Christine J.

General Info

• Certified Music Teacher

  Certified Music Teacher

  Our rigorous hiring process requires a completed application; an interview with our professional recruiting specialists; personal and professional reference checks; and annual criminal background checks for the duration of each teacher's employment with us.

  
• Background Check Complete

  Criminal Background Check

  In order to ensure the safety of our students, all teachers undergo a thorough criminal background check, which includes: Social Security number trace, multi-state criminal search and a nationwide sex offender registry search.

  
• Levels: Beginner to Advanced

• In-Home Lessons: No
• In-Studio Lessons: Yes
• Ages: 5 & up

Subjects Taught

Singing, Music Performance, Music Theory, Opera Voice, Songwriting, Speaking Voice, Theatrical Broadway Singing, Acting

Education

MOSI/Mozateum, Austria - Voice Performance - 1991 (degree received)
Music Academy of the West - Voice Performance - 1990 (degree received)
San Francisco Conservatory of Music - Voice Performance - 1982-84
Sonoma State University - Music - 1979-1982 (degree received)

Notre Dame de Namur University, Belmont, California, Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Music

Specialties

When performing any style of music as a singer, the most important thing one can present is a dedication to the words. The words serve the music. Meaning the words will naturally color one's voice, and the audience will feel an authenticity from the singer.

I also believe that muscle memory plays a great part in developing a healthy technique; this requires patience of both student and teacher, time to create new habits, and trust that one's instinct is most often correct.

Lesson Details

What Do I Do?

Every voice is different because every body is different. Unlike instrumentalists who pack away their tools at the end of the day, we carry our voices with us. This is an important distinction. How we feel physically and emotionally effects our singing. Our age, our musical experience (or lack of),our educational background, our family and social situations- the great mixture of things which makes us the special people we are. Therefore as a teacher, I teach each student ... individually, taking into account all these variables.

When a new student comes to see me for the first time, I ask a lot of questions and I listen carefully. Why are you here? What are your goals? Sometimes there is no clear answer to these, and that's okay! Singing is all about process. In fact, it is a lifelong process. Sure, you may have an audition of concert to prepare for, but the fabulous thing about singing is that no matter what our experience, be it beginner or seasoned professional, we are constantly learning and evolving. Isn't that fantastic​?

Come join me. We will have fun, and learn together how you can best enjoy and succeed in you singing.

I encourage students to record their lessons, keep a small pocket notebook for taking notes, and create a binder with copies of your music that you bring to lessons. For opera-classical students, I will recommend a specific lyric diction book.

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About

Who Am I

I am a fabulous teacher. Really! As a member of NATS (National Organization of Teachers of Singing), I hold my teaching skills to a high standard. No matter what kind music you like to sing, I can help you become more comfortable and have lots of fun! Maybe you want to experiment with pop, jazz or rock? Maybe you like current Broadway hits? Come visit me. Lets play with your favorites, and enjoy! My primary focus is classical, which is the foundation for all healthy singing.

I ... just directed a comic opera, The Old Maid & the Thief at my university. It's in English, so have no fear. Here is the YT link: http://youtu.be/tml9W5DJ4eM

I teach in San Francisco, and in Belmont, CA.

I love singing. It fills my life with transcendent joy as nothing else. I thrive on performing. It feeds my soul to offer my gifts to my audience. I know that for a few hours I have transported them from their daily lives to another world just by using my voice and commitment to the text, and that brings me such pleasure. The natural progression from these first two is the call to share my experience as a teacher of voice, and performing techniques, as well as beginning composition and popular songwriting.

What I Have Done & What I Am Doing?

I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not sing and perform. At the core of my being I am singer. Being a singer informs every aspect of my life. If a day goes by without singing I just don't feel right!

I began performing professionally as a teenager in Los Angeles, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for college. After receiving my Bachelor of Arts degree from Sonoma State University. I majored in music performance, and excelled in that institution's highly regarded opera workshop program, led Peggy Donovan Jeffry and modeled on the principles of Boris Goldovesky.

I moved to San Francisco to work with my coach and new teacher, and soon began entering and winning major local, national and international competitions and being cast in principal roles in local and regional opera companies, and solo vocal parts in oratorio works.

I was a finalist twice each for the San Francisco Opera Center Auditions and the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera. I was finalist twice in the Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions, and won first runner-up. I won a national audition for an apprenticeship in the prestigious Glimmerglass/New York City Opera Young American Artists program. While there I performed Violetta in Verdi's "La Traviata" (directed by the delightful Sir Jonathan Miller), Adina in in Donizetti's "The Elixar of Love",and the Female Fan in William Schumann's "Casey at the Bat." The following summer I was awarded a fellowship at the highly competitive Music Academy of the West where I sang Alice Ford in Verdi's "Falstaff" and studied voice with Marilyn Horne. The next summer I went to Austria to study with Professor Joseph Wallnig, head of the vocal music division of the famed Universitat Mozarteum.

Among my roles are all the great Mozart and bel canto heroines, and repertoire of Puccini, Verdi, Strauss and Stravinsky and Britten.

I am a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing).

In addition, I am a lyricist-songwriter, and a member of the America Academy of Composers, Artists and Publishers (ASCAP). I've been a member of the Recording Arts Academy and have sung for films and popular recording artists, and has some voice-over work.

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