From as far back as I can remember I grew up to a background of music being constantly played in my home and hearing my Mum singing or humming along to the radio as she bustled around in the kitchen. I would often sing along to my favourite songs and secretly practise singing in front of the mirror in my bedroom. I also formed a girl band in my school playground at primary school!
I thought I was just ok, could just about hold a tune, but it wasn’t until, aged 14, I unintentionally auditioned for a lead part in The Wizard of Oz in a local drama society where I was told I had a good voice but should “get it properly trained to get the best out of it”. This cemented my love of learning and training which continues to this day.
After university I spent 10 years in the corporate sector in London and, despite earning a good salary, couldn’t quite understand why I never really felt fulfilled both professionally and emotionally.
I found myself turning to singing and performing again and soon realised that this was what made the big difference in my life.
One day shortly after my 30th birthday on my regular commute into work I had one of those Eureka moments and thought “I am living a lie; my heart and soul is not in this” and made the decision to embrace my musicality and try to make a living completely out of the one thing I loved doing the most in my spare time. I became a full-time professional singer.
I set about honing my singing skills and was lucky to have access to some great singing teachers, all specialists in their respective fields namely classical, opera, jazz, musical theatre, rock and pop.
I soon realised that there was a common thread running throughout all these singing styles. The key to mastering these different genres was by learning and embracing what I call The Singers Toolkit.
I immersed myself fully in the world of music, participated in talent shows, went to auditions, gained my first agent who booked me for my first fully professional gigs in local clubs. Soon I was busy working in the UK and overseas, initially as a solo artist, then fronting my own bands.
I currently perform in a number of bands that reflect my varied interest in music, ranging from contemporary pop, soul and funk to rock and big rock and Big Band. I also work as a session singer at a number of recording studios around the UK including Denmark Street Studios, London.
This performance experience across such a wide diverse range of music styles and genres has enabled me to also develop my training and mentoring skills: developing performance, vocal and confidence techniques that have allowed my students to achieve so much within their areas of interest.
I have been teaching singing since 2008 when people would come up to me at gigs and ask me if I could give them advice and it made sense to pass on what I have learnt through my own exciting travels through music and performance.
Rachel’s Experience
Rachel has been a professional singer and vocal coach in the music industry for a number of years and has an extremely broad experience of both performance and teaching in a variety of musical genres including musical theatre, pop and jazz.
She has undertaken formal singing teacher training through AOTOS (Association of Teachers of Singing) and is passionate about passing on vocal and performance techniques to all her students.
She initially trained as a classical singer before moving on to musical theatre, pop and jazz, which led to the release of her first album, “All My Tomorrows (33 Jazz Records). Other appearances include ‘Live on the Park’, the National Theatre, Radio 4’s ‘Loose Ends’ and ITV’s ‘Meridian Tonight’.
Her varied experience and love of performing combined with a true passion for teaching offers a unique blend of skills.
