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Rebecca Schwarz, a singing and voice teacher

Teaching in Birmingham (UK) and online

I love being a singing teacher and being able to make an impact on your voice and your singing.  Doing work that impacts lives is what excites me.  Work that makes a difference.

My mission is to liberate your voice, to allow you to be expressive so that you can use your voice without restraint or self consciousness. I will give you the tools to use your voice without restraint and self consciousness.

How I became a singing teacher.

I have been on the journey to fight for the right to be heard and to feel worth listening to.

Singing Teacher

From losing all of my confidence during my acting training, to completely losing my singing voice for over 6 months from what I now see as part of post natal depression, I understand being afraid and feeling vulnerable

I lived it, bought the t-shirt, (not quite), and even wrote the musical (yes really,  it’s called Baby Brained and it’s about post natal depression.  I was in the middle of touring it with Arts Council Funding till it was paused for Covid-19.)

How I work as a singing teacher

I understand wishing that my voice was different, prettier, more powerful, more like someone else’s voice, (every school has the soloist and at my school it wasn’t me).  But the one great thing that came from that voice loss is a new appreciation of my voice.  I love it because it’s flexible, interesting and it’s mine.

I know when to push it and when to be gentle.  I understand your vulnerability.  I’m still working on my demons and I’d love to help you fight some of yours (the vocal ones).

Baby Brained Musical

Who I work with as a singing teacher

I work with people whose singing development has a massive impact on their lives.  That means anyone who wants to make a change, from international singing stars, to those starting out in their singing career. 

If you are a professional in need either because you’ve hit a crisis or you want to try something new then I can help. Perhaps you’ve tried other teachers who weren’t able to help. Maximising your potential and getting your voice ready for whatever you want to achieve with your singing.

A few of the teenagers I taught when I started are now doing really cool stuff  such as  Olly Flavell and Molly.

Brand new singers – working with them to find their unique voice. Often these singers don’t even think they can call themselves “singers”.

My Training – It’s extensive

I’m probably proudest of

Attended many conferences from PEVoC to ViP

I’ve worked at the Hippodrome, as Musical Director for the Youth Musical Theatre Company.

I’ve founded multiple choirs and multiple open mic nights.

I’m part of the team that delivery training events for the British Voice Association which means I get to bring together amazing people and run amazing events.

I was either part of the team that delivered these events.

You can see more of my training and qualification below and you can click here to reasonably recent biography about me with biog and some references.

I’m fasciated by how the mind blocks vocal freedom and believe that often the issue is psychological as much if not ore than anatomical.

I am qualified in Counselling (Level 3) and NLP, Hypnotherapy and other methods (Practitioner) to best enable you to get past your blocks.

I help teachers to care for their voices and mentor other, newer, singing teachers.

That teacher changed my life and that’s what I want to do for the singers I work with.  I want to give them the gift of loving singing.

In more detail…

  • Estill Qualified (CFP)
  • London College of Music – Licentiate in Performance and Associate in Teaching
  • Certification in Advanced Anatomy for Voice Professionals, Distinction (Voice Workshop)
  • British Voice Association Education Working Party

Education

  • Birmingham School of Speech & Drama – One Year Diploma in Professional Acting (Sept. 1998 – July 1999)
  • Queen Mary & Westfield College, Uni. of London – BA. (Hons) English & Drama, 2:1 (Sept 1995- July 1998)

Recent Voice Pedagogy Training

  • BVA – Voice Clinics Forum – Follow the Science – 2024
  • BVA – Beyond the Boundaries for the Amplified Voice  – 2023
  • BVA – Quiet Courage – finding a way through the distress of voice loss – 2023
  • Kari Ragen – Supervised Voice Teacher’s Practicum – 2023
  • Charles Ward – Training in Vocal Massage 2023
  • BVA – Working with Young Performers in Choirs, Theatre and Training – 2022
  • RVW Workshops – Singing in Co-Harmony: Introduction to Trauma-Informed Voice Care 2021
  • Vocology In Practice 2021 Conference, 2021
  • BVA Training The Vocal Athlete, (CO HOSTED) 2020
  • Neuro Vocal Method – Certified Practitioner 2020
  • BVA The Voice – Top Down, (CO HOSTED) 2020
  • J. Williams D.Howard Introduction to Acoustics 2020
  • BVA Extreme Voices (CO HOSTED) 2019
  • PEVoC Conference 2019
  • BVA Breathe Easy 2019
  • Walt Fritz – Foundations in Myfascial Release Seminar for neck, voice and swallowing Disorders – 2019
  • Voce Workshop Kerrie Obert and Voice Geeks Conference 2019
  • BVA Freeing the Dance’s Voice & Chain Reactions 2018
  • Voice Workshop Voice Geeks Conference Attendee 2018
  • Vocology in Practice ViP Conference Attendee 2018
  • Voice Workshop Advanced Anatomy for the Voice Professional – Certificate, Distinction 2018
  • Jeannie LoVetri Introduction to Somatic Voicework 2017
  • Mary King Practical Pedagogy Pathway 2017
  • Jon Stancato Sing a Secret/Inside Voice 2017
  • Charlotte Shorthouse Estill CFP Attained 2017

Mental Health Training

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner – 2021

Counselling Diploma Level 3 – 2020

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner – 2020

Hypnotherapy and other therapy Practitioner 2020

Covid-19 Psychological First Aid 2020

Attended Virtual Trauma Summit 2020

Course Completion of Somatic Coaching for Performers (Singing Sense) 2020

Older Voice Pedagogy Training

  • Aberystwyth Musicfest Mark Meylan, MT Course 2014
  • LCM LLCM, Musical Theatre 2013
  • Vocal Processes – Singing and the Actor, Successful Singing Auditions,
  • Dane Chalfin – Intensive on Contemporary Technique (2008), The Singing Actor (2008),
  • British Voice Association – Fundamentals of the Singing Voice (2010), Accent Method (2010-11),
  • British Kodaly Academy Summer and Easter Schools 2012/13
  • Singing lessons with Mark Meylan and Gillyanne Kayes (Musical Theatre), Dane Chalfin (contemporary), Jazz (Anita Wardell, Sara Colman)
  • Anita Wardell – Jazz singing,

Choirs

  • Cantare Community Choirs October 2011 present
  • Birmingham City Council Community Choir September 2013 – July 2014
  • Burton Borough Harmony Choir September 2008 – July 2012
  • Setting up and musically direct, Cantare Choir. We started in November 2011 and now meet two times a week and have approx 70 members.
  • Conducting choir a 350 strong community choir at Symphony Hall – 2017
  • Setting up the inaugural community choir at Birmingham City Council in 2014 and was Musical Director/Choir Leader for their first year.
  • Choral arranging for all choirs.
  • Part of a team that coached a 1,400 strong, massed choir of Key Stage 2 children at
  • Birmingham Town Hall for Forest Arts in Walsall. 1995 – June 1998)


Check me out on Youtube