sure that I selected the perform piece. I am blessed to have have as my teacher.
I was studying Opera at a Conservatory and met Jill at a Workshop. Lucky day, I was in transition between auditioning forBroadway or staying inOpera. Through Jilll’s professional guidance, she was able to help improve my technique classically which enable me to stay in the Opera world yet audition for Legit Theatre. Her expertise in repertoire has helped ,are this process so exciting. I am very grateful to have such a caring professional as my coach.
Great teacher for voice! She listens to your feedback and really cares about you and your progress. Would recommend to anyone looking to have fun and also learn while taking voice lessons. 10/10 would sing with Jill again.
She is awesome. I love her style.She is a people person. You feel so comfortable with her personality. Will recommend her to others any time.
Jill W is the best voice teacher on the planet! I am very creative but also have much trauma around singing and it was preventing me from improving (coz if you're too "angst" to even sing around the house alone, how can you get better, you know?). Since meeting Precious Jill, I kind of stopped thinking so much about how I sound and started focusing on the experience of singing, and by extension got better. And her information/suggestions helped even more. And her observations and homework are second to none! I feel as though other parts of my talent (ie writing both music and lyrics) and even life (ie social interactions with other musicians) have improved vastly since working with Jill. I'm only sad that I can't put like 55 stars in this review :)) thank you Jill, you're a treasure :))
I have been voice studying with Jill W for four years. We met at a Broadway workshop and I found her coaching style invigorating. She has motivated me to practice in such a different way than my other coaches. She is extremely patient, kind, straight forward and teaches with great humor. My confidence has soared and my success with auditioning has been amazing. I am adding piano lessons in the summer so that I can accompany myself during my performances. She is the best!
I am so fortunate to have met Jill W at a Vocal Symposium in CO. She is a very knowledgeable about the voice and has helped me so much in a very short time. Our lessons are focused, fast-moving and full of musical information which I am able to utilize all week. I love my new warm-ups. Jill has introduced me to new rep. My breath support, range and level of confidence have already improved so much. I feel so grateful to be studying with such a wonderful and warm professional.
My piano lessons with Jill have been the highlight of my week. I have been playing piano for several year but never had the motivation to practice and progress. All of that has changed this year and I am thrilled with my pieces and excited with my progress. Jill’s lessons are so much fun and she challenges me to play musically.
Taking lessons with Jill has been such a joy. She is incredibly encouraging , patient, creative and has given me so much confidence in my singing. Jill can diagnose a vocal problem quickly and presents solutions that are effective. My auditioning results have been so positive and I am so grateful to have Jill as my teacher and coach.
As a singer songwriter, my lessons with Jill W have been invaluable. She has taught me how to breathe properly and improved my projection even without the use of a mic. She has taught me some music theory which has made my composing better. Every week I learn another tool which helps me become a better singer and musician. Thank you Jill !
I met this extraordinary teacher when I graduated from Berklee College of Music and was referred by my professor. Jill has improved my understanding of of warming up my instrument. My flexibility has doubled and my jazz singing comes with such ease. Every week pushes me to another level. Thank you Jill. You’re amazing!
In my three years studying voice with Jill W,I have grown so much vocally and have become a professional musician. I have learned how to keep my voice healthy and my confidence has sky rocketed. Our lessons are structured, productive and very enjoyable. Jill has taught me how to read music and accompany myself on piano. She is absolutely the most gifted teacher I have ever had and I look forward to our lessons together every week!
I met my new piano teacher, Jill W at a performance at Purchase College. She is my friend’s Voice teacher and I have often heard raves about her motivating lessons . I was in a rut and stopped practicing. Jill made a few suggestions to me and she has been my piano teacher ever since that chance meeting. My repertoire has grown and my enjoyment of playing makes me feel so happy. I am enjoying and understanding theory and fingering and able to figure out progressions on my own. What a difference a good teacher makes on one’s love for music.