Conservatoire for dance and musical theatre
Faculty: Singing and Voice

Singing Staff

Jackee Stockwell EMT (Estill Master Teacher), Prof Cert Ed LLS (DTLLS)   Head of Singing and Voice

Jackee’s vocal training started at The Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff where she was awarded a scholarship.
In 1996 she understudied the Principal female role in the 10th anniversary National and European tour of Chess. Jackee went on to perform in the cabaret room The Talk of London in London’s West End. She also performed as lead female vocalist in production shows and as a solo cabaret artist on many cruise ships: The Zenith (Celebrity Cruises), Silver Cloud (Silver Seas), Black Watch (Fred Olsen) etc. Her singing career included performing in Cabaret venues across Wales, England, Jersey, and the Middle East. Being a fluent Welsh speaker, she sang on numerous Welsh Television and Radio programmes. In 2010 Jackee gained her Professional Certificate in Education from University of Greenwich, London. And in 2015 she qualified as an EMT (Estill Master Trainer) in The Estill Model, mentored by Anne-Marie Speed.

Tom Bond BA (Hons), EFP (Estill Figure Proficiency)   Singing Tutor and Assistant to Head of Singing & Voice

Tom trained at Leeds College of Music, and graduated in 2015 with a BA (Hons) in Music (Jazz). Since graduating, he has worked across the UK and Internationally as a Performer, Musical Director and Teacher, performing in venues such as BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, Liverpool Echo Arena, Stade Français Paris as well as many regional theatres, clubs and wedding venues.
Tom has been a member of the singing department at Bird College since 2021.
Tom is the co-founder of Kristian Thomas Company (KTCo), an East Midlands based performance training establishment and production company. During his 7 years as Managing Director and Head of Music at KTCo, Tom acted as Musical Director for over 30 musicals and concerts as well as co-creating the ‘Accelerate Training Programme’, a one-year course aimed at equipping young people for higher education.
Alongside his work in education, Tom is a regular member of Fat Cat Brass Band, who engage in over 120 performances across the UK and Europe each year.
Tom is currently on the Estill Master Trainer Certification Pathway, under the mentorship of Charlotte Xerri EMT/EMCI-ATP SD.
Notable professional engagements include: SAGA Ocean Cruises, BBC 2, Evolution Pantomimes, Kristian Thomas Company, Little Wolf Entertainment, Derby LIVE, Sinfonia Viva, The Magic of Motown and England Rugby.

Phillip Shades BMus Perf, LRAM, PgDip RAM, EMT, Level 5 Soft Tissue Therapist  Vocal Care Co-ordinator, Senior Singing Tutor

Phillip is a performer, vocal coach and singing teacher with twenty years’ experience. He studied classical singing as an undergraduate and later musical theatre and singing teaching at the esteemed Royal Academy of Music under the instruction of west-end vocal coach Mary Hammond.

As well as a classical background Phillip has achieved ‘EMT’ (Estill Master Trainer, formerly CMT) status in the Estill Voice model under the mentorship of Licensed Estill Voice Craft Practitioner (Vanguard) Anne-Marie Speed. Phillip works closely with performers in the West End and leads a singing clinic in London for professional voice users where he specialises in vocal technique and vocal health. He is also regularly asked to deliver lectures on vocal care, vocal technique, functional anatomy and the advantages of therapeutic techniques to teachers and students at many of the major training institutions across the country. Phillip is one of very few singing teachers who has attained the UK’s highest-level qualification available in soft tissue therapy with the prestigious London School of Sports and Remedial Massage at Regents Park University and is able to incorporate manual therapy with his teaching, drawing upon a wide range of therapeutic techniques. Phillip regularly attends conferences and CPD courses nationally and internationally in order to keep up to date with the latest findings in voice science and therapeutic techniques. Developing and encouraging the singing voice for anyone who wants to learn is important to Phillip and he takes time to run courses in London throughout the year.

Laura Pirret Cert in HE in Theatre Arts, BA (Hons), MA , PGCLTHE   Spoken Voice Tutor

Laura is a spoken voice coach with a specialist focus in Lessac Kinesensics Body Voice Training as a Lessac Practitioner. Originally, she trained as an actor at East 15 Acting School. She then went on to specialise in voice and completed her undergraduate degree in Vocal & Choral studies at The University of Winchester. Whilst completing her degree, she had the opportunity to study at the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts (SADA) and train in Musical Theatre in the USA at Shenandoah Conservatory, Virginia. Laura completed her MA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and her Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Education in Theatre Arts (PGCLTHE) from Rose Bruford College. Laura is currently in the process of becoming a Lessac Certified Trainer, and starting her PhD research in the area of somatic practices in education to support neurodiversity in students and educators. Her hobbies include learning languages such as Korean and Mandarin.

Danni Taylor   Spoken Voice Tutor

Danni is a voice and acting coach, actor and singer who specialises in accent work and acting through song. Having studied and trained at Guildford School of Acting, Surrey University and Leeds Beckett University, Danni’s qualifications include an MA in The Practice of Voice & Singing (Distinction), 1st Class BA (Hons) in Theatre Practice and a PGCE teaching qualification specialising in Further and Higher Eduction. Danni has taught extensively at an array of vocational colleges including Guildford School of Acting, Rose Bruford and Laine Theatre Arts where she was the Head of Acting and Voice for five of her eight years teaching there. Whilst there she expanded the Acting and Voice provision, introduced the specialist Acting pathway on the Musical Theatre Diploma and directed eight plays including, Peter and The StarCatcher, A Christmas Carol and the verbatim play, London Road which was produced and streamed during lockdown in 2020.

As well as directing, Danni has also turned her hand to musical directing, highlights of which include Urinetown (Simply Theatre), Sister Act (Rhoda McGaw Theatre) and Songs fro a New World (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Her performing experience includes Theatre, Musical Theatre, film and VoiceOver work.

Toby Hunt BMus (hons), MMus, PGCE  Singing Tutor

Toby trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. West End credits include The Mikado, Iolanthe and The Pirates of Penzance with the Carl Rosa Company at the Gielgud theatre. Toby has toured the UK & US extensively with the Carl Rosa Company playing the Carpenter in HMS Pinafore, Frosch in Die Fledermaus and understudying the roles of Private Willis in Iolanthe and the Boatswain in HMS Pinafore. Other theatre credits include Colline in La Boheme with Opera Bohemia, 2nd Yeoman in Yeoman of the Guard at the Tower of London and as a singer with the Mark Morris Dance Group for their UK tour. Toby has worked as a principal cover for Scottish Opera, recently covering the roles of Mars/John Styx in Orpheus in the Underworld and Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata. Other recent opera credits include Tosca and L’amour des Trois Oranges for Grange Park Opera. Toby sings regularly at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival having performed in The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, Trial by Jury, Ruddigore & Yeomen of the Guard at the Buxton Opera House and has also played the Carpenter in HMS Pinafore on tour with Tarantara Productions.

Outside the theatre world Toby has worked as a session singer for TV & Radio and as a backing vocalist for many pop singers and on the X Factor. He has performed in recitals across the UK and Germany, in concert in Japan and Georgia and even for the British Prime Minister at Downing Street! As a cabaret artiste, Toby performs as the taller half of the duo The Opera Gents with tenor David Furnell. They have completed a nine month residency at the VIP Lounge in Cardiff and have taken their act ‘A Talent to Amuse’ across the UK and southern France. As a composer Toby has had works broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland and his work Letters of Clara & Johannes received its world premiere at the International Art Music Festival, Berlin in 2016.

Jennifer Rhodes BA (Hons) MPerf   Singing Tutor

Jennifer gained her Masters in Musical Theatre from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland having previously gained a BA hons in Drama and Theatre Studies (minor in French Lit.) from Royal Holloway College, University of London.  Further vocal training includes the Opera Works program at the English National Opera as well as coaching from Amanda Roocroft at Royal College of Music.  Jennifer performed in a variety of plays, musicals and operas before focusing on Singing coaching and, more recently, voice research.  She maintains an avid interest in vocal pedagogy and has taken many courses with Estill Voiceworks and Knight Thompson Speechworks. Jennifer divides her time between teaching at Bird and Mountview as well as managing a busy private teaching studio.

Performance credits include: Masterclass (English Theatre Frankfurt); Twelfth Night (Attic Theatre/Sixteen Feet Productions); Dandy Dick (ATG/Theatre Royal Brighton and UK No.1 Tour); repertory seasons at Stephen Joseph Theatre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre; Honk! (Royal and Derngate); Don Giovanni, Carmen and Oliver! (New Vic); The Sundowe (Eden Court/Tour); Goethe’s Faust Parts One and Two; Man of La Mancha (Royal Lyceum); Semele and The Marriage of Figaro (ENO Opera Works).  Recordings include: This is It (AEG Live/Metro Voices) and all female vocals for Successful Singing Auditions Audio Guide (by Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher).

Rosie Secker BMus (Hons), PgDip, MA   Singing Tutor

Rosie trained with the vocal and operatic department at The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, graduating with a First Class BMus (Hons). She went on to pursue a Master of Arts at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and since graduating has led a successful portfolio career as a singing teacher and performer. The majority of Rosie’s current performance work is as a session vocalist, jazz singer and cabaret artist.

Recent Solo Gigs/Slots include: The Shaw Theatre London, Neverworld Festival, Hoxton Hall, Dingwalls Camden, Bush Hall, Sandhurst Military Academy, Shelsley Walsh Nostalgia, Oslo Cosmopolite, Berlin Ballhaus, Espace K Strasbourg, Q77 Turin, Prague Theatre Royal and Assembly Festival, Edinburgh Fringe. Other notable work includes: The World Premier of ‘Scoring a Century’ (Keith Warner, Birmingham Crescent Theatre), Soloist for the Archbishop of Canterbury (Wells Cathedral), Ensemble at The Laurence Olivier Awards (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and London 2012 Closing Ceremony (Olympic Stadium). Rosie often works with new composers, workshopping and recording material, and also released her own Christmas Album in 2016, raising £2000 for charity Brake.

As a vocal coach, Rosie has worked in a variety of contexts with different colleges, groups, ensembles and choirs. Rosie previously held the post of Leader for Singing Projects with West Sussex Music and now continues this as a freelance practitioner. Rosie has completed Estill Levels 1&2, is a Certified Vocal Health First Aider and is hoping to become a Vocal Rehabilitation Professional. Rosie is also a Certified 500hr Yoga Teacher, Vocal Yoga Teacher and runs workshops for organisations and individuals exploring the body, breath, mind, voice connection.

 

Monica Sik Holm First Class BA(Hons) in Music Performing Arts from LIPA  Singing Tutor

Monica is currently studying towards her PGCert and MA in Vocal Pedagogy at University of Wales Trinity St David, delivered by The Voice Workshop, focusing her studies on vocal demands in the musical theatre industry. As a singing teacher she currently teaches at Italia Conti, Lingfield College and private students as well as Bird. She also owns and musically supervises Musikal Kollektivet in Norway. Previous teaching credits include MEPA and Performers College.

Youth MD credits includes Annie, Oliver!, Aladdin, The Jungle Book and Fame. Monica still performs as much as she can and recently finished The North American and China Tour of Gobsmacked!, the acapella musical, performing Broadway seasons in cities like Chicago, Toronto and Washington DC (John F. Kennedy Center) and others. She regularly performs as a guest entertainer with the vocal group Sister Twist and has performed on cruise ships such as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, Holland America and MSC.

Other performing credits include: Regular Voice Talent for Fisher Price/Mattel, Beautiful Noise – A Tribute to Neil Diamond (UK Tour), title role in Cinderella (Plowright Theatre), Dick Whittington (Blackburn Empire) and many others. As a singer/pianist she has been resident for Seabourn Cruise Lines and Dorchester Hotel, as well as competing in The World Championships for Performing Arts in Los Angeles, where she won gold and silver in her categories. Monica is also a musical theatre composer and has composed music for 8 musicals including: Twelve Steps To Heaven (Workshopped at GSA), Jog On (Showcased at Soho Theatre, Tristan Bates & Blackpool Winter Gardens), Bucuresti (LIPA and Norwegian Tour), Clegg (Workshopped at LIPA), Angel Dust (Contemporary Urban Centre, Liverpool) and others.

Luka Antony Bjelis MA (Hons), PGDip RAM   Singing Tutor

Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, Luka studied at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a Masters degree with honours in History, specialising in the History of Musical Theatre. Following his studies in Edinburgh he was accepted onto the prestigious Musical Theatre program at the Royal Academy of Music under the tutelage of Mary Hammond and Anne Marie-Speed, where he was the winner of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation scholarship award 2013/14 awarded by renowned casting director David Grindrod and Sir Lloyd Webber.
Since 2014 Luka has worked as a freelance vocal coach, composer, songwriter and musical director across many areas of the theatre and music industries alongside performing in the cabaret circuit. He has worked with many West End and International performers on various musicals including Les Miserable, Kinky Boots, SIX, Matilda and Mamma Mia! and has also played as an audition pianist for various casting teams in the UK. One of the main goals Luka has is to unlock the unique confidence and individuality of each performer he works with and for this to translate from the rehearsal room to the stage.
Luka has worked as a musical director for various projects over the years including musical improv troupe ‘Notflix’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and touring concerts. As a songwriter he has written songs for commercials, emerging jazz/pop artists represented by Song BMG and has reached the finals of the UK Cabaret Awards for his own musical-comedy compositions. Luka is extremely passionate about composing new British musicals and acts as a musical dramaturg for new writing teams.

Victoria Basten (BA) Hons   Singing Tutor

Victoria received a BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and has enjoyed a performing career spanning over 10 years. Stage credits include: Chess: In Concert (Royal Albert Hall), Crazy For You (London Palladium), The Last Five Years (workshop), Raindogs (Trafalgar Studios) and Divas International (International tour). She also performed around the world as a lead vocalist and vocal captain for Royal Caribbean and P&O cruises, and has recorded demos as both a lead and backing vocalist for various popular music songwriters.

Now Victoria teaches Singing and Acting Through Song at a number of top London colleges including Bird College and Mountview Academy. Additionally, she provides private vocal coaching to amateur singers and West End professionals. Victoria is also currently working in the development and as an examiner for Mountview exams, accessible graded qualifications in Musical Theatre. Victoria is passionate about guiding individual performers, helping them harness and develop their unique voices and talents.

Aizaac Sidhu   Singing Tutor

Aizaac trained at the Urdang Academy with a full scholarship, graduating with a National Diploma in Musical Theatre.

Since then he has worked extensively as an actor and singer across TV, Film, Musical Theatre, Theatre, Cruises, Cabarets, Voiceover and Commercials in the UK and internationally.

During his career Aizaac started to further his knowledge on the voice and vocal health, now specialising in pop, rock, belt and legit technique, as well as vocal rehabilitation. He believes in training the voice much like an athlete, and understanding the voice thoroughly, to allow performers to remain consistent, sustainable and artistically free during their careers.

Howard Thompson MA, DipRAM, FHEA  Singing Tutor

Howard trained at the Royal Academy of Music and prior to this studied for a BA in Music from the University of York. He recently completed the PGCert in Performance Teaching at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is now a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Howard has performed in a variety of opera, oratorio and recital engagements, with opera credits including Vater Hänsel und Gretel; Guglielmo Cosi Fan Tutte; Schanuard La Boheme; Mr Peachum The Threepenny Opera; Argante Rinaldo; Demetrius & Starveling A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Howard has also worked as a producer in regional theatre and ran education projects with The Theatre Chipping Norton.

Judith Colman   Singing Tutor

Judith trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Birmingham Conservatoire, and postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Judith has enjoyed a career of over 30 years performing across Europe and the UK as a soloist and ensemble member for British Youth Opera, English Touring Opera, English Brass Ensemble and Opera Interactive. She has sung many Oratorios and performed in a variety of Cabaret, Opera and Jazz venues.

Alongside performing, Judith has always enjoyed teaching, coaching, and conducting choral groups. Judith has a private teaching practice, working with many professional West End singers, coaching for auditions, or keeping them vocally healthy. She has worked with the Glyndebourne Education Department and run courses for them. Judith is the co-director of a series of International cross-genre singing courses, running during the academic holidays, working with young singers up to those working in the profession now.

As a singing teacher/voice coach, Judith has worked in many schools and colleges, building up departments and encouraging actors and dancers to really extend their vocal ability.

Other work includes teaching at Millennium Performing Arts, coaching actors for the BBC, Directing at the Round House Theatre (London) and coaching performance techniques to MA Business Students at Cranfield University.

Christopher Welsh   Singing Tutor

Christopher has worked as a performer, musical director, arranger, and educator for over twenty years, in the fields of musical theatre, cabaret, and jazz. Christopher’s recent MD/performing credits include: Dramarama 30th Anniversary Gala (Shaw Theatre), The Magic Of Lena Horne (The Pheasantry),  Miss Saigon Farewell Concert (Hippodrome Casino), The Wiz (People’s Theatre), Full Circle (Cockpit Theatre), Godspell (People’s Theatre), The Hidden Talents Of The Ticket Tearers (Old Vic), Musicality (Lost Theatre), Aurum (Dolman Theatre), Closer Than Ever (Peter Sarah Theatre), Rod Stewart In Concert (St. James’s Park).

Previous students of Christopher have obtained roles in West End and UK touring musicals, including Caroline Or Change, Crazy For You, Dreamboats & Petticoats, Dogfight, Grease, Joseph, Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Les Miserables, Mamma Mia, Miss Saigon, Starlight Express, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Showboat, Spamalot, Sunny Afternoon and Titanic. Christopher currently teaches for Bird College, Dramarama Stage School, Laine Theatre Arts, Theatretrain, UWL, and Adam Spiegel Productions.

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Mike Turnbull MA, BMus (Hons), EFP (Estill Figure Proficiency)   Singing Tutor

Mike trained as a musician, on the BMus programme, at Newcastle college. and then a MA in Acting at East15 Acting school. He combined his passion for music, acting, theatre and teaching to focus on musical direction and vocal coaching. He’s participated in a variety of Estill courses with Anne-Marie Speed and Charlotte Xerri, gaining his EFP earlier this year.

As musical director he’s worked on a mixture of professional and off-West End productions – most notably the UK tour of Saturday Night Fever and pantomimes for UK Productions. Pre-pandemic he was assistant MD for BKL’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

As vocal coach, many of his students have gained principal roles in the West End, feature films and television (one of whom won BBC’s The Voice in 2014), of which he’s immensely proud. He’s worked in many colleges, such as: London Studio Centre, Masters Performing Arts, Urdang, Drama Studio London, ALRA, Brit, CPA Studios, and Sylvia Young, as well as regularly leading West End Workshops at Pineapple, Danceworks and Base Studios.

Credits include: Saturday Night Fever (UK Tour), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK Tour), Geordie – The Musical (Newcastle Tyne Theatre), Sleeping Beauty (Sunderland Empire), NewsRevue (Arts Theatre, Underbelly and Canal Café Theatre), Henry V (UK Tour), Robin Hood and his Merry Mam (York Theatre Royal), Death Takes A Holiday (Charing Cross Theatre), Rebel Song (The Other Palace), Katie and The Mona Lisa (Pleasance Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (UK Tour), Society of Wonders (Latitude Festival).

Grace Carter   Singing Tutor

Grace trained as a Pianist at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, later studying as a Repetiteur on the Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Having spent her initial studies working so frequently with singers, Grace began her own training as a soprano at Trinity Laban, going on to receive an International Opera Awards Bursary whilst at the Dutch National Opera Academy.

Recent performances include Dutch National Opera, Oxford Lieder Festival, Mozarthaus- Vienna, Musiekgebouw aan t’Ij – Amsterdam and the Britten Pears Young Artist programme at Snape Matings. Grace was a recording artist with Deutsche Grammophon/ Universal Music in Paris for an album of operas arranged for five female voices.
Grace currently teaches at Mountview, LAMDA and Trinity Laban as well as at Bird College. She is a certified Vocal Health First Aider and is currently training with Anne Marie Speed as an Estill Master Trainer. She is a regular accompanist for the International Opera Awards Young Artist masterclasses and has lead workshops for Opera Holland Park.

Marianne Benedict   Singing Tutor

Marianne grew up in Oxfordshire where she studied singing, piano and cello alongside drama and dance. She went on to train at the Arts Educational School, London, on the Musical Theatre course. Marianne has gone on to have a varied and successful performing career as well as over 20 years experience as a singing teacher, working with absolute beginners to West End professionals. She is passionate about all aspects of singing and loves helping students achieve their potential. Her performing credits include:
Theatre: Mrs Wormwood in Matilda the musical (Cambridge Theatre), Grizabella in CATS (International & UK tour), Rosalia in Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (London Playhouse), Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (London Palladium), Woman 2 in Side By Side By Sondheim (Brockley Jack Studio Theatre), Vivian in Dirty Dancing (Aldwych Theatre), Velma in Chicago (Oldham Coliseum), The Witch in Rapunzel (Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse), May in Blonde Bombshells Of 1943 (Stoke New Vic), Gloria in Return to the Forbidden Planet (UK tour), Miss MacKintosh in The Sunshine Boys (Oldham Coliseum), Teacher and understudy Killer Queen in We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre), Alice in Loveshack (UK tour), Debbie in the musical Debbie Does Dallas (Old Fire Station Theatre, Oxford), Dolly in The Country Wife (Watford Palace Theatre), Stella and understudy Polly Baker in Crazy for You (UK tour).
Workshops: Hillary in Dark Lord (The Other Palace), CJ in Baywatch the Musical, Catherine in The Girl Dusty.
Television: Lorene Powell-Jobs in Autopsy (Channel 5), Lisa in Eastenders (BBC).
Film: Vocalist and parent in Matilda the musical (Netflix)
Concerts: Stephen Sondheim’s 85th Birthday Gala (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), One More Time (Piccadilly Theatre), West End Musical Theatre Celebration (Palace Theatre), Incognito Artists (Global).

Joe Partridge   Singing Tutor

Joe is a singer, actor-musician and composer from Devon. A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Joe studied singing and composition before taking his first role as a soloist in the Thursford Christmas Spectacular in 2019. Since then, Joe’s performing credits include the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company’s Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, Mikado, Utopia Limited & Patience, Guys and Dolls in Concert with the London Philharmonic, BBC Songs of Praise, Best of Rock Musicals (Eventim Apollo), The Polar Express (Warner Bros), West Side Story, Grimeborn Festival (Arcola Theatre), and in recordings for Katherine Jenkins Guiding Light & Cinema Paradiso (Decca).

As a composer Joe works as part of several songwriting collaborations, and has been part of the creative teams for several new musical workshops including Mitten Hands and the MisMatched Band (Drama Centre) & If So & So What Though? which recently showcased at the Arts Theatre in London. Joe is currently working on a series of collaborative projects as part of the Book, Music & Lyrics writing for musical theatre programme including Between the Music & Small Fry, whilst also recently completing a new Shakesperian song-cycle based on a variety of texts circulating around Jacque’s As You Like It monologue ‘All the World’s a Stage’.

Alongside performing, Joe coaches singers and actors at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, Laine Theatre Arts & Bird College in London. Joe has held several roles contributing to education including overseeing the music department at Snaresbrook Prep School, delivering outreach projects and workshops for the Kenneth Moore Theatre and for Stagecoach Performing Arts. Joe’s students have featured in notable musicals including Identical (Nottingham Playhouse), Matilda (Cambridge Theatre), School of Rock (UK Tour), and Joseph & the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (UK Tour) amongst others.

Joe’s studies at the Guildhall School and professionally have been generously supported by a number of charitable trusts including the Really Useful Group, the Guildhall School Trust, Fleebag Support Fund, Musicians UK, Equity, the Theatrical Support Fund, Mary Barnes Trust, and the Arts Council.

Patrick D'Arcy   Singing Tutor

Patrick D’Arcy graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 2023 with a Masters Degree in Musical Theatre and the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) in Vocal Teaching. In his time at RAM, Patrick had the pleasure to work with the likes of Claude-Michel Schonberg, Hadley Fraser, Imelda Staunton and Adam Guettel, leaving with a wealth of knowledge and experience to bring into the industry, presented to him by these titans of theatre.
Patrick’s credits whilst training include ‘Jigger’ in Carousel, ‘Hyde’ in Jekyll and Hyde and Assistant Director on the devised RAM Cabaret ‘Places!’.
Alongside his experience at RAM, Patrick also holds the DipLCM, LLCM and ALCM from the London College of Music in Music Theatre Performance as well as a BA(Hons) Degree in History and Politics from Queen’s University Belfast.

Connor Jones   Singing Tutor

Training: Royal Academy of Music

Connor works as an Actor, Musical Director, and Teacher.

His acting credits include Grantaire in Les Misérables (West End/UK Tour/Concert) and Robert Catesby in Treason the Musical (UK Tour/London Palladium).

Connor is also the Musical Supervisor for theatre company DK Productions and has taught at establishments including GSA, Bird College, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and Blackheath Conservatoire.

Joe Cummings   Singing Tutor

Joe is a musical director, vocal coach, composer, pianist and animateur. He trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music as a pianist and is a qualified Higher Education Teacher. As a pianist and director he has worked at Matilda The Musical, Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Royal Shakespeare Company and Wigmore Hall. His most recent compositions have been performed on stage at the Royal Academy of Music, Festival Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.

Joe is passionate about access to participatory music and theatre and positive impact this can have on peoples’ lives whether that be learning to play an instrument, experiencing and discussing live performances or creating new work about topics which entice and relate to creators, performers and audiences.

Joe devises and runs projects for companies including the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, Voices Across Time and Hold The Drama.

Anna McManus MA  Singing Tutor

Anna is a singing, voice and dialect coach based in London. Having gained her Masters in Musical Theatre from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama she worked professionally as actor and singer before completing a second Masters in Voice Studies at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating with distinction.

Anna specialises in combining accent training with singing training to facilitate demands on the musical theatre performer and continues to draw on this kind of holistic approach across all of her voice teaching work.

Prior to her drama school training, Anna obtained first class music degree from the University of Southampton and attended the Junior Trinity College of Music in London, where she studied classical singing with Sarah Vivian. Anna currently holds regular teaching positions on the BA courses at Bird College and the Guildford School of Acting.

Performing credits include: An Evening with Shakespeare (Home Studio Acting Company), Incognito (Home Studio Acting Company) Let it Snow (Partytime Productions) Betty Blue Eyes (Richard Burton Theatre Company) One More Look (Sherman Theatre), Christmas on Broadway, (Richard Burton Theatre Company), and Musical Director of The Pendley Shakespeare Festival.

Lauren Davies   Singing Tutor

Lauren is a singing teacher, spoken voice coach, and musical director from Wales. She holds an MFA in Professional Voice Studies from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and a BA Hons in Music from Bath Spa University. In addition, she is a certified Vocal Health First Aider, has achieved Estill Figures of Proficiency and is currently on the Estill Master Trainer pathway.

With over a decade of teaching experience, Lauren has been a singing and voice lecturer at numerous prestigious institutions, including Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Bristol School of Acting, Bristol Institute of Performing Arts, Wales Academy of Voice and Dramatic Arts, Bath Theatre Academy, Bath Dance College, Bath Spa University, and Bird College.
In her capacity as a Musical Director, Lauren has led more than 50 theatre productions, with highlights including Arabella Hunt at Hampton Court Palace, Emma at Arts Ed, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Bristol Hippodrome, and Anne Boleyn at the Tobacco Factory. She has served as a choir leader for Some Voices, Rock Choir, and Windmill Hill Choir, among others. As a signed keyboard player with Ear Candy and the Blue Lion agency, she has performed with various bands, including big bands, jazz groups, and festival bands.

Hywel Dowsell BA (Hons), EFP (Estill Figure Proficiency)  Singing Tutor

Hywel trained at The Guildford School of Acting and has enjoyed a varied career as an actor both in the West End and abroad.

He is currently appearing in The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre in the West End.

His theatre credits include: The Phantom of the Opera (West End and UK Tour), Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk (Capitol Horsham), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Kilworth House), The Hound of the Baskervilles – A New Comedy (Barn Theatre), Mack and Mabel (Hackney Empire), Candide and State Fair (Cadogan Hall), Honeymoon in Vegas (London Palladium), Beauty and the Beast and Peter Pan (Parkwood Theatres), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (UK and International Tour), Willy Wonka The Musical (Centrepoint Theatre, Dubai), Aladdin (Middle Eastern Tour), and Macbeth (UK and International Tour).

Hywel is passionate about singing, and alongside his performing, he enjoys teaching students and helping them achieve their goals.

 

Sophie Burke   Singing Tutor & Musical Director

Sophie works extensively as a multi instrumentalist, vocalist and musical director having trained at The Urdang Academy, Covent Garden.
As a Singing Teacher, Sophie has taught at Arts Educational, The Urdang Academy and Reynold’s Performing Arts as well as providing private vocal coaching to West End professionals and amateur singers.

Musical Direction credits include: Footloose (Polish Theatre); The Great. Gatsby on Air (Theatre Royal Windsor); Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, & Aladdin (Theatre Royal Windsor); Ukraine Aid (Lafayette London); Legally Blonde Jr & The Little Mermaid Jr (Theatre Royal Windsor); Snow White and the Happy Ever After Beauty Salon (Theatre Royal Plymouth, Oval House Theatre); Our House the Musical (BWA); Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood (Leeds City Varieties, Choreographer & Assistant MD).
Sophie is the proud creator of The Daisy Chains – The all girl rock ‘n’ roll band.

Theatre credits include; Daisy in Original Cast Dreamboats & Petticoats (West End & UK Tour); Helene in Sweet Charity (New Wolsey Theatre); Jerry’s Girls (Jermyn Street Theatre); Threepenny Opera (UK Tour); Our House (UK Tour); Some Like It Hotter (UK Tour); Radio Times (UK Tour & Watermill Theatre); Mimi in Guys & Dolls (UK Tour); Gotta Sing Gotta Dance (UK Tour); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (International Tour); Columbia in The Rocky Horror Show (European Tour).