Josephine Brereton- Singing teacher
I am a passionate and enthusiastic young music educator who believes strongly in enriching the lives of children and students of all ages through the exploration of music. Having commenced my Bachelor of Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2019, I am always surrounded by current research and practices that influence and improve the effectiveness of my teaching and ability to assist my students. In previous and current teaching roles, I have provided tuition for students of all ages (including adults), coached students towards exams and performances with great success, and always with significant improvement.
I’ve been learning, playing, singing and performing music for 16 years in bands, choirs, and as a solo performer. I began my music education studying piano from a young age, and then flute, and then voice as I began to participate in my school choirs. It was choir that led me to fall in love with music, as I began to build the foundation of my vocal technique and felt that my love of singing and growing skill was recognised and rewarded with further opportunities for growth. From there I fell in love with ensemble music, group learning and developing my sound and understanding of music. I have toured Europe twice as a Soprano soloist with choirs, performed with the Filmharmonia Orchestra in 2019 as a soloist and chorister and sung as several characters in the Purcell opera The Fairy Queen with the Concordia Ensemble. With the Sydney Conservatorium I have performed twice as a soloist and chorus member in the Open Academy’s Opera Lab and sung as a chorister for the 2019 performance of Paul Stanhope’s Jandamarra.
My own education has largely been focused on studying classical and baroque music, however as a teacher I have fallen more and more in love with multiple genres and exploring the diversity that we are capable of as musicians. I encourage my students to sing and play music and genres they enjoy, as I think this inspires more engagement and more willingness to practice, however, I also want my students to branch out into other genres, to challenge themselves and to give them more variety in their performable repertoire.
My teaching experience began in 2015 when I started mentoring choirs at Abbotsleigh Junior School and has flourished into a career I am fiercely passionate about. I have been teaching privately since 2017, and began teaching in schools and studios in multiple locations as of 2019, including prestigious schools such as Abbotsleigh and The Illawarra Grammar School. I have tutored students of all ages towards reaching their personal goals and performance goals, as well as coaching students towards success in exams, both in performance and theory.