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Northern California Vocal Coaches

You like to sing and you want to be better? Then learn from some of the top professional vocal coaches around. With years of experience a good vocal coach can be invaluable and can take you and your voice to a whole other level.

Alexandra Mena

Alexandra Mena is a sought after teaching artist in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she maintains a private voice studio. She specializes in musical theatre styles in both contemporary and legit repertoire, as well as contemporary commercial styles (CCM), for high school and college students on a performance track. She has coached students for national competitions like American Idol 2014, (reached celebrity panel), and the ETTV Top Idol 2016 & 2017 (reached top 13 and top 10, respectively), and international competitions, such as the Water Cube International Vocal Competition 2017, in Beijing, where her student reached the top 30. Alexandra has also coached for Disney and Nickelodeon auditions. One of her students can be seen as Monyca in Disney's "Diary of a Future President, and heard in the voice part of Kamala in Disney's "Mira, Royal Detective". In the spring of 2020, her student was a finalist and runner-up at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, for musical theatre.

Hometown: San Francisco


Amber Morris

Amber’s appreciation of music inspired her to pursue a career in both the artistic and technical side of singing. She has been performing as a lead and background vocalist for over 35 years, and has had a well-established voice studio for the past 14 years in San Rafael, CA. She has performed on CD, TV and/or DVD releases for such luminaries as Huey Lewis & the News/Soulsville, Tommy Castro/Hard Believer, AXS TVs Concert Ronnie Montrose Tribute Band DVD with Eric Martin, Sesame Street, King of The Hill. Live show support includes Eric Martin Band (Mr. Big), Y&T, Dave Jenkins & Cory Lerios of Pablo Cruise, Sammy Hagar, Lara Johnston Band featuring Tom Johnston and members of the Doobie Bros., Shaka Ra & the World Pop Machine with Zairian superstar Shaka Ra Mutela and more. Presently Amber can be seen singing with SoulJah Family Band and Eric Martin Band, Amber is vocal coach/producer for SanRe Entertainment. Amber and guitarist husband Tal “TMo” Morris are the proprietors of Ice House Studios in San Rafael, the location of Amber Morris Voice Coaching, a destination for singing talent in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Hometown: Corte Madera


Andrea Aragon

Andrea Aragon offers voice lessons to children and adults at her studio in San Francisco and on Skype. Andrea teaches the highly effective Institute for Vocal Advancement technique (mixed singing, formerly Speech Level Singing). The IVA technique allows students to find a healthy and sustainable connection between their chest voice and head voice (or passagio) using a series of exercises to keep the larynx at a resting position. The IVA technique has commonly used been used by over 100 Grammy award winners including Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, and Bette Midler, and can be applied to any vocal style: jazz, soul, funk, pop, Broadway, and more.

Hometown: San Francisco


Ann Souren

Ann Souren is an artist that is passionate about all things musical. This Armenian born talent made her way to California where she found her home in beautiful San Francisco. Living a life surrounded by music was something that came naturally as her father would regularly play the blues on his guitar and share his own musical journey with Ann through his vinyl collection. Drawing her early inspiration from music icons such as The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, Erick Clapton, Aretha Franklin and Etta James, Ann Souren’s taste in music had a strong foundation.

Hometown: San Francisco


April Grisman

April Grisman is a singer/songwriter with a powerful voice influenced by Jazz, Rock and R&B. Along with her mother and two older sisters, April is a professional performing and recording artist. A sought-after vocal coach, April combines her engaging personality and compassionate spirit with a thorough knowledge of breathing, voice mechanics, phrasing and Pop, Rock, and R&B styling for a unique approach that gets results. Her philosophy is to give vocalists a safe place in which they can freely explore and develop themselves. April is also a talented songwriter and has fronted and recorded with several bands, including her own, performing her original material locally in the Bay Area. Currently, April fronts the popular 80’s dance cover band, The 85’s and Soul Jah Family Band

Hometown: San Anselmo


Ariel Thiermann

Ariel Thiermann, M.A. is a voice and performance coach. She works with individuals of every age in the exploration and unleashing of their best voices. Ariel also assists her students in songwriting and artist development.

A performer since the age of seven, Ariel grew up singing for thousands of families around the country and on the Disney channel. As a teenager she performed with the award winning a cappella trio, Mayim and went on to create her own solo music. Now an independent performing artist for more then 15 years, Ariel tours and teaches internationally

Hometown: Santa Cruz


Betty Scheinder

Betty is a San Francisco Bay Area award winning voice teacher and singer. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Oberlin College in Ohio with additional training in New York and Los Angeles. With more that 30 years of experience in performing arts education, Betty is currently on the faculty of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She has served on the faculty of University of San Francisco, Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa, Seth Riggs' Summer Institute in Los Angeles and Green Voices Institute in Munich.

Betty specializes in teaching seamless vocal technique and passionate performance. Her technique is a synthesis of classical training as it applies to Musical Theatre and other contemporary commercial styles of music. Betty's clients are performing on Broadway, national tours and include Tony and Grammy Award winning artists. Betty Schneider's client roster includes Grammy Award winning recording artists and Tony Award winning Broadway stars. She travels internationally doing workshops in musical theatre, pop and jazz. Having trained in New York and Los Angeles, she now teaches in San Francisco and Berkeley where she specializes in teaching seamless vocal technique and passionate performance

Hometown: San Francisco


Bob Rose

Bob Rose is a well known vocal instructor with a unique variety of talents and abilities. For 30 years, he has developed a specialized singing method to put into his CD book entitled "Contemporary Singing Techniques." He has worked with artists such as the Beach Boys, Mary Stuart Masterson, Members of the SF Chorus, and many others. Based on his state of the art recording experience from working with many famous producers, Bob offers his singers a unique blend of performing/recording experiences for all levels and styles of music and speaking.

Hometown: Pacifica


Bridgette Doss-Johnson

My approach to music learning is multi-faceted. Many different applications towards learning a principle will reinforce the learning. For example, in learning rhythm, it can be broken up into number counts and sub-counts, broken up and defined into syllables, associated with words, or identified with body motions. Each approach fortifies the others and produces better understanding for the student who can then make better applications for their learning.

Hometown: Santa Clara


Carrie Hennessey

Known for her ability to bring great musical and theatrical depth to her performances, lyric soprano Carrie Hennessey is a powerful, talented artist. In recent years, she’s been delighting Northern California audiences on stages in Sacramento, Mendocino, Berkeley and several other neighboring communities. Ms. Hennessey utilized her theatrical background by working with the Sacramento Opera and the Sacramento Children’s Chorus to stage direct the April 2010 run of Brundibar and worked with Sacramento Opera’s Education and Outreach program to direct and perform in the opera Green Eggs and Ham. When not performing on the main stage, Ms. Hennessey continues the important music education work with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Napa Valley and other organizations in Northern California.

Hometown: Sacramento


Caylia Chaiken

My #1 job is to empower your creative development and self expression in music. My lessons will connect you to your innate musical talents and give you the skills to express them freely and joyfully, making music a life long companion.

Many schools and studios have hosted my classes and workshops. I was delighted to be the Choral Director and Elementary Music Teacher in the Ross Valley School District where I worked with hundreds of students from Wade Thomas, White Hill Middle School, Manor Elementary and Brookside schools. I’ve also taught General Music (K-5) at several schools in the Mill Valley and San Rafael districts.

Hometown: Mill Valley


Chad Runyon

Chad Runyon has appeared on television, radio and concert programs in Japan, Australia, Singapore, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Europe and the United States. He was a member of the Grammy Award-winning ensemble, Chanticleer, from 1988-1997. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Chad has appeared with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, the Men and Boys of Grace Cathedral, the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Chad teaches weekly lessons at his studio in Danville, California. Whether you have studied voice privately before or not, you will benefit from lessons because of the one-on-one interaction with an accomplished singer and voice teacher. It’s your time to ask questions about your voice, to learn the music you are working on, to develop a reliable technique and, of course, to sing! With study and practice, you will understand your voice better.

Hometown: Danville


Charles L. Vail

To provide a well-rounded vocal and musical performance education to students wishing to pursue a career in vocal music, such as studies in stage productions (i.e. opera, operetta, and musicals), or advanced teaching methods of singing. To prepare talented vocal students for professional singing careers, and for careers as teachers of singing.

Hometown: Citrus Heights


Chelsea Hollow

Coloratura soprano Chelsea Hollow performs with San Francisco Bay Area companies including The San Francisco Opera Guild, West Bay Opera, The Lamplighters, Pocket Opera, and 42nd Street Moon. Favorite roles include Olympia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann/Offenbach), Amy March (Little Women/Adamo), Madame Herz (Der Schauspieldirektor/Mozart), Lucy (The Telephone/Menotti), Adina (Elixir of Love/Donizetti), Dorine (Tartuffe/Mechem), and The Virgin Mary in the world premiere of Peter B. Allen's The Message of Gabriel. As a concert soloist, she has performed with The Cathedral Chorus of St. Mary of the Assumption and the San Francisco State University Chorus. In Spring 2013, Chelsea joined the Hot Air Festival as the soprano soloist in Benjamin C.S. Boyle's To One In Paradise. Musical theater experience includes Carroll Beamish (Very Warm for May/Kern) and Rapunzel (Into the Woods/Sondheim).

Hometown: San Francisco


Christa Pfeiffer

Having established herself as a specialist in oratorio and concert work, Christa’s performances include Haydn’s St Nicolai Mass at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the CD Singers in Phoenix, AZ, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Haydn’s The Seasons with Marin Oratorio. She has also performed with the San Francisco Choral Society, Soli Deo Gloria, Santa Rosa Symphonic Chorus, Pacific Chamber Symphony, Oakland Symphony Chorus, and the UC Alumni Chorus.

She performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the American Philharmonic Sonoma County. Other engagements include Eden/Eden by Steve Reich with the San Francisco Ballet, Gubaidulina’s Symphony for Two Orchestras with the Berkeley Symphony under Kent Nagano, and Ravel’s Chansons Madécasses and Shéhérezade. In June of 2013 she performed the orchestrated version of Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb.

Hometown: San Rafael


Daria Jazz

Acclaimed vocalist, DARIA, an innovative singer and songwriter with a beautiful voice, unerring pitch and wide vocal range, blends Jazz, Brazilian music, Afro Cuban and world rhythms to create her own powerful and expressive style. Growing up in San Francisco, Daria was part of a uniquely creative family. Her mother spoke five languages, taught creative writing and is a published author. Her father was a first violinist with the San Francisco Symphony. Daria began to sing at age six. In her teens she fell in love with Jazz. She went on to study with Bobby McFerrin, Mark Murphy and Brazilian musician, Celia Malheiros. Daria has 2 critically acclaimed CDs, Just the Beginning, produced by Ian Dogole and Feel The Rhythm, produced by Frank Martin and seven-time Grammy Nominee, Wayne Wallace. The title track, Feel The Rhythm, a beautiful Brazilian style song, received Honorable Mention at the Billboard World Music Competition.

Hometown: Novato


David Glover

verything you need to become a singer is already within you, it may only require development, cultivation and exposure. With my instructions, guidance and encouragement, along with your belief, you too can achieve the ability to sing well.”David Glover Vocal Coaching is designed to help bring out the best in you with a method combining traditional and non-traditional techniques for singing. We offer personalized, stylistic training to develop your voice to sing the music you wish to sing with confidence.

Hometown: Oakland


Devon White

Devon is a sultry singer who has 15 years of experience in the music industry as a professional songwriter, vocal coach, artist developer and singing live piano music. She is best known as a contestant on American Idol, S8. She is co-founder of WOC, the Bay Area community based organization dedicated to empowering the next generation of women of color in music and tech. Her other affiliations are as follows: ZooLabs alumni, co-director and music composer with AJ Rafael and Tori Kelly , San Francisco Opera House, Soul Graffiti Oakland , United Roots Oakland Fellow, and Impact Hub Oakland.

Hometown: Oakland


Eleonor England

Eleonor England offers singing lessons and is one of the top vocal coaches in California and has worked extensively as a voice coach and singing instructor in Hollywood, San Diego, and San Francisco. Ellie's singing lessons students and their accomplishments are her resume - she doesn't solicit "star" voice lessons students but a remarkable number of her beginning singing lessons students have gone on to win awards and nominations locally and internationally. If you're serious about your voice you are in the right place - just take a look at some of Ellie's singing lessons students and ex-students' accomplishments during or after they took singing lessons or voice coaching with Ellie

Hometown: San Francisco


Elizabeth Whitney

I received my Masters Degree in Music with a Vocal Performance Concentration from the University of Northern Colorado in 2006 and have since owned and operated a thriving voice studio catering to middle school, high school, college-aged, and adult students. My teaching, as well as my own singing, places an emphasis on Body Mapping, which is the study of the mental representation of the body's size, structure and function. I am deeply inspired by Body Mapping because it teaches singers to become educated about and think independently about their bodies and voices and helps singers avoid injury.

Hometown: Concord


Ellen Robinson

Ellen Robinson is a jazz vocalist and recording artist with a newly released CD called Don’t Wait Too Long, as well as recordings Mercy! Ellen Robinson Live and On My Way To You. “Ellen Robinson's alto pipes glow like a lightning bug on a warm summer night.” Lee Hildebrand

Ellen has been teaching singing and directing vocal groups for over 30 years and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. A gifted educator who teaches at the Jazzschool in Berkeley and Community Music Center in San Francisco, she also directs several vocal programs and ensembles, including a musical theater workshop at Stagebridge, and the Anything Goes Chorus, a community chorus that gives public performances and free concerts at retirement homes, homeless shelters, prisons, and halfway houses since the early 1980s. Her tireless efforts as an educator were recognized in 2011 with a prestigious Jefferson Award. As a vocal coach, she works with semi professional and intermediate jazz & pop vocalists. Ellen has been a Vocal Instructor for adults at U.C. Berkeley Extension, a Choral Director for teenagers in the Oakland Youth Chorus, and a Music Instructor for children at Walden Center School in Berkeley and Beacon School in Oakland.

Hometown: Oakland


Erin Bouayad

I'm a Soprano living and teaching in Marin County, CA. I have sung in the San Franciso Opera Chorus and Symphony Chorus and as a soloist in various venues throughout the bay area. I have taught voice lessons to children and adults since 2002. I speak Spanish and French and have lived in France for three years. I taught voice lessons there as well. I received my B.A. in Vocal Performance from UC Santa Barbara, and my California teaching credential in Music from Sonoma State University. I have taught choir, band and general music in elementary and middle schools. I am currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Vocal Pedagogy from Holy Names University. I love all kinds of music and teaching singers of all ages and abilities. I look forward to singing with you!

Hometown: San Anselmo


Erin Neff

Erin Neff is a Mezzo Soprano based out of San Francisco. She taught voice at UCSF for 10 years, and has run a private voice studio for the last 19 years.She is an active performer locally and nationally in Opera, chamber music, concert work, film sound tracks and multimedia installations in museums and galleries.Credentials and Affiliations: BM Vocal Performance SFSU, Member of National Association of Teachers of Singing, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Symphony, American Guild of Musical Artists, Intersection for the Arts, Incubator member, 2011 NEA grant recipient. Erin was featured in the Smithsonian Indian magazine for her 2012 installation ‘Tahquitz’ in Southern California with her collaborator, Artist Lewis de Soto.

Hometown: San Francisco


Faith Winthrop

Faith Winthrop's career is as storied as her extensive songbook. From an aspiring 11-year-old treading the boards of the G line streetcar and spontaneously taking requests from passengers traveling from Brookline to Boston to the still singing and swinging senior, her life remains a continual love affair with song. Her path to a vocal career began with classical voice lessons from the turban-topped opera diva, Madame Cleora Wood. But upon hearing the incomparable voice and inimitable styling of Sarah Vaughan, Faith's musical direction was forever changed. After adding Peggy Lee, Mabel Mercer, and Mel Torme to her list of vocal influences, she received valuable advice that further steered her course: While warming up the mic for Billie Holiday at the fabled Storyville jazz club in Boston, the jazz legend encouraged the aspiring performer to continue with a singing career; Nat Hentoff of Downbeat wrote, "Faith Winthrop's warmth and intensity, coupled with her surety of intonation and inventiveness, makes her one of the swingingest singers to be heard today;" and upon reviewing Faith in her first important performance as the opening act for a very young Tony Bennett, Boston Music critic George Frazier wrote, "She has a great sound and style, and pays attention to the lyrics she sings....she belongs in one of those little avant-garde clubs in San Francisco."

Hometown: San Francisco


G. Scott Lacy

Mr. Lacy's philosophy is to coach each singer as an individual. He does not "re-create" sound, but helps the client find their own voice. Mr. Lacy believes in coaching in a safe and supportive environment and encouraging his clients to take risks and find the joy in singing! Mr. Lacy is a successful vocal coach whose clients include Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award Winning performers. His students have attended such prestigious universities as University of Michigan, NYU, Yale, Harvard, Carnegie Melon, North Carolina School of the Arts, UCSD, UCLA, Emerson, Rider, University of Miami and Sarah Lawrence. Mr. Lacy was a faculty member of the San Diego Opera's Summer Intensive Program for Singers for three years and served for 8 years as the Vocal Coach for the Tony Award Winning La Jolla Playhouse's Summer Conservatory Program.

Hometown: San Francisco


HeatherVox

Heather Pierce Musco is HEATHERVOX, the vocal coach and vocal producer that San Francisco Bay Area bands, solo artists and music industry professionals turn to for full-spectrum support. She also serves international artists, speakers and entrepreneurs through virtual vocal coaching. As masterful in the recording studio as she is at the helm of a live stage show, Heather's lifetime of music performance and eighteen years of training singers and speakers gives her unparalleled ability to deliver powerful solutions to each voice she handles.

Hometown: San Fransico


Jeanette Sacco-Belli Studios

The Music-Studio focuses on the development, retraining and rehabilititation of the singing voice. We offer private and group voice instruction in classical, popular, jazz and musical theater singing techniques. Jeanette Sacco-Belli has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for fifty-two years. She is a classically trained true coloratura soprano – a voice known for a delicate flute-like quality which has great flexibility. She received her Masters Degree from Notre Dame de Namur University in voice performance, and her Bachelor degrees in both voice performance and music education from San Francisco State University. She is also the daughter of the late Dr. P. Peter Sacco, musician, composer, and singer.

Hometown: Belmont


Jeannette Smith

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, I have been singing and teaching music in one capacity or another for about 25 years. When I was a child my mother and father established a Musical Theatre production company (Palo Alto Civic Light Opera), hence I was exposed to all aspects of musical theatre at a very early age. My mother was also a jazz pianist and she sang with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus for many years. I have two older sisters and an older brother, all of whom have successful careers in music. When I was in my late teens and early 20's, I was very active in community musical theatre, not only playing lead roles but also as hired pianist, musical director and/or vocal director. During this time I was attending San Jose State University where I studied voice under the guidance of the late Jeanne Garson, participated in the Opera Workshop program with Opera San Jose founder Irene Dallas and competed in Europe with the SJSU Choraliers under the direction of recently retired Charlene Archibeque.

Hometown: Pleasanton


Jennifer Cleary

Jennifer Cleary developed her unique holistic voice lessons and her ExploreVoice vocal improv curriculum after training in vocal improvisation at Hamshire College with Susan Barkan and working with Bobby McFerren in his circle songs methodology at the Omega Institute. She trained in classical voice at Wesleyan University and studied rock techniques with Mick Jaggar's vocal coach in New York City. She received a certificate in Sound, Voice and Music Healing from the California Institute for Integratal Studies. Jennifer incorporates the knowledge of physical alignment she gained at Alexander Technique at the Alexander Institute in New York City. She also brings her extensive knowledge of nutrition and vocal health, art and music thearapy, and Intuitive Healing to her work with students. With an extensive background in jazz, rock and musical theater, her soul and funk repertoir was developed with composer Rob Darnell, author of the funk opera, "The Pen is Mightier Than The Sword," with whom she recorded the album "Believe." Jennifer has performed as a solo artist and with bands on stages throughout the US and Europe. She was a member of High Altitude Vocal Jazz Ensemble, The New Group a cappella choir, and directed The No Name Orchestra, an experimental vocal ensemble. Currently, she heads up the doo-wop and soul group Jenni and the Jerks in San Francisco.

Hometown: San Francisco


Judith May

Judith May, educator, vocalist, and songwriter has been using music to promote community building, change, activism, and healing since 1985. An instructor and vocal coach, she teaches voice lessons, songwriting, and is an ensembles coach at the University of San Francisco and in her private studio. She has adapted psychotherapy principles, learned while earning her master’s degree in somatic psychology, to enhance the effectiveness of her teaching style and help performers overcome performance anxiety.

Judith trained at The Juilliard School in New York City where she earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music as a bassoonist. She performed extensively throughout the New York Metropolitan Area and in San Francisco, her hometown, including working with such luminaries as Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta and Aaron Copland. Judith began leading “So You Think You Can’t Sing” groups for those who are afraid to sing, and hosts healing workshops such as “Finding Your Voice” and “Singing as a Healing Art” at conferences for trauma survivors.

Hometown: San Francisco


Julie Valentine

Julie Valentine offers private vocal instruction and coaching specializing in the art of Musical Theatre. She also works with students on a variety of other styles of contemporary music including Popular, Rock and Country. Emphasis is placed on proper vocal technique - including breathing, placement and articulation - as well as on dramatic interpretation and presentation. Julie accepts voice students of all ages, both beginning and advanced. Actors, dancers and other "non-singers" are welcome.

Ms. Valentine also offers acting coaching in both classical and contemporary theatre, specializing in audition preparation. She works with actors on the basic "tools" of acting - vocal and physical control, emotional availability, character development and script analysis - with a emphasis on audition preparation. Adults, teens and children are welcome. Some experience is preferred but not required. Singers, dancers and other "non-actors" are welcome!

Hometown: Palo Alto


Justin Montigne

Justin Montigne is a countertenor soloist, voice teacher, and choral coach in the San Francisco Bay Area. He specializes in body awareness for singers (SingAsana), and teaches lessons, master classes, and workshops around the world. He is one of the Bay Area’s most sought after private voice teachers.

Currently, Dr. Montigne is the Director of Voice Studies for the Grammy award winning San Francisco Girls Chorus, where he is responsible for overseeing the vocal development of all of its nearly 350 singers, supervises the voice faculty, and directs the Soloist Intensive program for its most experienced singers.

As a singer, he is known for his pure tone, expressive characterizations, and flexibility in many styles and time periods of music.

Hometown: San Francisco


Kathy Kennedy

Kathy brings 25 + years of real-world experience as a singer to her thriving teaching practice. She has enjoyed a long performance career in the San Francisco music scene. As a lead singer in one of the Bay Area’s most sought-after party bands, she has performed before thousands at corporate events around the world, opening for acts like Sheryl Crow, Donna Summer and Tony Bennett.

As a back-up singer, she performed with Bonnie Raitt, Elvin Bishop, Ronnie Spector (The Ronettes), Eddie Money, Bill Spooner (The Tubes) and Al Jardine (The Beach Boys), and has also shared the stage with members of Santana, Tower of Power, Chris Isaak band and the Steve Miller Band. She also toured with Mickey Thomas’ Starship, singing lead as well as back-ups.

Hometown: San Francisco


Katya Roemer

I believe every voice is a unique gem. With the correct training and polishing we bring out it's shimmering radiance. Enhance the true beauty and power of your voice. Music reading skills are not required. If you are an advanced or professional singer I have the background and experience to help you maintain, strengthen and further develop your voice. My technique ensures that the sound you produce is free, supported and beautifully yours.

Hometown: San Jose


Kayla Gold

Kayla learned a B.A. in music from the University of California with an emphasis on teaching, mentored by Dr. Albert J. McNeil, educator and conductor of the Jubilee Singers, a spirituals choir that toured internationally as envoys of the State Department. While at U.C, she had delightful experiences conducting chamber choirs and orchestras, and serving as vocal director for musical theater productions. After graduating, she continued with operatic vocal training, wrote and performed one-woman cabaret shows and was one-half of a Victor Borge-esqe musical comedy team that performed in Marin, Sonoma and New York. Kayla served as vocal director for local theater productions and was a founding member and songwriter for "TheaterNow, (Laundry Later)", Marin, which produced several original theater productions.

Hometown: San Rafael


Kitty Margolis

Kitty Margolis is deeply committed to jazz education, never taking for granted her good luck in learning the jazz tradition the old fashioned way, straight from the masters. Gaining a stellar reputation for her inspiring master classes, clinics, adjudicating, and workshops, Margolis has been a guest lecturer in the Jazz Studies Programs of many of the nation's top universities and high schools as she travels the globe.

Hometown: San Francisco


Lindy Lafontaine

A lustrous sheen of shimmering electronic orchestration frames the evocative voice of singer/songwriter Lindy LaFontaine. Segueing effortlessly from an intimate lower timbre into a soaring arc, it is a voice of rare power: It is the sound of her soul. LaFontaine prefers to work at night without a set clock, a consequence, she says, of having grown up in extraordinary locales from Bangladesh to Washington D.C.; Cairo, Egypt to California. At 16, Lindy was enrolled in San Francisco's prestigious High School for the Performing Arts and at 18 was the second American to ever be invited to study at Sir Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in the UK. Soon after, she toured Spain as a backup vocalist with Chanteuse Maria Jose Hernandez.

Hometown: San Francisco


Lisa Woo

Some voice coaches are highly trained but don’t have much experience performing; others are highly experienced performers who don’t have a music degree. I have both, which makes me especially qualified to help you achieve your vocal goals.

Classically trained in Opera, Musical Theatre and Jazz and holder of a Master's Degree in Vocal Performance, in addition to performing and giving private singing lessons I am also a visiting teacher's assistant for theater classes and continuing studies at Stanford University here in California.

As a performer, I have over two decades of experience. I regularly perform in musical theater, in bands and with jazz musicians around the world. I have appeared on almost a hundred stages in multiple cities across America in a two-year tour with the prestigious Kennedy Center. I have also performed throughout Israel with Encore Theatre, Israel Musicals and Shakespeare Jerusalem. I have performed on many stages around the Bay Area singing Jazz, Pop and Rock.

Hometown: Berkeley


Masha Champagne

Moscow-born vocalist Masha Campagne spent her formative years studying cello and piano at the famed Gnessin State Musical College. Her grandfather, Matthew Fayans, an accomplished multi-reed player introduced her to jazz and bossa nova music. Whether attending his shows with the 25-piece Metropole Big Band Orchestra or delving into his extensive LP collection Campagne had a host of early influences, among them Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Tom Jobim.

Winning the 1st prize in the prestigious Downbeat Student Music Award for her work with jazz vocal group "Fanfares" touched off a series of events that soon found this beautiful, multilingual talent gracing the stages of Yoshi's, Kuumbwa, and Monterey Jazz Festival, to name but a few.

Hometown: San Francisco


Maye Cavallaro

My teaching philosophy is based on all positive reinforcement. I have high expectations for my students and I offer a great deal of support by providing charts and music from my own extensive library, and whatever else I can furnish to encourage their creativity and help them achieve their musical goals. I maintain a page on my website called “The Listening Room,” where I post lessons and sound files and ancillary materials for all of my students to access.

Hometown: Vallejo


Nicolas Bearde

In addition to his high-profile role with Bobby McFerrin´s Voicestra – the innovative a cappella group of which Nicolas was a founding member – and SoVoSó, the artistic offshoot of Voicestra, with whom he´s toured and recorded since the mid-1990s, Bearde has worked steadily with an array of artists from Patti Austin, Michael Bolton and Janis Siegel to McFerrin, John Handy, Chris Camozzi, and his own outstanding group, the Right Groove.

Hometown: San Francisco


Patrick Leveque

y name is Patrick Leveque and I have returned home to Marin County after performing in the Phantom of the Opera in Las Vegas. I have been teaching voice and music lessons for 8 years and I am accepting students at my Mill Valley studio. Please contact me for the exact address.

I hold a B.A. in Theater and a B.A. in Music from Santa Clara University. I also hold a Master’s Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I have had the opportunity to perform professionally over the past 14 years and in addition to my performing career, I would now like to pass my experiences and my love of music on to my students.

Hometown: Mill Valley


Peter Maleitzke

Peter Maleitzke is a nationally recognized singing teacher. His students include Tony Award winners, Broadway and national tour performers, principals in international opera houses and international pop sensations, and cabaret and recording artists. In 2007 alone, Maleitzke’s studio was represented by actors starring and singing in three major release motion pictures. His students have also been frequent competition finalists and are regularly accepted into prestigious music festivals and training programs.

Hometown: San Francisco


Pollyanna Bush

Working in a myriad of musical genres, Pollyanna has performed lead and backing vocals on over 100 recording projects, including the American Idol: Karaoke Revolution video game and songwriting demos for the likes of Kevin Harris and Suzanne Noe. Pollyanna is a featured vocalist on the compilation CD entitled “Women of the Bay”, produced by Joey Muller, and on Michael Stillwater’s CD entitled “Arc in Time”.

As a music educator, Pollyanna has significant experience nurturing artists and imparting a wealth of wisdom in the fields of voice, piano, and songwriting. Presently, Pollyanna owns and operates Music Works Studio in Fairfax, serves on the faculty at Musically Minded Academy in Oakland, and teaches students all over the world through virtual digital platforms.

Hometown: Fairfax


Raz Kennedy

Raz Kennedy has been performing and recording as a vocalist, vocal coach and producer in the Bay Area since 1980. His performance credits include six years as a founding member of Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra,

As a vocal coach and vocal producer, Raz has multiple Gold and Platinum records to his credit. Clients include: Adam Duritz and members of Counting Crows, Grammy Award-winning artists Los Tigres Del Norte, Rancid, Dreamworks recording artist Davey Havoc of AFI, Aaron Carter, Chantelle Paige of Flipsyde, Caroline Vreeland, A-Teens, Lavay Smith, Hilary Duff, members of Metallica, Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, Jerry Harrison (founding member of Talking Heads), and many more

Hometown: Berkeley


Rebecca Jones

Rebecca Jones is a classically trained vocalist and recognized professional entertainer. Ms. Jones’ career spans 28 years as a working vocalist in theatre cabaret, opera, television, and radio. She has performed in Europe and across the USA. Ms. Jones was the director of the distinguished Marin Theatre Company School of Theatre Arts in Mill Valley, CA. and now directs the Rebecca Jones School of Vocal Arts in San Rafael, CA. She has been on the scholarship boards of the Marin Music Chest, has juried for arts granting with the Marin Arts Council and been a recipient of community arts grants. Ms. Jones holds a B.A. degree, having studied music at the Nuremburg Conservatory of Music in Germany, the California Institute of the Arts, and Dominican College. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Musicians Union, Screen Actor’s Guild and Actor’s Equity Association.

Hometown: San Rafael


Robert Lee

Robert began his musical journey singing duets with his twin sister, and by the age of 5 had joined his elementary school's choir program. His involvement grew steadily throughout middle and high school, when he joined multiple vocal and jazz ensembles and founded a cappella groups among friends. Robert's passion for teaching started when he began directing his high school choir at the age of 16, and he would continue directing choirs and a cappella through his experience at Brown University to present day. He is a graduate of the BAST Singing Teacher Course, which formalized his expertise in vocal anatomy, voice science, and teaching pedagogy.

Currently, Robert is the musical director of Techapella (a collaboration of 20+ company-based a cappella groups), Internote, and his own a cappella collective. He sings Tenor in Ro Sham Bo (2x winner of the SF Harmony Sweepstakes), and Lead in Fog City Singers (a AAA-plateau Barbershop chorus). He is versed across the contemporary genres and loves working with singers of all levels.

Hometown: San Francisco


Rocio Guitard

Whether you're a complete beginner or a seasoned professional, the Rocío Guitard Vocal Studio offers private lessons, group lessons, seminars and workshops to help you determine and achieve your singing goals. All levels and all styles are welcome. Whether belting out lyrics like a powerhouse or interpreting sensitive ballads, Rocío Guitard is a superb singer. Her latest CD, JazzDance, is a revelation for she reinvents standards in surprising ways, and shows that jazz can be both creative and accessible, danceable yet quite unpredictable.

Hometown: Mountain View


Ruth Gerson

Singer/songwriter Ruth Gerson has appeared on the "The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Extra" (NBC), PBS, Showtime, HBO and Lifetime television. As an independent artist. she has released seven albums and recorded with Grammy Award winning producers Rick Chertoff (Cyndi Lauper, Joan Osborne, Sophie B. Hawkins) and Jim Scott (Wilco, Tedeschi Trucks, Citizen Cope). She has also recorded with legendary producer Don Dixon (REM, Smithereens, Marti Jones) and Dan Wise (Scissor Sisters, The Secret Machines). Gerson has opened for Dave Matthews Band, the Indigo Girls, Alison Krauss and many more. She has played The Newport Folk Festival, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, ARTSCAPE, CMJ, SXSW and toured extensively in Europe performing in Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Luxembourg, Brazil, and Singapore. Gerson was polled as the #2 top female vocalist in Italy's largest circulating music magazine, Buscadero.

Hometown: San Carlos


Ruth Rainero

Ruth Rainero holds a Master's degree in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the Royal Conservatory of the Hague in The Netherlands, and a Bachelor's degree from the California Institute of the Arts. She speaks five languages, sings in five more and has been teaching classical voice—first in Amsterdam and then San Francisco—for twenty-five years. Her areas of expertise range from early baroque to contemporary music, and she performed throughout Europe at various international festivals with a wide range of ensembles. In Europe and the United States, Ms Rainero performed under the direction of conductors ranging from Philippe Herreweghe, Niklaus Harnoncourt and Nicholas McGegan to Steve Reich and Reinbert de Leeuw.

Hometown: San Francisco


Sandy Cressman

One of the original members of Pastiche, Sandy Cressman is that rare combination of performer and educator, recording and performing with her acclaimed ensemble “Homenagem Brasileira”, maintaining a busy vocal studio, and teaching workshops in ConnectedVoice technique and Brazilian Vocal Jazz. Cressman’s continuing work as a performer and studio vocalist has informed her approach to vocal education towards creating the sounds and skills necessary for today’s young vocalists and for their longevity. Cressman calls her technique “ConnectedVoice”, a healthy approach to voice based on her extensive training in Bel Canto, Speech Level and other techniques.

Hometown: San Francisco


Sarah Sims

My name is Sarah Sims and I live in San Francisco where I teach private vocal lessons online and in person. I love to teach singing of all kinds from Beethoven to Beyoncé. I instruct students with a wide variety of skills from beginners to people who are pursuing a career in the industry. My lessons are one on one, designed to enable each student to explore their vocal potential, sing their favorite songs, and gain the skills necessary to become an independent musician.

Hometown: San Francisco


Sarah Sloan

With music lessons and performance opportunities for adults and children alike, private voice lessons fill the gap left by budget cuts in the local school budgets. My studio is the place to turn when one is looking to explore and nurture one's full potential. With weekly lessons that focus on the whole student, I strive to lay the foundation for a lifetime not only of music appreciation but learning in general. It is my mission to provide the highest quality vocal training possible while focusing on the individual needs of the student. By maintaining a commitment to my personal continuing professional development, I guarantee that my students are taught with the knowledge of the most recent developments in the field of voice pedagogy and performance. In addition, I strive to create an environment in which my students feel safe to explore their creativity and express themselves fully.

Hometown: Walnut Creek


Shari Carlson

Shari began her own acting career in Hollywood in the Sixties. Self taught and street wise, she learned the ropes and experienced the struggles everyone goes through starting a career. She became the coach she always yearned to have. Each student is individually coached within the safe and supportive group and therefore quickly progresses in the craft. There is much to learning who you really are, and how to express yourself in the deep and amazing craft of acting. The Studio and all classes are private. We insist on a confidentiality policy at our studio. We address the most personal, and do not allow any public sharing about others work in the classes. Of course you may always share your excitement and progress. This is one of the many ways we achieve safety for the individual to explore who they are becoming.

Hometown: San Francisco


Shelley Burns

The course I offer is intended to help you develop your vocal ability by building vocal cord coordination. By using Speech Level Singing techniques students will increase range, flexibility, control, endurance, and improve their musical "ear" so that they may match pitches more accurately. I also cover issues of health as they relate to the care of the voice. The style of music which you wish to sing makes no difference. I am a certified Speech Level Singing instructor, used by more than 120 Grammy winners and developed by legendary vocal coach Seth Riggs

Hometown: Sacramento


Tara Simon

Tara Simon is a professional singer, songwriter and celebrity vocal coach. She became widely recognized as a top finalist on the second season of the X Factor. Since then, Tara has performed at a wide array of notable venues, released several hit singles on iTunes and has performed for A-list celebrities and dignitaries such as Simon Cowell, Sugarland, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, L.A. Reid, President Trump and Governor Rick Scott. In 2012 Tara was selected as top 6 in her category on the X Factor Season 2. After her first audition, Simon Cowell said with a smile, “I believe we’ve only scratched the surface of what you’re capable of.”

America’s Got Talent star Angelica Hale and Broadway diva Loren Lott are just some examples of highly successful artists who study with Tara and rely upon her methodology for their vocal health and success.

Hometown: San Francisco


Vernon Bush

Vernon Bush is a singer/songwriter, musician and recording artist, who worked with Whitney Houston and jazz legend and song stylist, Nancy Wilson. He is also a featured vocalist with the Glide Ensemble at the world-renowned Glide Memorial Church (as seen in movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness" in San Francisco as well as the Musical Director of the Glide Teen (Performing Arts) Choir (GTC) and is by far, one of the hardest working artists in the Bay Area. A passionate singer as well as a consummate voice teacher and coach, Vernon has taught privately in New York, Los Angeles, London as well as San Francisco and also teaches workshops in voice and speech production.

Hometown: San Francisco


Victoria Rapanan

Singers, you can finally overcome your vocal obstacles and realize your maximum potential. Victoria Rapanan, seasoned performer, international voice teacher and experienced vocal technician, can teach you the principles of the Old Italian School, combined with the Swedish influence, that produced such legendary singers as Birgit Nilsson, Jussi Bjoerling and Kirsten Flagstad. Ms. Rapanan has taught voice for 18 years, and trained and apprenticed under the renowned Maestro David Jones, International Vocal Pedagogue (www.voiceteacher.com). She is an excellent diagnostician and "vocal detective", who can help you develop your true voice. Eliminate muscular tension, while developing a beautiful balance of ring and color, brilliance and depth.

Hometown: Pleasant Hill



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