Cheshire, CT Singing Lessons

her a well-rounded teacher. She has a great sense of humor with a serious commitment to her art and her students. A winning combination for you!

projects. Her song, "The Power of Faith," that she wrote for the Ever Increasing Faith broadcast can be heard all over the world daily on both television and radio. Because of her meticulous instruction, many of her students have gone on to obtain professional careers in the entertainment and music industry. Keisha Renee is currently a The Voice 2017 Team Blake competitor and has been back up singer and opener for the amazing R & B singer, JoJo. Keisha has also sang backups on the P Diddy 2016 Bad Boy reunion tour, she's also a member of Team Minaj as Nicki Minaj's main back up singer as well as numberous others. Julia Michaels, is currently one of America's leading songwriter/vocalist having sold 50 million copies of her songs worldwide and her newest single "Issues" has topped the Billboard chart. Julia was also the first American to ever sing for the closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics. Amber Riley, another of her students, was a main cast member playing "Mercedes" on the 10 year Award winning TV show, "Glee" and is currently playing the lead role of "Effie" on the Broadway musical, "Dream Girls".

As a teacher, I get immense satisfaction from seeing my students excel and fly using the techniques and tools that I have taught them," Cyndi says beaming with pride. "My students have done tremendous things in the industry and it is my pleasure to continue to pass down the nuggets of wisdom and skill that I've obtained from over 30 years in the entertainment business."

Cyndi's training began at age 8 where she studied classical piano for 6 years. By age 15, she and her brother released their first independent single which did reasonably well locally. By age 19, while studying music at Ohio University, she along with her brother won "Right On" magazine's nationwide talent search and were offered two major recording contracts. She decided to sign with Philadelphia International Records under the auspices of Grammy Award winning producer, Thom Bell (who was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). She studied under Thom Bell and it was there that she learned the art of record production. She also studied vocal production under legendary Grammy Award winning producer, Hal Davis (Jackson five fame). Cyndi was taught proper vocal technique by vocal trainer to the stars, Seth Riggs and continued her private studies learning the vocal techniques of the great Alan Linquist. Her teaching style has subsequently morphed into a combination of all these great inspirational instructors.

As a teacher, Cyndi is kind, patient and extremely enthusiastic when it comes to instructing her students. Her students always see her as their friend and one who they know will bring out the best in them and desires that they grow to their fullest potential.

*** Lesson Details ***
When you come to Cyndi for voice lessons, you can rest assured that your vocals will never be the same. She is as comfortable teaching the beginner as she is instructing the seasoned professional who wants to hone their skills even further. She can always bring something out of you that you didn't know was there. Maybe it's the confidence that she exudes when she instructs, maybe it's her innate ability to know what's needed at any given time to make the student better. But whatever it is, you can rest assured that your lesson will be fun, thorough, and the lesson plan that she devises will cause you to arrive at the musical goals that you've set for yourself. She can help you or your child prepare for upcoming auditions, as well as any other scheduled performance. Cyndi will create a lesson plan that will certainly be tailor-made for your style and needs.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Piano

*** Travel Equipment ***
I can bring my Cd player to play tracks etc....the student should have a recording device to record the lesson, whatever performance tracks we'd be working from, and a keyboard would be helpful but not necessary.

*** Specialties ***
My style of vocal training concentrates on singing in the 'Ng" position and using cuperto as the primary way to produce more tone with less effort. I also train my students to breath properly utilizing the lower lumbar area along with breathing from their diaphragm. I generally train vocal students in all genres of music and I stress stage presence in conjunction with proper vocal technique.

le, with Hartford Opera Theater as Elise in Dawn Sonntag's Verlorene Heimat, Pythia in Nkeiru Okeye’s We’ve Got Our Eye on You, and as Miss Paige in Dan Shore’s An Embarrassing Position which was nominated for Best Featured Ensemble in a Musical through the 2015 Broadway World Connecticut Awards. She has also performed with Opera Theater of Connecticut, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Madison Lyric Stage, Greater Worcester Opera, Revolution Opera Alliance, the Simsbury Light Opera Company, and the Greater Meriden Concert Chorale.

Prior to moving to Connecticut, Rachel lived in St. Louis, Missouri, where she frequently performed with the St. Louis Symphony as a member of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. She has also performed with Winter Opera St. Louis, Union Avenue Opera, and the Southern Illinois Music Festival. In 2012, Ms. Abrams had the opportunity to be a sponsored young artist with Winter Opera St. Louis where she performed the role of Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos, covered Musetta in La Bohème, and performed in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical review: A Grand Night for Singing. Ms. Abrams has also performed with Opera Fort Collins, Loveland Opera Theater, Victorian Lyric Opera, and Opera Classica Europa in Bad Schwalbach, Germany as an apprentice artist. Additional operatic credits include Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Giannetta in L’Elisir d’Amore and Miss Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Theif.

A passionate performer of Jewish music, Ms. Abrams was featured as a soloist in Martin Bresnick’s puppet opera, Der Signál, with the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra during the 10th Annual Celebration of Jewish Arts and Culture at Charter Oak Cultural Center in October of 2014. As an active performer of art song, Ms. Abrams has collaborated with various musicians throughout the New England region to create diverse and accessible art song recitals. In April of 2015, Ms. Abrams and pianist Michael Korman presented a recital featuring the works of Schönberg, Ruth Schönthal, Previn, and Weill with the Maurice Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Hartford.

Since the winter of 2016, Rachel has been an active performer with Lollipop Opera Outreach. This touring opera company brings the joy of opera to thousands of school children throughout New England. This season, she will perform the roles of the Mother/Witch in Hansel and Gretel, Babe in The Three Pigs – A Pig Tale, and participate in the premiere of a new interactive “culinary” opera adventure: A Fairytale Kitchen.

In addition to being a passionate performer and collaborator, Rachel is a private music educator dedicated to the success of her students. Ms. A maintains a private studio of voice students out of her home in West Hartford, Connecticut. In addition to her private teaching studio, she is the alto section leader at St. James Episcopal Church in Farmington. She has also taught at Farmington Valley Academy Montessori in Avon, Arts Place in Cheshire and Summit Studios in Manchester.

As a voice teacher, Ms. A provides her students with a holistic, healthy, and age appropriate technique based on her studies of vocal pedagogy, years of lessons from master teachers, and her personal experiences as a performer. Through personalized vocal exercises and repertoire assignments, students will learn how to achieve a proper vocal onset, management of air pressure, increase vocal stamina, and maximize vocal freedom through balanced resonance. While Ms. Abrams teaches "classical" technique, her students apply her pedagogy to all styles of singing including, but certainly not limited to: musical theater, jazz, gospel, barber shop, and even rock!

Before opening her own private studio in Connecticut, Ms. Abrams lived in St. Louis, Missouri where she taught throughout the region. While in Missouri, she served as an Adjunct Voice Instructor/Lecture Professor at East Central College and a Private Voice and Music Instructor at St. John's School of the Arts.

In addition to her teaching experience in the Missouri area, Rachel was a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Northern Colorado, where she was an assistant instructor for Music Survey and Music and World Cultures classes.

Ms. A holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Colorado and a Bachelor of Music degree from San José State University. She lives in West Hartford with her husband Ben and their anti-social diva cat, Bonnie. She is currently accepting new students!

*** Specialties ***
I teach classical technique, specifically focusing on proper resonance and breath control. This method can be highly useful to broadway, jazz, popular or any other style of singing.

arting lesson, please acquire one ASAP before beginning lessons. Thanks!