Speaking Voice with Nicole C.

As a voice teacher and voice coach, I strive to help the student get to where they want to be vocally. For me, singing is something that brings me joy and I hope to be able to share that with you. It took me a while to realize how much music and singing means to me. While studying something entirely different at the University of Maryland, I began studying voice and realized that it was something that I had a gift for. I fell in love with singing art songs, jazz, and opera arias. And while studying at the University of Maryland, I had the opportunity to work as a voice teacher/ section leader with the women's section of a choir, and numerous opportunities to work as a soloist, and in a few jazz clubs. I was also involved in dance performances and acted as a dance tutor. Later, when I was invited to sing in Denver I had the opportunity to sing in Little Shop of Horrors and sing with a women's choir. While studying at the University of Colorado Boulder I began to come into my own and started to let my large sound free. (Which for me was a process. Getting your voice where you want it and to where it is capable is work. But, it is fun work and you're always happy when you have these great moments where you get to where you were hoping you could and that your teacher said you would go at some point.) It was there, at CU Boulder that I got the opportunity to start singing in operas. While in Boulder I sang in The Magic Flute, Sarah McKinnon, and as a soloist or recitalist. Also, while there I worked as an actress in a theater company called the Interactive Theater Project for three years. I thought that by getting involved in that that I would be able to act more effectively while singing. It was fun just doing something where you're just working with the spoken word. I had a wonderful time with them and learned a lot about character work and what it takes to connect to the words in an effective way. In the past few years, I have been a soloist and recitalist in the Washington, DC area and have sung opera in Pennsylvania with Center Stage Opera. Last year, I sang with Center Stage Opera in the role of Bertha. I had the opportunity to sing and act at the Kennedy Center a few years ago. Also during that time, Isang in Aleko, the Die Zauberflöte as the Queen of the Night, Serena in Porgy and Bess, and sang in Ragtime and sang the role of the Wardrobe in Beauty and the Beast. I am currently working as a classical soloist, a guest gospel soloist with various churches, the director of a concert series, and a cantor, and I'm writing monologues and small plays to be performed. I was working as a co-executive producer/casting director for a show that is on Amazon Prime as well. This summer I had the opportunity to perform in Beauty and the Beast as Madame de la Grande Bouche once again and I'm currently in rehearsal for the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime as Judy. I look forward to what the rest of the year will bring. *** Lesson Details *** If you're a beginner, I will help you to understand what you need to get through the vocal line with breath and intonation. We will begin by doing vocal exercises and learn a lot about breathing for singing. I want to help you to make more beautiful tones. I will also slowly begin teaching you how to read sheet music and to help you be a more effective listener when it comes to music. I can also help you to become a better communicator as a singer. For acting, I will help you to learn how to develop characters and bring the writer's words to life. We will begin by seeing what sort of subjects or genres interest you and what you are doing with those words now, and how you can delve deeper into making the world of the characters something more flushed out. For beginning piano: I will teach you to learn how the piano is set up, teaching you to read sheet music, beginning theory and to play songs. Something beyond nursery rhymes. *** Studio Equipment *** Inside my home studio, I have music, a music stand, chairs, WiFi, a computer, a laptop, a keyboard, a microphone, a metronome, a microphone, an amp/large speaker, and a sofa. *** Specialties *** For voice, I would say that my focus is on classical voice. I also sing jazz, gospel and musical theater. For acting, I have done both improvisational and regular scripted plays. I have taught students with special needs, and as someone with a twin sister with special needs, I am open to teaching students with special needs.