Information About Becca - Belfast teacher

Personal Description:

Becca’s love of singing began before she attended her first Kindermusik class at the age of four (taught by her mother). By fifteen, she had given her first paid performance and already been offered a record contract with Family Tree Entertainment. Since settling in Northern Ireland, she has completed her Higher National Diploma in Popular Performance and spent over three years performing with an original soul band. Holding a First Class Honours Degree in Music with emphasis on vocal performance from Queens University Belfast, as well as an Associate Diploma in Recital-Singing with Trinity College London, Becca has been honoured by winning the Kathleen Ferrier and Silver Challenge Cups among other awards. Singing in Spark Opera’s premier production Bright Sparks, Becca was given a positive review in Fortnight magazine. She has since conducted singing and performance workshops for the opera company. Becca’s passion for new music (including that which involves Extended Vocal Techniques) has led her to work with several local composers such as: Marc Tweedie, Eduard Zatriqi, Aoife Lynch, Matthew Whiteside, Nigel McBride, and Brian Irvine.

No stranger to the stage, Becca grew-up performing with the Paramount Art Center’s Backstage Players, and was awarded BTAS Best Actress in 2003 for her role as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. Her experiences stretch from the stage to in front of the camera- as a former cast member and featured musician on the sketch comedy show ‘Get Real TV’ broadcast by Warner Brothers’ Network- to behind the sound desk, where she received a KTCF nomination for her sound design of Attempts on Her Life and held a summer stock position as Assistant Sound Designer for Heritage Repertory Theatre. Her production experience fostered a fascination with the electronic side of music, which 
can now be heard in her own material. She currently fronts the local trip-hop trio - Decomposing in Paris.

Tutoring Experience:

6 years at the Ulster College of Music
6 years of private Tuition
Also: Institute of Contemporary Music
Conducting Music & Performance Workshops for the UCM and Spark Opera
Substitute teacher for 'Stage Coach'
Currently teaching at (and serving as President of) MusicFirst NI

Tutoring Approach:

My Approach: I enjoy specializing in a student’s personal needs (in any style)- helping to dispel the myth that if you can sing classically you can sing anything. 


Essential to my teaching is an observation of fundamental technique and genre appropriate stylings – which vary greatly from classical to theatre to pop (including all styles from country twang to a soft rock lilt and metal roar)!


You will learn:
- Efficient breathing with full control and tone support
- Stylistically appropriate larynx (voice box) & velum (soft palate) positioning, as well as areas of vocal placement and resonance
- Warm-ups and exercises that can be done anywhere and do not require piano accompaniment
- Why warm-ups and exercise are essential to vocal development
- Effective rehearsal techniques
- Critical listening and evaluation
- How to maintain a healthy voice
- Stylistically appropriate performance practice (mic technique, engaging the audience, classical etiquette, or acting through a stage piece, etc.)

Rates:
30 min. - £16,

45 min. - £22,
1 hr. - £28,

*Fortnightly lessons available for 1 hr. only at a cost of £30.00

My tuition schedule is based on 4 terms per year.



If you are not looking for regular tuition, I also offer an ‘Intensive Audition Prep Package’ – 
3 Concentrated 1 hr. Coaching Sessions for £100