OperaWorks Teacher Certification

A good teacher can make all the difference! I have been lucky to have teachers who nurtured my curiosity and determination, who taught me more than the material, and who encouraged me to learn how to teach myself. Now I want to be such a teacher.

(Photo: Phoebe with student Shasta at the piano)

I was selected from national auditions to participate in Teacher Certification through OperaWorks, a nationally renowned singer/teacher intensive training program. This June-July, I will be participating in workshops and seminars in LA, as well as honing my performance skills with the Advanced Artist program.

I am very serious about becoming the best teacher I can be, so that I can give my students tools to be excellent musicians and empowered artists. As a performer, I have learned that, in addition to vocal technique, good singing requires keen bodily awareness, emotional intelligence, communication skills, strong musicianship, and a willingness to take risks.

(Photo: "You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." - Beverly Sills, opera singer)

I have done my best to pass on these skills to my students based on my own experience, but I know that OperaWorks can teach me more. Right now, the music industry often zeroes in on the voice without regard for the rest of the person. OperaWorks is known for teaching the “complete performer” with a proven approach that combines musical training, physical theater, acting, yoga, improvisation, and career/business skills. I know from personal experience how valuable that training is. Now I want to learn how to teach it, so that my students can be fully actualized artists, regardless of their professional goals (and I have several who could go on to be professional singers if they so choose).

OperaWorks is one of the only programs to offer parallel training in both teaching and performing, and the only one with a reputation for teaching so much more than voice technique.

I know I am ready to take my teaching to the next level because I have grown so much in the last year. I have been almost entirely self-employed for more than a year now. I have grown my private teaching studio to the point that it is self-sustaining, and I quit all my day jobs. 

(Photo: Phoebe's student, Autumn, hugging the studio rabbit at a lesson.)

My students have recently won roles large and small in musicals including The Music Man, The Lion King, Dogfight, Jekyll & Hyde, Shrek: The Musical, Les Miserables, and more. They have placed in district solo and ensemble competition, and become members of competitive singing groups like the Dorians.

(Photo: Phoebe with student Stephanie after competition.)

I am now a full member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. I am an associate member of Andover Educators, and I hope to become an official trainee by June 2018; Andover Educators teach Body Mapping, and I am training to teach the course "What Every Musician Needs to Know About the Body."

(Photo: Life-size anatomical model of a human spine.)

In order for me to take advantage of this incredible opportunity, I need to raise approximately $5000 for tuition, housing, travel, and eating while I’m there. I have already received a $500 scholarship, I am waiting to hear back from several grants and scholarships, and I am drawing on some savings. I am hoping my community can help make up some of the difference. If you would like to contribute, I will gratefully accept donations here, checks, loose change found in cars or couches, or whatever you can spare.

Here is how I will be spending your contributions:
If you want more information about my performance or teaching, please visit my website at www.phoebegildea.com.

(Video: Phoebe performing with Nathalie Fortin on piano; song is "Open the Window" from Wuthering Heights by Bernard Herrmann.)

Thank you so much for supporting my career in any way that you can. Yes, encouraging words and hugs count if money is not an option right now.