Colleen has been teaching private voice and piano lessons as well as theory and musical theatre since 1992.  She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in voice from the University of Calgary and a diploma in Somatic Voiceworks TM (Levels I, II and III) from the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, and studied piano for ten years.  She is an alumnus of the Young Canadians of the Calgary Stampede, The Calgary Roundup Band and has sung with both the Calgary Opera and Calgary Philharmonic Choruses, as well as touring Europe with the U of C Chamber Choir. Colleen has a wide repertoire including jazz, country/folk, pop/rock, musical theatre, children’s songs and classical and is available to perform all types of events such as weddings, festivals, private parties and corporate events.

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Always interested in sharpening her musical and teaching skills, Colleen is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and has attended NATS workshops in New York, Nashville, San Diego, and Toronto.  With more than ten years of dance training both as a child and an adult, as well as acting, theatre, and improv training, Colleen has hundreds of hours of experience both performing and teaching, which she uses to instruct her students in a variety of styles, including pop, rock, country, contemporary, classical, jazz, opera, and musical theatre. She has extensive experience directing musical theatre shows including creating, directing and performing in The Roxy Music Hall, Sleeping Beauty and Platinum 70’s alongside Mooky Cornish (Varekai – Cirque du Soleil).

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Colleen has taught students who have won the following awards:

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• Red and Gold Seals in their divisions at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival (formerly the Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival)  

• Don Weldon Award at the Stampede Talent Search (2012) 

• Grand Prize at the Stampede Talent Search (2016)

• CKFM 96.5 Olds Star Search (2013)

• Finalist at the Nashville North Competition

 

Others have successfully auditioned for post-secondary institutions including: 

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• The American Music and Dramatic Arts Academy (New York)

• Randolph School of the Arts (Toronto) 

• The Canadian College of Performing Arts (Victoria)  

• University of Calgary.  

 

She has also taught graduates from Humber College, Sheraton College, and the University of Calgary.