It is creation.  It is how we turn our insides out.  And it is unique…a unique expression however we choose to use it.  Without the voice, how would we stake a claim, share an idea, share a feeling, share anything?  And here, realize that silence is also part of the voice.  Silence speaks volumes, as they say.  Our voices carry our souls’ expression.  And I have witnessed again and again its potential to transform people and unite them as one voice.  How could it not be important?

How do you work with clients?

It’s always different because people come to me for different reasons.  Even my workshops are different because different people show up.  And even if it was the same people, they would be different from one workshop to the next.  So I use what is present and up for people.  Some people come to me because they want to sing better.  They don’t care about the inner deep stuff.  That’s not my ideal client, and I send them elsewhere.  I like working with people who already have a certain level of body awareness or at least want to develop one in order to heal themselves.  Then I become simply the facilitator instead of the teacher.

How does working with the voice help people?

Some people are only aware of the surface benefits…they sound better or communicate more freely, which is great.  But there is so much more going on.  There is an awareness that builds with my voice work making people better creators of life.  They start to listen differently.  They start to experiment more.  And they start to align themselves. And they discover things about themselves they didn’t know.  Some people say it feeds them…they long to express for no reason at all.

Why would someone come to you for voice work?

Typically, people come to me because they want to sing or they want to improve their voice in some way, but they feel blocked.  They long to sing and express themselves.  They come to me instead of some other voice teacher because they also sense, if they don’t directly know, that there is more to this desire than what it appears to be on the surface.  Their soul is longing for something deeper that singing gives.

What kinds of voice issues do you deal with?

Let me start by stating what I don’t do.  I’m not a speech & language pathologist.  I’m not an acting coach, although I have a background in that.  I don’t deal with medical issues like nodes.  And I don’t teach “singing”…not really.  Yet I can help an already great singer perform & sing better.  And I can teach technique to someone who has none so that they have more confidence in using her voice.  I look upon the work I do as shamanic in nature.  I am always reaching way in and deep down with clients.  You know, what energy is in the way of this person’s full expression?  But my sessions aren’t about singing lots of scales and learning songs…although there is some of that, it is not the main thrust. 

What is the main thrust of your practice?

For me, the techniques, the breath, the vocal variables are all tools with which to play for the purpose of self-expression.  The voice is like medicine.  It’s a healer.  Getting people to experience and get in touch with this is the thrust of my practice.