King Classical

Picture this-

You’re cowering behind a music stand, and the accompaniment-only music on a Bluetooth speaker is about to start. The only thing separating you from your judges is a bed sheet hanging from the ceiling.

 

This is exactly the scenario that many students find themselves in each year for All-Region Choir auditions. 

 

As a teen, I didn’t understand that part of being a choir singer meant that I would be presenting myself as a soloist in the situation described above—competing against students who were being privately coached in performing and classical vocal skills every week for years.

 

My name is Raquel King, voice teacher and singer at King Classical.

 

In school, I remember the moment I realized that my choir peers (competitors) were going to keep on surpassing me. They were free-spirited, bubbly, taking voice lessons…and then there was me, awkward, nervous, and working hard but without the benefit of private instruction.

 

I was already behind in the game—without a chance to present my music to anyone before the audition. And while I was meticulously practicing the music, I was also practicing an unhealthy pattern for singing (and for life)—perfectionism and comparison.

 

I needed a guide to develop my voice with the classical method, a method that helps singers stand out at any audition. I also needed guidance for managing the internal critics.

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It wasn’t until my third botched tryout in high school that I realized that the door to the next level was locked to me using the method of “do-it-on-my-own.” 

 

My hard work and the pressure to achieve were beginning to impede my enjoyment of singing, and I didn’t see that I was losing the childhood abandonment that is so magnetic in successful young singers. 

 

After many years of singing, with some months of therapy, I see that many junior high and high school singers have a similarly rocky relationship with auditions.

 

They harshly hold themselves to a high standard, but they don’t have access to the extra training that could unlock that level.

 

You see, judges who listen to All-Region or other choir auditions, whether they realize it or not, are evaluating your child’s classical solo voice. Presentation, tone quality, extended range, and well-centered pitch are all skills learned in classical solo preparation. 

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Though the foundations of good vocal technique are addressed in the choral classroom, it is practically impossible for a choir director to devote time to detect and address solo vocal techniques in each student; there simply isn’t time to devote to the choral art as well as the solo singing art.  

 

Maybe your child has felt left out of opportunities and wants to be a better singer. Maybe freeing up the voice is the challenge. Perhaps the need is sight-reading skills or preparing college and All-Region audition pieces. 

 

Most of the time, when choir parents try to improve their child’s auditioning, they make the mistake of acquiring last minute voice lessons, or relying on busy choir directors to teach their child the music.

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Instead, what I’ve discovered is that a mentoring program blending voice, piano, and auditioning skills needs to be in place to achieve better ranking results as well as to keep the student more at peace with the process. I have a unique methodology that allows me to open students up to a wealth of vocal and sight-reading skills, which allows the students to feel more confident and therefore better able to manage the stress of both the audition process as well as the results.  

 

 

This personalized program for singers ages 12-18 is a culmination of the most important takeaways from my 20 years of teaching and singing. 

 

Just think—what if you could elevate your child’s audition game and perhaps secure their spot in the next level choir?

 

Book a call now to see if this goal (or simply becoming a better singer) is within reach!