Sondra S
Instruments: Piano, Voice
Styles: Classical, Pop, Rock, R&B, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes
Sondra S
Instruments: Piano, Voice
Styles:
Classical, Pop, Rock, R&B, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
MFA, CalArts, Vocal Performance Ed.M. Columbia Teachers College, Music Education
I'm a former opera and concert singer who has spent many years teaching students ages 5 to 65 in almost all imaginable musical styles, from rock to opera and pop to musical theatre. I focus on breathing, vocal technique, interpretation and style, and am especially experienced in working with a variety of vocal problems. I worked for many years in children's and teens' musical theatre programs as a vocal coach. I also can teach beginning and intermediate piano. I recently moved back to LA from New York, where I was teaching and performing.
My teaching experience dates back to my days as a graduate vocal performance student at California Institute of the Arts, where I taught undergraduate and graduate instrumentalists how to use their voices. I also taught voice to actors while I was singing in an opera house in Germany. Since then, I've worked with all ages of students in private lessons and groups. I especially love to work on musicals with children and teens, and can also help prepare students for college and professional auditions.
I gear my methods for both voice and piano to the level and personality of the student I'm working with. If the student is very young, I don't get too technical, and just try to instill a love of music and a sense of fun into the lessons. As they get older, I bring in more technical elements, especially focusing on breathing with singers. With younger pianists, I've used a variety of instruction booklets and will gear my teaching to their interests, often teaching chords so that they can look at a piece and improvise an accompaniment.
My teaching style, both for voice and piano, is eclectic and really geared to each individual student. I believe in starting where the student is at, and always try to instill a sense of confidence and joy in each student. Teaching music is more than just teaching technique and songs--it is really working with the whole person. I love to see how a student develops, both musically and personally. In my years of teaching, I've experienced students having some wonderful transformations as performers and people. This is one of the main things that makes teaching so rewarding!
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