Information About Margaret - Maidenhead teacher -

(1 review)

Personal Description:

I am a successful international singer and actress, with considerable experience as a performer at a high level. I trained initially as an opera singer, at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and at the National Opera Studio in London, winning the John Scott and Peter Stuyvessant Foundations Awards. I have played numerous leading and varied roles within major opera companies both in the UK and abroad, working with conductors and directors of international renoun. Additionally, I have played leading roles within musical theatre, including Carlotta in Andrew Lloyd-Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" (both at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, and as the singing voice of Minnie Driver as Carlotta, in the Joel Schumacker film, as well as playing another role in the movie), and The Mother Abbess in Andrew Lloyd-Webber's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music", at the London Palladium and the UK National Tour, together with further productions in various parts of the world. I am also a solo concert and cabaret artist, and produced an album called "Isn't It Romantic?" featuring seventeen glorious songs by Richard Rodgers with original arrangements by Kevin Amos. As an actress I have worked for various notable companies both here and abroad performing a number of leading roles. I have just returned from a season with Pitlochry Festival Theatre, playing four roles concurrently.

Tutoring Experience:

I am a vocal coach, working independently with private students and adults, or via music departments or schools and colleges, in various parts of the UK (for the Solihull Music Service, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester and Edge Hill Universities, for example) in addition to giving master classes in performance and technique by invitation. I am currently teaching singing to both music and drama students at Hull University.

Tutoring Approach:

I greatly enjoy passing on my acquired vocal skills, knowledge and huge experience to students, especially, but not exclusively, to those interested in taking up music professionally. Singing can be a pleasurable, life-enhancing, confidence-building sociable experience for everyone and it is a joy to facilitate that. I teach with a boundless enthusiasm and passion. It is essential, regardless of what type of music is to be worked on, that a solid technique is established, especially with young voices, since poor or insufficient understanding of how the voice works, can lead to vocal problems or even damage. A singer has to know how the sound is going to be produced even before they open their mouth: the mental preparation, the breathing, the support and control of that sound, the vowel placement, the tone, use of the lips and tongue and so on, are all important. Primarily, I want students to use the voices they have been given to their best advantage, to enjoy the pleasure of singing and expressing themselves. It is so rewarding watching an individual blossom and improve at whatever age, and see their self-confidence grow as well as their abilities.