Cromwell, CT Singing Lessons

mputers with recording software.

*** Travel Equipment ***
Keyboard, practice amp, and/or instrument cords. I expect the student to provide his/her own instrument, and prefer they have an amplifier for electric instruments.

*** Specialties ***
I teach in all genres, but have experience in rock, alternative, pop, jazz, and even music theater.

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.

t the most out of it.

**In your first lesson, I will get to know you by asking for your vocal history, influences, goals, and style. Most importantly, “What would you like to get out of this lesson?” Every singer has different challenges, needs, and goals, so I approach each student and lesson as a unique experience where the student’s most pressing needs will be addressed.

I’ll give you an honest idea of where your voice needs to grow and then will work with the tools to get there! You will get a personalized lesson plan to practice with. Like a gym workout routine, these exercises will target your weak areas to correct bad habits and build a strong, balanced instrument.

**I will ask you to sing a song…… your latest repertoire, “Happy Birthday,” "twinkle twinkle little star", something just to get an idea of your voice and style. Then I will take you through a few singing technique exercises to quickly assess your strengths and challenges.

**As your technical abilities grow, you need to apply them to songs. The key is to maintain the same easy feeling in your songs that came out in the exercises. Bring in your music and we can work out any kinks and I will also suggest appropriate material in your key and style that will build upon the successes of your exercises. Stylistic and performance coaching is available, but our focus is technique, if you don’t learn HOW to sing, WHAT you sing will always be limited. I will work with you so that as a singer, you will be able to sing through a greater range with more consistency. As a performer. you will become confident that your voice will deliver time after time. My goal is to help you sing in a free, natural manner, while keeping your lessons engaging and fun.

-EAR TRAINING -
As a choir and vocal director, I am trained to listen and pay special attention to all the details including pitch, vibrato, dynamic and harmonies. I will help you learn to listen and gain confidence to "hear" progressions in the music and their voice.

-STYLES/GENRES -
Being a worship leader, choir and vocal director in a major urban church in the Sacramento area, I have over 13 years experience as a gospel artist and contemporary christian singer, singing, performing and recording with many gospel artists and contemporary christian artists, both local and professional. I have recorded and performed with such artists as Israel Houghton, Lincoln Brewster, BJ Putnan, Trent Corey, Darnisha Taylor and the Porter Brothers.

-SINGING/VOICE TRAINING -
I am a Voice Teacher (student) with the Institute for Vocal Advancement. The IVA technique is based on 17th and 18th Century principles of singing developed by the Old Italian School of Singing. Our goal is to train voices to sing in a free and natural manner, smoothly, from the bottom of the range to the top with no breaks or sudden changes in quality. Training in this technique gives the singer access to all dynamics, with tonal clarity and flexibility. Also, training in this technique helps improve a singer's range, endurance, stamina, breath control, resonance, vocal strength and vocal quality across all styles of music without fatigue or damage to the voice. We accomplish these results by training the singer to find a balance between airflow and intrinsic muscular resistance, all within a resting laryngeal posture.

=PERFORMANCE OR AUDITION PREP-
As a former entertainment business professional and singer, I have experience in dance, choreography, stage blocking, performance technique and vocal coaching. I will help you prepare for your performances and/or auditions to present the best YOU, that you can be!

usic? Will this be a hobby for you? Whatever your goals are, I am excited to know your story.

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