Sarah R
Instruments: Piano, Voice, Music
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Folk, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes
Sarah R
Instruments: Piano, Voice, Music
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Folk, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 10-80
Master Degree: Indiana University Jacobs School of Music-Historical Performance Voice
Bachelor Degree: West Virginia University-Vocal Performance
I am a passionate, hard-working singer and instructor who loves to encourage and motivate beginning and intermediate singers to become more confident in their study of music. In 2019, I graduated from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music with my Masters in Early Music Voice, where I engaged in intense performance study of baroque and renaissance music along with many other styles. My performances and recordings have a particular focus on early seventeenth-century English and Italian vocal repertoire, which gives me the unique opportunity to allow historical research to inform my performances of the repertoire. Although I do have an area of specialty, my intense training in vocal technique is certainly applicable to all styles and can be taught in many different types of repertoire.
My teaching experience dates back to my days as a vocal performance major at West Virginia University, where I began teaching private lessons and group lessons to members of my church music ministry. One particular joy that I take from teaching private lessons is seeing students who want to sing but struggle with issues of confidence have a breakthrough where they take a risk in a performance and achieve something they never thought they could do before! I have worked with several students who have struggled with solo singing due to nerves who I have seen blossom and grow in their personal confidence.
For all beginning students who are children, but also adult beginners, I like to focus on vocal warm-ups and exercises to ensure that they develop the fundamentals of healthy singing. After getting to know the student's voice a bit, I believe that coaching solo vocal repertoire is essential to building vocal technique and confidence in performing ability for many different situations. When assigning vocal repertoire, I first like to find out what sort of music the student is interested in and also what their goals are in taking voice lessons and assign repertoire accordingly, but I also like to begin with songs from Schirmer's 24 Italian Songs and Arias book to strengthen basic breath support and a vocal line that is connected to good breath support. While I want to keep lessons focused on developing technique, I also hope to instill a passion for music and singing in all students.
I approach teaching by making sure that each student is learning at their own pace and always remains passionate about music even when they struggle to achieve a certain technical skill in singing. With my students, I try to build vocal technique and performance skill at a pace that is appropriate for each student and introducing challenging skills only at a gradual pace. By acknowledging technical progress as it happens, the student receives the encouragement to push forward in their studies and maintains a positive attitude towards music.
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