Your music business coach!
A natural singer who needed real technique.
And built a career on understanding the voice.
I began as a natural singer. I could pick things up easily, I had musical instincts, and my voice generally did what I wanted — until I was cast in a show at sixteen that required an E5, and I couldn’t get past a B4.
That was the moment I realised something important: even natural singers are rarely taught how to sing.
You go to a lesson, you sing something, and the teacher says,
“Yeah, that’s great.”
But when you try to repeat it, it doesn’t work — and you don’t know why.
That experience pushed me into formal training.
I began studying with soprano Pamela Wallace in Hamilton, New Zealand, and from there, I pursued my Bachelor of Music, followed by a Master’s in Musical Theatre. I performed widely, across classical and contemporary settings, including work with Auckland Theatre Company, multiple appearances as a featured soloist in Christmas in the Park, several shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, and my own cabaret work in London.
But even with a strong academic background and professional experience, I still felt gaps in my understanding. I could sing, but I couldn’t always explain how. Technique sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t, and I wanted more clarity.
That finally came when I began training with Anne-Marie Speed at The Voice Explained in London and completed my Estill Master Trainer certification — a highly specialised vocal pedagogy qualification focused on anatomy, physiology, and reliable techniques for all voice types. For the first time, I understood exactly what my voice was doing and how to control it.
My journey hasn’t been without challenges.
In 2017, I developed a vocal polyp, underwent surgery, and rebuilt my voice slowly and deliberately — an experience that shaped my technical understanding more than any degree ever could. More recently, discovering and correcting a lifelong tongue-tie deepened my interest in vocal health and functional anatomy, leading me toward further study in myofunctional therapy.
Alongside my teaching career, I continue to perform professionally. Recent roles include Aiolos (Wind God) in Odysseus, Dragon in Shrek in Augsburg, and Mimi in Rent. I’m also recording my debut EP, For Her, releasing in 2026 — a project that reflects the full spectrum of my classical, musical theatre, and contemporary vocal training.
My path as a singer has fundamentally shaped how I teach: clear technique, real understanding, and an approach grounded in physiology rather than guesswork.
Why I teach the way I do, and why singers trust my method.
My path into vocal coaching was shaped by years of being a natural singer who wasn’t fully taught how her voice worked. Even in formal training, teachers often relied on vague language or metaphors that didn’t give me the tools to understand, repeat, or troubleshoot what I was doing. I knew that if I wanted clarity, I’d have to go much deeper into how the voice functioned.
So I did.
After completing my Bachelor of Music, I went on to earn a Master’s in Musical Theatre, which gave me a broader understanding of vocal performance, acting, and artistry. But it was becoming an Estill Master Trainer — an advanced, internationally recognised vocal pedagogy certification — that fundamentally reshaped how I approached teaching.
Estill gave me the scientific framework I had been missing:
anatomy, physiology, acoustic principles, and a method of training any voice reliably and repeatably. For the first time, I had a system that made sense not only for my own singing, but for the singers I would eventually teach.
Over the past 18 years, I’ve worked with singers of all levels — complete beginners, advanced vocalists, musical theatre performers, professional artists, and “natural singers” who had been praised their whole lives but never properly trained. What became clear is that the same challenges show up everywhere:
Singers aren’t confused because they lack talent.
They’re confused because no one has ever explained the voice clearly.
My teaching evolved into a method based on three pillars:
1. Technical clarity:
Understanding the “how” and “why” behind the exercises you’re doing, so nothing is guesswork.
2. Personalisation:
Every voice is different — and training must be built around the individual singer, not a one-size-fits-all method.
3. Confidence & mindset:
Singers don’t just need technique. They need support navigating comparison, self-criticism, perfectionism, and the psychological side of performing.
This is what led me to begin training as an ICF-accredited coach, expanding my skill set to support the mindset and emotional challenges singers face — not just the technical ones. Technique and confidence go hand-in-hand, and my goal is to provide both.
Today, I run The Vocal Academy, where singers receive structured training, personalised support, and a clear path forward. I also work privately with a small number of artists through an application-only coaching programme focused on deeper technical development, vocal identity, performance stamina, and mindset work.
My teaching is grounded in the belief that the voice is not a mystery.
When you understand how it works — clearly, logically, and physically — you gain real control, real progress, and real confidence.
And that’s the foundation of everything I teach.
Book your free call to start. Send me a message.
Will we meet 1:1 or is this all online?
The Accelerator is 3 months of weekly 1:1 calls with me.
In each of the calls we will meet to discuss your progress, tackle anything that has come up that week and give you your goals for the next week.
This isn’t a cookie cutter programme. I want you to have a studio that fits around you.
How do the 1:1 calls work?
These are all over google meet. You get a recording afterwards and notes for you to refer back to.
If you need to move a call or go away, we can move them as long as you give me 48 hrs notice.
Is there any group training?
No, the accelerator is a purely 1:1 training programme. Every music studio is different, so we are going to focus on what you need, and not what joe blogs wanted last year.
I have a full studio and don't need more students. Can I still do the accelerator?
If you want to make more money in your studio, or if you are unhappy with how much you are working and want to have more time for yourself and your family, or to actually have energy left at the end of the week for gigs. Then yes, you can do the accelerator training.
I haven't started teaching, but I want to build a studio. Can I join?
I think you should definitely join. You want to start your studio the right way, with the systems set so you can just put a lot of your studio on autopilot.
I see this far too often, teachers building their studio piece by piece and ending up with their rates too low and they have no idea how to come back from that.
Join the accelerator, we will get your whole music studio set up in 3 months and you will be able to take on students in no time.
I don't want to do YouTube. I have no time, can I still join?
Absolutely, the accelerator will look at the ways you want to grow.
But putting yourself on YouTube or tik tok is the last part of the training. We want to make sure your training packages , your policies and the back end of your studio is sitting soundly before we broadcast it to the world.
The accelerator isn’t just about posting more on youtube, it is about building a studio you love and want to work in every day.
Zoe, I have had a business coach. Why are you different?
Because I have have been there. I have struggled to drive to 5 different schools and organise events and post on social media and try to keep my own singing career afloat.
Most business coaches are going to tell you to just put your prices up. I am going to make sure that when you have a potential student on the line, you are not going to second guess your pricing options, you are going to feel confident when someone asks for a discount, you are going to have a music studio that does without the hussle.
How much time do I need to spend on this each week?
That is up to you. I recommend at least 30 – 60 min, 5 x per week for your progress to be seen in your business.
We are going to dive deep into your teaching philosophy, your way of working, how you can help your students. A lot of that requires time to sit and reflect.
What happens if I go on holiday?
I recommend that we get on a call and find a time when you have 3 months to focus on the programme. You are welcome to go on holiday, of course, we will just move the 1:1 call to the end of the 3 months. There is always a buffer in there of 2 weeks in case you get sick or go away.
