Information About Helen - Tavistock teacher

Personal Description:

Heg (as she is most commonly known) has studied singing since the age of 11 where she learnt classical singing with Maggie Grady. During this time she worked through her ABRSM classical grade exams in singing and piano before reaching a distinction in singing at grade 8. From this young age, she gained experience in musical theatre, classical, jazz, popular and folk as well as performing in theatre and harmony singing in various choirs.

Heg has over 20 years of experience as a performer, singing in bands, choirs, theatre and circus shows and as a solo touring act in major venues and touring shows. She has received recognition for her work on BBC **Contact Detail Removed**vision and radio; had reviews published in major magazines; performed at major UK and European festivals and venues and composed and performed for large scale spectacle circus shows to crowds of 10,000+ people. Her own songwriting falls into the folk genre which has made a mark on the UK folk scene with it's unique theatrical style and continues to get bookings across the country and abroad.

Heg also works with choirs - from community level professional. She writes and arranges for her own choral groups which as non-auditioned choirs, have a strong reputation for outstanding singing standard. She draws from her experience as a performer and as a teacher to teach amateur singers how to improve their sound as an individual singer and as part of an overall choir sound.

In 2008 she graduated from Dartington College of Arts with a first class honours degree in Contemporary Music Performance. There she studied songwriting with number one selling songwriter Julian Marshall and contemporary singing techniques with Sandra Smith. Heg's own learning was instrumental in introducing Heg to a deeper understanding of how the voice works, the importance of learning how to breathe well and how to look after the voice during extensive touring. It was during her degree that Heg experienced some vocal problems learnt how to rebuild her voice and reposition it. This learning experience was invaluable and essential and gave Heg a thirst for helping others to experience the joy of singing freely with an unrestricted voice.

Since graduating, Heg has toured extensively as a performer. She teaches singing technique to individuals and to choirs and has continued to study singing, updating her knowledge and training through reading and courses. In 2018 she completed Estill for Singing Teachers, an introductory training course in the Estill Method as well as various CPD accredited online courses by Gillyanne Kayes (Singing and the Actor) at Vocal Process. She continues to add to her knowledge and understanding of the voice through reading and training courses.

Heg teaches singing from her studio in Bristol and from various locations in Devonand is passionate at working with singers on a holistic level. She enables people of all ages, abilities and genders to use singing and breathing technique to release their voices encouraging them to create their best sound. She incorporates and teaches singing technique to all her choir groups empowering singers with tools to sing with confidence, strength and resonance.

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Tutoring Experience:

Heg has taught singing since 2010, working initially with beginners and young children in primary and secondary schools to build up experience whilst training. Since then, she has built up a busy teaching practice working with people of all ages, abilities and styles helping them to improve their sound and gain confidence in their singing.

Heg is experienced at teaching ABRSM exams with an exceptionally high pass rate and students often achieving merit and distinction.

Heg also works with choirs and small groups to improve harmony singing and ensemble skills.

Tutoring Approach:

Heg is gentle and encouraging in her approach to teaching, using positivity and a light-hearted manner to help her students understand how they are using their voice. Together you will explore what's working well and what could be holding you back.

Qualifications:

Vocal Habilitation Professional (currently in training)
Vocal Health First Aider
Estill For Singing Teachers
BA Hons Contemporary Music Performance (First Class Honours) - Dartington College of Arts
ABRSM Grade 8 Singing - Distinction
ABRSM Grade 5 Piano
ABRSM Grade 5 Theory
Full DBS check