Singing and Public Speaking Lessons with Una Barry

Do you sing for fun?  Do you want to sing better?  Ever thought of becoming a pro?  Have that all-important corporate presentation to give at work, or need to read the Lesson in church?  Or do you just need the motivation and the confidence to have a go at any of all these?  Whether you are preparing for an exam, for music college entrance, auditioning for a local choir, for an opera company, for that all important speech that has to be made, or you simply just want to sing more easily, please get in touch with Una.  Whoever you are, everyone is welcome and not turned away. Whatever your age and whatever is your goal, Una’s aim is to help you find your true voice, and enable you to communicate in words and music to your best ability in an efficient way.  She has taught for nearly forty years in London, Colchester and Manchester, and her experience and instinct allow her to evaluate voices and eliminate vocal problems so that singing and public speaking becomes not only more enjoyable from doing it all well but knowing what you are doing, so that you can in the end be your own teacher.

Qualifications

BA (Hons) Music 2:1, Colchester Institute, School of Music
Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, London (LRAM) in Singing Teaching
Associate of the Royal College of Music, London (ARCM) in Piano Teaching
Post-Graduate Certificate in Singing, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
Else Meyer Lismann Opera Workshop and Training School, London
Salzburg Mozarteum Summer School for Lieder and Opera, Austrian Government Scholarship
Teacher Training Courses for Singing teachers with David Jones both in New York and London www.voiceteacher.com

Una studied with the best of teachers she could afford and right up to the end of her career, some of whom were simply dedicated teachers but many of whom also had outstanding international careers, holding the key to valuable practical experience that is vital for an active performer.  There were also short periods of study in Bayreuth with Anna Reynolds and Jean Cox who encouraged Una to delve into the more dramatic operatic repertoire of Beethoven, Verdi, Puccini and Wagner whilst keeping her usual lyric and oratorio repertoire.  Most recently Una combined more short periods of study with David Jones in New York whilst participating in his thorough training courses for singing teachers, both in New York and London.  She studied regularly for many years with the international mezzo-soprano and English National Opera Voice Consultant, Josephine Veasey, and subsequently with the wonderful soprano, Heather Harper. She received coaching from Sonja Nerdrum, the French coach from the Royal Opera House in London, but with having just moved to West Yorkshire, Una studied with retired international baritone, voice researcher and very successful teacher, Neil Howlett, who sadly died in May 2020.  But by still investing in her own voice at this stage of her career, this enabled Una to continue and develop her skills further as a teacher, as a performer and increasingly as an adjudicator and examiner.

Previous singing teachers include

Eileen Poulter; Pamela Cook; Alexander Young; John Cameron; Morag Noble; Edith Kurtesz; Eric Vietheer; Anna Reynolds; Jean Cox; Richard Smart: Heather Harper; Josephine Veasey; David Jones and Neil Howlett

Previous coaches include
Paul Hamburger; Rosemary Walton; Eric Werber; Geoffrey Parsons; Geoffrey Burford; John Wilson; John Gough; Sonja Nerdrum and Roger Vignoles.

Where Una teaches in London

The Music Studios
29 Marylebone Lane
London W1U 2NQ
Tel: 020 7486 0025
ku.oc.soidutscisumehtnull@ofni
www.themusicstudios.co.uk

Where Una teaches in West Yorkshire

Ilkley Town Centre, email for further details – moc.yrrabanunull@ofni


What we do in a typical singing lesson

  • Study and understand how the voice works so singing is never a hit and miss experience but reliable as playing an instrument or playing a sport.
  • Learn how to sing from the physical source of the sound rather than any ‘placing the sound’ somewhere arbitrary.
  • Good posture, a flexible but a strong and co-ordinated support with an efficient low breathing.
  • Sing without straining or without excessive or a manufactured vibrato, and so have a voice that is even throughout a range of over two octaves.
  • Learn to have control over the voice so to be able to sing with different colours according to the words.
  • Incorporate technique into performable and varied music so singing doesn’t become one-dimensional.
  • Communicate with clear resonant diction.
  • Take away efficient vocal exercises and vocalises tailored to your individual needs, and knowing the purpose behind them.
  • Record your lesson, if you so wish, and take it home for further study or make notes.
  • In the end, learn to be your own teacher by knowing exactly what you should be doing, but remembering too that vocal technique is not a computer-like quick fix.  It’s a lifelong pursuit!

For further details about lessons and availability in either London, Leeds or Ilkley,
please contact UNA BARRY initially by email: moc.yrrabanunull@ofni