Online Piano Voice Lessons with Ashley 

Ashley - Teacher #3432

Instruments:
- Piano
- Voice

Services:
- Dictation
- Ear Training
- Music Theory (Beginner-Intermediate)
- RCM
- RCM - Advanced Rudiments
- RCM - Basic Rudiments
- Solfege

Languages:
- English

Teaching Philosophy

Music and performing has been my safe space for as long as I can remember. Music has always been the thing that I have turned to when I was feeling upset, angry, confused, and joyful. Being onstage is the most at home I feel. I understand the struggles that life brings to people and I want to be able to teach others in a way that provides them with relief, even if that relief only occurs for thirty minutes each week. I truly believe that music is healing and the emotional, physical, and spiritual benefits of learning music are unmatched.

I teach in a way that instills self-confidence and individuality. I teach my students to creative their own unique musical voice through their instrument, whether that be vocal or piano. I believe that every single individual is unique and that uniqueness should be celebrated rather than diminished. While I have had many amazing educators, I have also had experiences with teachers and coaches that tried to have me sing in a way that wasn't my own. They wanted to make me into something I wasn't and copy something that already existed rather than embracing my individuality. I empower my students to be them and to own that because no other person in this world is going to sing or play like them.

Overall, I focus on teaching music in a way that is healthy and sustainable. I teach my students to play and sing with proper technique which can serve them in any genre or way they want to. The foundation of everything is good technique as without it, they will be making music in a way that is damaging and unsustainable in the long haul. I want music to be part of their lives forever in whatever capacity and I believe that this is the way to do so!

Musical Education

I have a Master of Music in Voice Performance and Literature and a Bachelor of Music with Honours in Voice Performance, both from Western University.

Throughout both degrees, I was enrolled in performance classes such as vocal repertoire, opera workshop, and acting for singers, as well as music theory, music history, musicianship (dictation, sight singing, and keyboard harmony), vocal pedagogy, studio pedagogy, diction classes. Not only did these classes help shape me as an opera singer, but furthered my abilities as a musician as a whole, and provided me with the tools on how to pass down everything I have learned to others.

I have studied voice privately from the age seven up until now. I began my musical journey in a choral setting, studying with the Hamilton Children's Choir for 10 years. Singing in a choir fostered my love for performing and the sense of community and friendship ensemble singing can give. It provided me with many professional performance opportunities such as travelling on tours to South Korea, France, The Bahamas, and the United States. It was through the Hamilton Children's Choir that I found both my love for classical singing and my love for opera. I met my private vocal teacher through the organization as the choir had a vocal coach come in and begin one on one sessions with the singers. I then began studying classical music with her and enrolled in private vocal lessons. Through the Hamilton's Children's Choir, I was given the opportunity to be a member of and the music director of the children's chorus in a production of Carmen at the Boris Brott Fetsival. This was my first time working alongside professional opera singers and it was in that moment that I knew I wanted to be one. I have dedicated the last six years of my schooling to becoming an opera singer.

In addition to a University education, I have also received education in summer opera training programs such as Opera Nuova, which took place in Alberta in May-July of 2022. There I worked with voice teachers, voice coaches, directors, conductors, acting teachers, dance teachers, and film and voice over teachers. I also studied and performed an operatic role. This Summer, I will be travelling to Halifax to take part in another opera training program called the Halifax Summer Opera Festival.

While I have a love and passion for opera, my love and passion for music and performing has stemmed from musical theatre. In high school I was heavily involved in musical theatre, performing in three shows in three years. I also found a passion for jazz music as I was a soloist for the jazz ensemble.

For piano, I hold a Grade six level. While piano is not my primary instrument, I found an appreciation and love for the instrument in my undergraduate degree. Learning the piano has increased my overall musicianship significantly and teaching piano is one of the most rewarding aspects of my life currently.

Awards and Distinctions

Recipient of the Geritol Follies Bursary Award from the Hamilton Community Foundation (2022), Recipient of the David Davis Memorial Fund from the Hamilton Community Foundation (2022), Recipient of the Chaney-Ensign Bursary Award from the Hamilton Community Foundation (2022), Recipient of the Western Graduate Research Scholarship (September 2022), Recipient of the London Music Scholarship Foundation Award (September 2021), Recipient of the Western Graduate Research Scholarship (September 2021), Recipient of the Archie E. Cunningham Memorial Continuing Entrance Award (2020), Recipient of the Archie E. Cunningham Memorial Continuing Entrance Award (2019), University of Western Ontario Dean’s Honour List (2019), Recipient of the Archie E. Cunningham Memorial Continuing Entrance Award (2018), Recipient of The Willena Evans Scholarship in Music (2018), University of Western Ontario Dean’s Honour List (2018), Recipient of the London Music Scholarship Foundation Endowment Entrance Award (2017), Recipient of the Jean and Victor Redekopp Scholarship in Music (2017), Recipient of The Western Scholarship of Excellence (2017), University of Western Ontario Dean’s Honour List (2017)

Special Skills and Training

As stated in my education section, in addition to my University schooling, I have participated in Summer opera training programs and large choral tours. Not mentioned prior was that I was a very active member in the choral community at Western, singing in St.Cecilia Singers (an all -women's choir), Les Choristers (an all-women's choir), and Western Singers (a senior mixed choir). I was a member of the choir council, serving as a choir president and in grad school, sat on the society of graduate students government, as well as the society of graduate students in music government. I was also an active member of the opera program as I auditioned for and was accepted into the Western Opera four times. I performed in two opera galas and two fully staged operas, including my most recent role as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel in November 2022. While I have received an immense amount of education, it is the memories and people that I have met that have stuck with me the most. One experience that has stuck with me the most as a singer was when I travelled to South Korea. Obviously there was a large language barrier as we did not understand the language of the choirs we were meeting and singing with and they did not understand ours well either. However, when we sang together with them and in front of them, the gap disappeared. Music connected us together and gave us a way to understand one another and I cannot thing of another thing as beautiful as that. It is experiences like those that have shaped me into the person I am today and instilled such a love for sharing music. I I have been blessed to receive such excellent training, education, and mentorship not only at University, but throughout my entire musical journey. My teachers have all pushed me to achieve the best of my abilities and have seen something in me that I never saw in myself. My teachers have all been kind enough to share their loves and passions with me which has inspired me to do the same for others. Music has the ability to change people's lives, it does so every single day in both small and large ways and I want to be able to make someone's life better. I will not be able to perform forever but the ways in which I educate young people can create a lasting impact.