A chatty podcast raising awareness about vocal health and wellbeing, from voice, performance and wellbeing coach Leigh Martyn Thomas and her guests in media, education & the performing arts.
Episodes
Friday Jul 03, 2020
Friday Jul 03, 2020
I'm excited to enter into double figures today, launching episode 10! Thank you to everyone who has tuned in so far.
My guest this week is Helen Rowson, a fabulous lady with a fascinating career so far! Join us as she shares her journey from Liverpool, UK through travelling and starting a new life in Barcelona, Spain over three decades ago. At the end of the interview you can enjoy the song "Walking Spanish" from Helen's group "Guateque Town". You can also enjoy the video which is brilliant and more performances by subscribing to their youtube channel here
The other artist songs mentioned can be viewed on youtube here and here
Helen is a singer and voice specialist who works primarily with professional voice users from stage and screen, with specialisms helping those who have presented a vocal injury or pathology, habilitating them back to elite performance level. She also lectures on Anatomy & Physiology, as well as Acoustics of the voice at University level. She knows her stuff and like many of us, is always thirsty to expand her knowledge and keep up to date with vocal science as it develops.
Helen can be contacted through her professional profile on Facebook here
I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation! Feel free to feedback on the Vocal Freedom Facebook page or sign up to join our new community launching on 1st January 2021 here www.colchestervoiceacademy.com/podcast
I look forward to hearing from you!
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Friday Jun 26, 2020
I am delighted to share this lovely conversation with my guest this week, Rebecca Moseley-Morgan. I introduce with a brief biography of Rebecca's career as a professional opera singer, as well as researching and teaching voice. I was particularly interested to learn about Rebecca's ongoing and latest research into caring for the maturing female voice. Knowledge is power after all! As a woman who has just turned 45 myself, I am fully aware I have vocal changes ahead and would like to understand how to prepare as a singer and voice practitioner, to help prepare others.
Rebecca's passion for her work is clear, it is important work that will inform future generations! I hope you enjoy listening to this episode and welcome your feedback.
If you would like to reach out to Rebecca she can be reached through her website here
If you would like to start a conversation about your vocal journey, visit www.colchestervoiceacademy.com/podcast to sign up for updates about special offers, how to put questions to future guests and join our Vocal Freedom Online Community.
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
My guest this week is Juliet Russell who has been working with her voice in many ways since she was a teenager. Today she is a voice coach on two popular tv shows as well as many other music projects.
You can learn all about her work here
Juliets world voice day project this April produced a worldwide collaboration which you can enjoy here:here
Juliet's song choice of 'vocal freedom' in a singer she loves is the amazing Stevie Wonder singing Free which can be enjoyed on youtube here
I hope you enjoy tuning in to our conversation and welcome your feedback. Happy Friday y'all. Best Wishes, Leigh
Friday Jun 12, 2020
Friday Jun 12, 2020
My guest this week is Kaya Hersted Carney, a singer/songwriter, voice teacher and coach based in Liverpool, UK and Norway (when usual life resumes). This episode was recorded in May while still in lockdown.
Kaya and I discuss her journey and share anecdotes from our teaching experiences. We've also shared previous minor voice issues as professional singers and chat about the 'shame' that can be associated with vocal injury. It's helpful to think of professional singers as being 'athletes' of the voice and understand that injury can occur, just like for sportsmen and women.
Kaya's song choice of 'vocal freedom' in a singer she loves is Jeff Buckley singing "Lover, you should have come over" which you can listen to here
I hope you enjoy our conversation about Vocal Freedom and welcome your feedback. Learn how you can join in the voice community for the podcast by visiting our facebook page @vocalfreedompodcast
Happy Friday y'all. Best wishes, Leigh.
Friday Jun 05, 2020
Friday Jun 05, 2020
In this weeks episode I welcome expert West End Vocal Coach Amelia Carr to the show. Amelia primarily works with children in professional musical theatre roles and over recent years has completed an MA in Vocal Pedagogy, with her focus very much on helping people overcome their performance anxiety. She is invested in helping all of her students and educating all on certain issues in the professional theatre industry.
Amelia is also a self-confessed Fanilow! She reflects on her journey so far and her plans for the future, with some insightful lightbulb moments and lovely stories along the way.
At the time of recording Amelia mentioned some courses that have now come and gone but you can learn all about future courses and opportunities to work with Amelia by visiting www.ameliacarrvoice.com
Friday May 29, 2020
Friday May 29, 2020
This weeks episode features my guest Jedd Owen Ellis Clark, speaking about his journey through voice work and many other disciplines along the way.
Jedd Owen-Ellis Clark is a voice and singing specialist, practitioner, researcher, singer, musician, writer and performer, teaching voice studies and practical vocal arts to teachers, actors, speakers and singers alike, at numerous conservatoire/university faculties and privately. He is a certified Fitzmaurice Voicework® teacher, and gained a MA [Distinction] in Practice of Voice and Singing from Guildford School of Acting, unique in its holistic practical study of interdisciplinary voice and singing pedagogies; he was awarded the Faculty Award from GSA in the same year.
He works with diverse performers and professional voice users, such as pop harmony groups, trainee lawyers and priests, teachers and business speakers, singers and actors; including recovering voices and those curious enough to want to find further depth to their vocal energy and presence. Using physiological experiential knowledge from sports and arts, including yoga, tai chi, historical martial arts, fencing and dance, body mechanics and understanding primitive reactive states in the body that the performer can utilise, he works with individuals to find a balance of strength and flexibility, giving more openness to the voice and depth to the performance. He also works with phonetics, accents and vocal acoustics, and presents workshops on ‘Performance Anxiety’, including presence and body:voice work, to enable performers to work ‘with’ the body’s reactive nature when ‘under pressure’.
Jedd references the Italian Tenor Lauri-Volpi, here is a link to a recording The Great Lauri Volpi Sings "Bianca Al Par Di Neve Alpina," from Les Huguenots." 1929
As well as Steve Perry from Journey - Separate Ways
Sara Barielles - She used to be mine Live on Graham Norton Show
I hope you enjoy listening to this episode and welcome your feedback. If you would like to join the podcast community page, you can sign up for free at www.colchestervoiceacademy.com/podcast
Friday May 22, 2020
Friday May 22, 2020
This weeks episode features my guest Liz Gamble, sharing her journey with her voice as well as how her work as a complimentary therapist has impacted her awareness. She combines counselling with holistic therapies as she has found most of her clients benefit from both.
Liz shares some of her experiences helping people unlock tension which can inhibit how we use our voices. We also discuss psychological causes of why people may 'hold back' from using their voices as well as using positive mantras like "I am enough".
I hope you enjoy the episode and welcome your feedback. If you would like to contact Liz about any of the treatments she offers please follow her on Instagram or facebook "within therapies". If you would like to join our online community please visit www.colchestervoiceacademy.com/podcast
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
Join me in this episode where I have a lovely catch up with CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music) voice teacher and singer Carrie Birmingham. Carrie has her own teaching practice called Pro-Vox in Liverpool (www.pro-vox.net) and also teaches in a number of further and higher education institutes and universities 'up north!'. She is also the lead vocalist in the grunge rock band "Figures".
Join us as she shares lots of interesting stories, wisdoms and her valuable research into protection of hearing for musicians. Clients we work with who sing in loud, live band environments sometimes may not realise the potential harm they may be doing to their hearing with long rehearsals and gigs.
Carrie's Stereophonics recommendation
Carrie's Chris Cornell recommendation
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
Forgive me if I go as far as calling my special guest this week a legend but in my eyes, he is! So, I'm a big fan of his work in the voice community of course but having the pleasure of getting to know Tom bit by bit over the last decade or so, it was a real treat for me to kick off Vocal Freedom, speaking with a teacher and friend who I have the utmost respect for.
A generous soul as well as spectacular voice teacher, Tom has much to offer the world and I hope you enjoy tuning into this episode.
Tom can be contacted though the fabulous community he has with the Tom Burke Weekly Voice Challenge page on facebook which has over 1600 members from around the world. Head there for updates and so much valuable and free information about all things voice and vocal health.
Tom's song selection included:
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
Voice Teacher Leigh Martyn Thomas created this podcast, initially to serve her own voice community. She is a primarily a Technical Voice Teacher, Principal & Founder of Colchester Voice Academy in Essex, UK. Outside of teaching she enjoys spending time with her family and little Chiweenie dog, Leo.
The purpose of this show is to raise awareness about vocal health and wellbeing from members of the voice and wellbeing community.
Leigh will be chatting with the guest speakers about their journey with their own voice, as well as lightbulb moments, stories and personal wisdoms.
- Professional singers from the West End and Broadway
- Professional working actors
- Choir Directors
- Theatre Directors and Musical Directors
- Voice Teachers/ Vocal Coaches both private practice and from FE/HE
- Voice Disorder Experts
- Singing Voice Specialists
- Touring & Session Singers
- Complimentary and Holistic Therapists
- Movement Specialists
- Voice Doctors
In this short episode Leigh talks about some of the motivations to find Vocal Freedom and help her listeners find theirs. Allow yourself a comfy chair, grab your earphones and tune in when you can. Find out more about joining the Vocal Freedom Podcast Community at www.colchestervoiceacademy.com/podcast