FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
$50.00 FOR AN HOUR $40.00 FOR FORTY-FIVE MINUTES $35.00 FOR FOURTY MINUTES (GREAT FOR KIDS UNDER 12) $25.00 FOR A HALF-HOUR (GREAT FOR YOUNGEST KIDS) I USE PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT, KARAOKE, OR SING-A-LONG TRACKS FOR MOST LESSONS AND I PLAY WARM-UP CHORDS, SCALES, AND NOTES MYSELF. A professional accompanist may be brought into the lesson by request, or as needed (depending on the piece and/or live performance planned) at an additional cost to him/her/them.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
We can talk on the phone or FaceTime for a consultation, then we can Zoom or FaceTime (if you have an iPad, for example) for our lessons. I can send you a Zoom invitation the day before, or the day of, your lesson before your lesson time. ***I use Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay or PayPal for payment, and expect it by the day of the lesson, before the lesson begins.*** If the lesson doesn't happen for some reason, you will absorb the payment if it was a scheduling error or lapsed memory on your part; but, you will have a credit for the next lesson if I was the one to reschedule OR if you/your student fell ill that day (or there was a family emergency). If you would like to avoid the possibility of having to absorb your payment (=not get the lesson you paid for bc you spaced the appointment or forgot there was a conflict) calender all lessons and reschedule 24 hrs. in advance. Some students choose to pay for a block of lessons, by the month, in advance. The same cancellation policy applies. ~Thank you. We should set up a regular day and time (or days and times) each week and follow the pattern as much as possible. Independent practicing between lesson always, ALWAYS makes it better! :-) We may handle some light paperwork electronically to establish a contract and expectations between us. ***What will happen during your lesson/your student's lesson?*** Part of our work will always be some warm-up exercises which may open-up into some specific technical work and further exercises to match your vocal needs. Next, we'll sing through vocal literature to apply it all. Over time we'll spend less-time on technical exercises and more time on the music. IN THE MUSIC you will really get the hang of what your new singing "technique" feels like.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have a B.A. from the University of California in Music (Voice). Prior to UCLA, I studied for three years at Brigham Young University (Vocal Performance and Pedagogy). I studied opera in Italy for six weeks with the daughter of the late bass-baritone Ezio Pinza and with Enza Ferrari of Il Teatro della Scala (aka "La Scala"). I toured Eastern Europe with an elite university chamber choir for one month. And I studied classical voice (opera and art song) in Santa Barbara, CA at the Music Academy of the West with the great mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horn. I made my professional debut as a principal singer in several operas at Los Angeles Opera during their 2000-2001 season, the first year Maestro Placido Domingo took the reigns as Artistic Director of the Company. Afterward, I continued to sing in the Los Angeles area and, later, in the Southeast, including for Asheville Lyric Opera--all principal and leading roles. I started teaching in 2002 in Orange County, California and continued teaching, in Asheville, North Carolina, until 2005. Then I moved to New York City, where I worked, sang, taught voice, and started my family! We left the Big Apple last year to settle here in Asheville, in the shade of the beautiful and powerful Smokey Mountains, where there is a lot of special healing energy (and interest in Yoga)! This inspired a new name for my voice studio based on the concept of a "throat chakra" governing one's ability to speak one's Inner Truth. BlueChakra Voice Studio is the beginning of a dream that my family hopes will expand to include other art forms. We believe that finding one's own voice is a unique challenge in this day and age. We want to dedicate ourselves to helping others "find" and "free" their voices. We hope you will join us.