I started thinking seriously about singing when I was 6 years old. True story! In my first music class ever, my teacher Ms. Raymond picked me out of the class. She suggested to me and my parents that I should start training my voice because she saw that I had potential. From then on, I started singing at various events and venues around the lower mainland. Small gigs grew to bigger ones over the years. Some venues I’ve performed at include The Yale, Ginger 62, Caprice, the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, St Andrews Wesley United Church and The Centre for Performing Arts.

I was very lucky to have been introduced to Spencer Welch and Speech Level Singing early in my life. I’ve been studying SLS since 2001 on a regular basis with Spencer. I’ve also studied with master instructors Greg Enriquez, Jeffrey Skouson and SLS founder, Seth Riggs. In a lesson with Jeffrey back in late 2006, he encouraged me to get certified and start teaching. After a while of thinking about it, I realized that I was always talking about SLS to everybody anyway so I may as well start pursuing it as a career! I started the certification program in 2007. I am currently a Level 2 (out of 5) certified SLS instructor.

I majored in Jazz Vocal Performance at Capilano University. I also play piano and what I call “campfire guitar”.

I am also the Educational Advisor for Speech Level Singing in the Northwestern USA and Western Canada region. I manage all the SLS teachers in my region and am in charge of hosting 2 educational events per year. Public vocal masterclasses, teacher training clinics, and private lessons with a guest SLS master instructor are presented during these vocal intensive events, which are typically 3-4 days in length. In addition to my work with SLS, I handle the bookings for Tuesday Night Music Club, a live music and industry networking series presented by our studio. I’m responsible for booking 10 musical acts per our monthly event which keeps me active and connected with the Vancouver music scene.

This really depends! Every voice and personality is different, therefore I like to adapt and customize my lessons to each individual. At every lesson though, my goal is to highlight what you do well and give you the tools you need to improve what needs work.

I love seeing the excitement in my students’ eyes when they feel a positive change in their voice or when a new concept really hits home. Those “Aha!” moments are truly special!

The technique we teach at the studio, Speech Level Singing, is one that transcends all genres. Think about it like this: if a piano is built and tuned correctly, the instrument can play rock, classical, jazz, pop, R&B, whatever. SLS tunes the voice to its most balanced mechanical setting and enables a singer to sing all genres. With that said, my performance background has been in R&B, jazz, soul, pop and gospel.

Before I learned to ‘mix’ through SLS training, I often strained my voice, struggling to reach high notes with power. I was used to hearing my voice loudly, whether it was comfortable or not! Even when I was sick with laryngitis or other similar illnesses, I would sing hard into my voice. These bad habits caused me to develop soft nodules on my vocal cords. Through some vocal rest and lots of SLS vocalization at SWVS, I was able to recover from that injury. Now, I can strongly and powerfully sing my high notes with minimal effort and total stability. It’s a great feeling!

I’m mostly singing in the studio these days, doing session work for television and local artists. Once in a while, I’ll hop on stage to sing with friends at shows around town, or at Tuesday Night Music Club, a live music and industry networking concert series presented by SWVS.

Aside from music, I love to stay active. I love snowboarding, surfing, cycling, yoga and this summer I’m thinking of taking on paddle boarding! I am particularly interested in balancing sports and recently I realized that it must be because of their similarities to singing… Singing IS a balancing sport, we’re just using teeny tiny muscles!