Take a minute to hear a very personal welcome from Joan
Welcome To SiNG iT -- Our Philosophy Is Very Simple -- Every Person Is Important ... Every Person Is A Star!!!
I've always sung. I grew up on Elvis and the Beatles and a whole lotta Country. I've sung everywhere and have enjoyed a very lucrative professional career touring across Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean.
I've been teaching voice lessons since 2001 when I began working at the Ontario Conservatory of Music and branched off into my private lessons in 2004 when I launched Starr Sensations Vocal Music School. We rebranded in 2020. We simplified and went back into a more laid-back fun mode -- and now we proudly boast SiNG iT.
In 2022, I completed my Master of Arts in Community Music at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. My time at WLU also led me to being a Graduate Teaching Assistant to 46 Golden Hawks in the Community Music BA program. I am also a recurring guest lecturer.
My undergraduate degree is in Early Childhood Education from Mohawk College where I specialized in Leading Young Children Towards Music. I am very proud that I have a music scholarship named after me at Mohawk College in their Music Program.
I am a teacher. It is who I am. I have always taught SOMEthing; drama, dance, fitness, theatre, guitar, various workshop courses -- being a guest lecturer at Universities and Colleges, being a Teacher's Aid at the W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind -- and my most rewarding and long-lasting career of teaching music. I also have extensive training working with Individuals with Special Needs.
I can promise you when you enter our music studio adorned with music notes and Elvis memorabilia; you will SMILE. It is my greatest hope that smile will be broader, every time you leave. I cannot guarantee that I can help you sound like a superstar ... but I can assuredly promise you a better-sounding voice with total interactive personal coaching.
Our SiNG iT vocal music students range in ages 5-adult. I specialize in Pop and Musical Theatre but certainly welcome all musical genres. I also strongly encourage songwriting and learning percussion instruments.
Our classes are in a very laid-back fun and brightly coloured room.
Classes are $25/half-hour sessions.
SiNG iT classes are 30 minutes long -- generally at the same time/day once per week.
SiNG iT students learn how to correctly use their voices for the stage, while also building skills in breathing, intonation, pitch, harmonization and tone. We will spend time on drama, costuming, characterization, role-playing, facial expression, props and stage projection. We also learn how to move on stage and the interpretation of tunes and lyrics. We do a LOT of shows. We aim to allow students to learn the essential elements of performing.
We believe that students who study music are fortunate to have feelings of self-worth that come through perseverance and a job well done. We are committed to fostering the musical growth in each student and helping them reach their individual goals, enjoying the journey along the way and performing in a live group environment. Our students will learn to deliver their performances with far more power, passion and emotion that will enable them to connect with an audience. They will come away with the concept of learning to sing and move at the same time while learning the art of stage presence and interpretation. Above all, they will make new friends while having FUN!!! We welcome students of various levels of experience and all backgrounds and abilities. Our goal is to teach in a fun laid-back way that benefits each student as an individual and attain their own personal next best level of achievement in the performing arts.
We strive to put the emphasis on FUN TEAM WORK!!!
SiNG iT LOUD ... SiNG iT Proud ... WHATEVER IT TAKES!!!
• S.I.N.G. – President of Singing Instructors National Group
• NATS – National Association of Teachers of Singing
• International Singer Songwriters Association
• Ontario Music Theatre Instructors
• SOCAN
• National Association for the Teachers of Voice
• Music Teachers Association of North America
• Ontario Theatre Guild
• 2001 – Present: Over 300 Student Championships & Scholarships - Kiwanis Music Festival
• 2001 – Present: Numerous Student Championships in the Following Events: Norfolk County Music Festival, Simcoe Fair, Paris Fair, Western Fair, National Star, Scarborough Rib Fest, Ontario Open Singing Contest, Burford Fair, Canadian Music League, Ancaster Fair, Ontario Talent Search, St. George Idol, Brantford Idol, Rockton Fair, Brantford Has Talent.
• 2009 & 2010: 1st place in the Blue Jays Skydome National Anthem Singing Contest.
Community Music -- The Hospitality of Music -- Inviting EVERYone to Participate!!!!
At the foundation of Community Music is the essence of musicians engaging with others to provide the means to actively enjoy and participate in music. It’s about working together in creating lasting and enjoyable experiences. This can take place at any time with anyone. Community isn’t about where you are on a map. It’s about a collection of people sharing commonalities. Every person can make and share music yet, people are often hesitant because they feel they aren’t skilled. Often, it’s due to the fact that they’ve never been given the opportunity. With Community Music, everyone’s view and input are respected.
Everyone Is included. Every Person Is Important. Every Person Is A Star!
Music has been part of communities for centuries yet, music instruction at the formal level of education such as College and University has concentrated on music theory, history, performance, and the talent of the musician. Learning is focused on the ability to read sheet music and show competitive talent in many areas of instrumentation, voice, musical theatre, and the performing arts. In comparison, even at the conservatory level, there has always existed an exclusionary and ego-centric atmosphere. Often, extremely talented musicians and practitioners have been lost academically simply because they didn’t know how to sight-read music or develop their skills learning orchestra music or had a lack of enthusiasm for the genre. E.g., Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, the Bee Gees, the Beatles, Eddie Van Halen, Taylor Swift and ELVIS.
“I would not have majored in music because when music becomes technical for me, I don’t like that part of it.” – Taylor Swift.
Community Music is open to all. It is cooperative, has a fluid flow, is non-judgmental, unselfish and is process and participant-centred. Community Music is multi-cultural and not genre-specific. It’s more about community engagement and music that creates a community experience. Any type of music that is creative. Community Music is not competitive or formal. It is not exclusionary or product-centred and it is not egocentric. It is not based on talent. It is participant-driven vs performance-driven. The philosophy is that Community Music is about The Process Not the Product.
When you hear the term: Community Music …
Think Pop music, Rock and Roll, Rap, Hip-Hop, Cultural Music, Country, Blues and of course Indie. Think more about the local busker on the street, or the band you’re seeing in the tavern or a community theatre performing in the park. Bring your thoughts to eclectic musical groups of diversified cultures, individuals with special needs, musicians of all ages, all genders, races, creeds, identifications. A Community.
Community Music signifies the interactive teamwork between the individuals who play, create, improvise, and perform music together. Community Music advocates for the individuals’ evolvement and community progression.
In a simple explanation, community music is the informal participatory music-making or ‘musicking’ of the performer, their audience and the relationship of hospitality and humanity between a teacher and their students.
Community Music strives to bring awareness that a group of students knocking sticks together or clapping is just as relevant and should be just as musically accepted as a full brass orchestra. A group leader plucking away on a banjo or singing A Cappella songs is just as viable as a concert pianist or 5-piece jazz quintet.
Community Music establishes to bridge the gap between the classical musician and the cover band, between the classically trained opera singer and the country singer at the local community event and assuredly between the orchestra conductor and the facilitator at the local residential centre or senior’s centre.
SiNG iT Brantford proudly presents the release of our very first all original student album --- released on Saturday December 12th, 2020 on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Google all music platforms!!!
Celebrate with Bryanna, Ruby, Grace, Ella, Zoe, Jordan, Maura, Steve, Elizabeth, Emilia, Delilah, Tessa, Trinity, Kezia, Emma and Joan.
All Original Songs, All Local Artists.
16 local singer-songwriters, ages 6-50+, all original, all local and all natural.
SiNG iT Loud...SiNG iT Proud...Whatever It Takes!!!
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