Singing with April A.

I have extensive experience teaching voice and musicianship to adults and children of all ages, in addition to a broad versatility of professional performance experience. My expertise includes modern and contemporary music, coaching French, German, and Italian diction, musical theater, teaching beginning aural skills, helping students prepare for auditions for academic programs, Honor Choirs, and shows, and most importantly, helping students of all ages to find their optimal technique and artistic voice. I have teaching locations in either Studio City or Simi Valley, or I can travel to your home, depending on its distance from these locations, for an extra charge. CORE COMPETENCIES: • Helping beginning voice students match pitch • Aiding students in finding their most unified voice from top to bottom • Teaching voice students of all ages the importance of phrasing musically • Guiding students through exercises to help their breath control • Showing students methods of increasing their core strength for breath support • Teaching and coaching French, German, Italian, and English diction, and IPA • Assigning age and skill-appropriate versatile repertoire to students and choirs • Programming recital programs and concerts for students and choirs • Teaching choirs their music and being able to sing all of their parts in a rehearsal • Modeling excellent vocal technique and diction for choirs and ensembles • Intimate stylistic knowledge of all repertoire from musical theater to Mozart to Schoenberg • Training university students to take beginning rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic dictation • Helping students conceive of and perform difficult music in a way that’s easier to understand from a framework of kindness, respect, and understanding I have been on the roster of the Los Angeles Master Chorale since 2017 and have performed in four operas with the Los Angeles Opera Chorus at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. I most recently made my Carnegie Hall solo debut as Mrs. Sinclair in Eric Whitacre's The Gift of the Magi for the New York City premiere. In 2020 I made my Los Angeles Opera debut as the Solo Soprano Voice and Chorus Soloist in the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin's "Eurydice". I have been the Soprano Soloist for Handel's "Messiah" with the Los Angeles Master Chorale twice in Walt Disney Concert Hall, and once for the Santa Barbara Choral Society in Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West. I sang the Mozart Requiem Soprano Solo with the Angeles Chorale and was one of the Vocal Soloists in Dylan Mattingly's Bakkhai with Jacaranda Music for their 2022 season opener. I have performed and covered mainstage roles with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Opera San Luis Obispo, Pacific Opera Project, and the Los Angeles Opera Outreach Program. Favorite roles performed include Laurey (Oklahoma), Johanna (Sweeney Todd), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Frasquita (Carmen), and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi). I recently earned my Doctorate (Doctor of Musical Arts) from UC Santa Barbara. I have my Master's (MM) from the University of Arizona and my Bachelors of Music (BM) from Cal State Northridge.