Teachers

Teacher - Isaac

Experience

Since he was a child watching Australian Idol, Isaac has always loved singing. With five years of tertiary music education under his belt, Isaac has shaped his passion into a diverse understanding of musicianship. He has plenty of experience in solo and group singing, having taken part in Music Theatre, Gospel, RnB/Soul, Pop, and Jazz vocal ensembles at University.

Isaac has a particular passion for music direction, which led him to vocal directing an A Cappella group called “The Mockingbards” for two and a half years. In 2017, the Mockingbards competed in the AUSACA Championships, proceeding all the way to the final round. Isaac has also vocal directed a few Music Productions, namely Lumina Theatre Company’s ‘Legally Blonde’ (2018) and Lightbox Theatre Company’s ‘The Theory of Relativity’ (2019), for which he was nominated for a Lyrebird Award. Isaac is hardly a stranger to the stage however, and has also performed in countless musicals over the last 10 years.

Credentials

Isaac wanted to take the next step in developing his singing skills, and decided to undertake a Bachelor of Music at Monash University. Specialising in Popular Voice, Isaac gained valuable knowledge in vocal anatomy, which he utilises to keep his voice in tip-top condition. Isaac particularly focused on developing his analytical ear for music, priding himself on his feedback skills.

Approach

Isaac has an enthusiastic, analytical, and extremely passionate love for music. Isaac’s voice is not only versatile, but also flexible, able to navigate any song he comes across, no matter how high, and has experience teaching children to seniors, men and women of all ages. Isaac’s Field of expertise when teaching is Pop, Soul, RnB, Music Theatre, Rock and Jazz though has experience teaching all modern contemporary styles.

Teacher - Karina Lehman

Experience

Born and raised in Santiago de Chile, Karina is a passionate musician with several years of experience in Latin bands and solo performances. Karina has been a prominent figure in the Melbourne music scene since 2014, regularly performing and captivating audiences with her soulful voice and stage presence. She founded some original musical projects, including Terrasur (2014), where she played for four years and recorded an EP, and Los Lopez (2019), a traditional Mexican folk band. In the past few years, Karina has been developing her solo project and has released 8 original songs. In 2020, Karina was recognized for her talents and awarded a prize in the Australian Campus Music Competition. In 2022, she was invited by MAV to be part of Upclose program, an online live music video channel presenting intimate performances and interviews with culturally diverse Victorian singer-songwriters.

Credentials

Karina completed her Bachelor of Music degree at Melbourne Polytechnic in 2022, specialising in voice and performance. She graduated with a High Distinction and received a nomination to Melbourne Polytechnic’s Outstanding HE Student of the Year award. Karina not only studied voice with recognised teachers as Diana Clark and Sue Johnson at MP, but also, she received extensive training in theory, aural skills, composition, technology and arrangement. As a vocalist, Karina is capable to sing in a wide range of Latin genres such as Bossanova, Latin Jazz, Folk, Cumbia, Latin pop, Samba and Folktronica.

Approach

As a singing teacher, Karina creates a learning environment that is relaxed, compassionate, and fun. Her approach is focussed around helping her students become curious and self- aware about their voices, as well as their personal and artistic goals. Regardless of her students’ age or experience level, Karina empowers them to take ownership of their own learning process. She works closely with each student to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and together they set achievable goals that are tailored to their unique needs and aspirations.

Karina is passionate about helping her students develop confidence, creativity, and self- expression through singing. She believes that singing is not just about hitting the right notes, but also about connecting with emotions and communicating them to an audience.

Teacher - Chelsea Elder

Experience

Chelsea began singing and performing at age 4. By age 8 she was playing the guitar and writing her own songs. Her very first song lyrics were “I eat ice cream in the morning, while my mum is snoring.” Exploring a range of vocal styles, including pop, folk, musical theatre, RnB, and jazz, she has performed in many musicals, choirs and has even performed in the State Theatre, with a lead in the production “Time to Shine.” Chelsea also kept up her instrumental skills by playing guitar and trombone in a jazz band. Her main passion has always lied in being a singer/songwriter and has formed her own bands for her original music in both Melbourne and Perth. She loves to record and produce her music to share with the world. She has made some wonderful connections and learnt a lot since releasing her music on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.

Credentials

At the fresh age of 18, Chelsea moved to Western Australia to study at the Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts (WAAPA). She honed in on her vocal, aural, theory, songwriting and performance skills completing a Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Music Industry. She is now refining her vocal knowledge even further, by studying a Bachelor of Speech Pathology at Australian Catholic University.

Approach

Chelsea always prioritises a fun and safe environment for students to try new things and feel safe to make a mistake (and learn from it of course). Building confidence as a performer but also building upon self-awareness as a musician is at the core of what Chelsea teaches. She builds students to have their own expression and style and encourages self-accompaniment and songwriting.

Teacher - Anita

Experience

Anita Levy, born and raised in Japan, studied Bossa Nova and Jazz in Brazil at Souza Lima, a feeder school for Boston’s Berklee College of Music. She has been part of a Brazilian ensemble and has performed as a singer in Portuguese at various venues in Melbourne, New Zealand and in Japan. Anita continues to spend her time teaching, performing and composing music as she collaborates with artists from around the world. Anita comes to us as an experienced singing teacher helping students develop a healthy voice and to find their own sound, no matter their preferred genre. Students benefit from her music experience, her knowledge as a performer and all the personal support she gives each student.

Credentials

Anita completed her Bachelor of Music majoring in Jazz and Contemporary Performance at Monash University and has completed her Estill Voice Training Level One and Level Two studies. Anita keeps up to date with the latest techniques in vocal training. She has participated in workshops with local and international artists both in Brazil and Melbourne which has given her rich and varied networks.

Approach

Anita sees the potential in every student. She works with her students to see them develop new skills and grow in confidence. Fun is an important component of the lesson enabling them to deepen their love and appreciation of music and the voice. Anita helps students realise that they already have endless possibilities and potential in regard to their voice that can be developed and strengthened. She helps students to have a growth mindset allowing them to soar to new heights and to explore new sounds working with them in a systematic way to cater to individual learning styles.

Teacher - Jonathan

Experience

With over 20 years of performing experience as a solo singer/songwriter and band leader, Jonathan has played for Weddings, Special Events, and Pubs all over the world, ranging from Los Angeles to Darwin. He is known for his thoughtful lyrics and one-man-band approach to arranging original and popular songs to cover the broadest spectrum of music on the acoustic and electric guitar.

Credentials

Jonathan completed a Bachelor of Music majoring in Music Production and Engineering while at Berklee College of Music, one of the world’s top contemporary music schools. In 2019 Berklee was one of three schools named as “Best Music School in the World” and in 2021 was named one of the top 10 schools in the U.S. by the “Yamaha Institution of Excellence.” While at Berklee Jonathan studied guitar with Tomo Fujita who famously taught John Mayer. He also took Songwriting, Piano, and Arrangement classes.

Approach

For songwriting Jonathan’s approach is to equip the writer with practical tools and exercises that build a strong foundation to work from. An example of some tools for songwriting are; song analysis, rhyming schemes, chord tones for melody writing, and many more. Imagination, fun, routine, and the ability to be light-hearted are keys that Jonathan uses to raise up songwriters.