A bit about me!
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Hi Everyone!
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My name is Emelie and I am the founder and teacher of The Voice Box Limerick!
From a young age I was always singing! In Primary School I attended drama and dance classes and auditioned for every solo going! Going into Secondary School I became extremely shy but continued to sing behind closed doors. At the age of 16 I took part in the Transition Year School Musical and my passion became known to my school teachers and class mates. That year I started attending private singing lessons and my confidence grew as a result. It was in these lessons that a seed became planted in my mind, that this was the job I wanted to do. I wanted to be the person that instilled confidence into others. I wanted to be the teacher!
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I obtained my degree in 2014 from The University of Limerick in Voice and Dance and throughout the years I have continued to learn all I could about the voice. In 2018 I completed a BAST teacher training course and that same year I completed a Speech and Language Therapy Assistance course in Dublin. I have also attended the Vocology in Practice conferences since 2019! In 2020 I took part in the first cohort of The Vocal Health First Aid course and have qualified as a Vocal Health First Aider. In 2021 I became the first Modern Vocal Trainer in Limerick studying with Modern Vocal Training. I started gaining teaching experience during my BA teaching in Blackwater Community School, The Dungarvan Junior Musical Stage School and was an assistant teacher to vocal teacher Hilary Reynolds. As soon as I completed my BA I continued looking for more and more teaching experience and taught at The Guitar Institute, The Limerick Youth Centre and The Open Door Studios as well as trying my hand at choral conducting in a local Limerick church. Experience and education for me is vital to be an effective teacher.
School Ethos
I wanted to focus on four main things in my school, creativity, vocal health, confidence building and affordability! Exams are a great tool but they do not suit every student so it is something that I didn't want to be a main focus in my lessons. But it is important for students to have a goal to work towards so I create relaxed performing opportunities that students can take part in and if they do not want to yet we come up with a goal that suits them! Everyone goes at their own pace! Normally my first port of call in classes is looking at vocal balance. Does the voice flip or crack, is it too breathy or too pressed, can you sing high and low with ease? These are normally what I work on first but of course everyone is different so each lesson is tailored to each individual student. Private music lessons are notoriously expensive, believe me I know, my parents paid an arm and a leg for my classes growing up! I never wanted private music lessons to be an unachievable goal to anyone so I try to keep my prices as low as I can and also offer really low weekly payment plans as an alternative to paying in one go!
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Performing Opportunities?
As I said above I like to create relaxed performing opportunities for my students! This all started during the COVID 19 pandemic when I started planning Zoom Open Mic Nights for my students. This went so well I was delighted to be able to transfer these to in person Open Mic Nights in Melody, The Urban Co-op and Wickham Way. In 2020 we were invited to join The Urban Co-Op to sing at one of their Christmas Markets! This has become a yearly tradition and we have raised funds so far for The Irish Guide Dogs, Jigsaw, Limerick Feral Cats and ASD Ireland. In 2021 I was absolutely chuffed to be able to add other workshops and classes to the school as well as group singing and ukulele classes at The Urban Co-op. In 2023 I created Sing Club, a free club for students to meet and discuss all things music!
I am constantly trying to grow and improve, to be the best teacher I can possibly be!
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I am so grateful everyday that I get to help singers achieve their goals!
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Happy Singing!
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Emelie​​​
