The Voice School Portal

The academic year’s event structure.

Singing on your own, working on technique online, and taking time to reflect all have an important place in a singer's development. Equally, something particular happens when singers come together in the room. Listening, thinking, singing, and learning alongside others brings a different dimension to the work. 

Throughout the year, The Voice School offers a small number of carefully designed events, each with its own purpose and emphasis. Some are centred on shared enjoyment and participation, while others provide opportunities to explore repertoire, technique, musicianship, and performance in greater depth.

Together, these events create a varied and connected programme of learning across the academic year. As the new year begins to take shape, you'll find the latest dates, application information and updates here.

What Singers Say...

"Not being preoccupied by my own singing, I was able to observe what was going on with more impartiality than usual."

“To have resumed singing and connecting with that source of joy/ flow/ energy is already a massive gift.”

“The weekend was so supportive that I now feel much more comfortable about singing in German.”

“I find it so educational to see you put into practice all the technical, musicianship and performance issues we are trying to master.”

“From one attempt to the next, Gillian led each one of us to the joys of singing more freely.”

 

 All wonderful stuff! 

“"I thought that my learning habits were slow and plodding but, with Gillian's detailed and in-depth guidance, this does not have to be the case!"

"It was such a welcoming group to sing in front of, which made taking that step feel possible.”

"I am determined that the processing of this wealth of knowledge will inform my vocal study and choice of repertoire for the coming year."

A place to think about singing

My 'Take Note' blog gathers a wide range of thoughts on singing, from vocal technique and repertoire to musicianship and the lived experience of working with the voice over time. You can browse or search for something specific that you're curious about or perhaps speaks to wherever you are in your learning curve ...

Catch up with the latest Take Note post.

Virtually Vocalise Mentoring

This is the long-term online space at the heart of The Voice School, for singers who want to stay connected to their voice in a steady and meaningful way, wherever they are.

It supports the time between lessons, workshops, and performances, through a regular, week-by-week rhythm of mentoring, shared work, and reflection. I work closely with each singer to help them notice what is happening in their voice and build a way of working that holds over time.

This is where your singing becomes part of an ongoing pathway, rather than something that depends on bursts of activity. If you’re looking for a way to continue, this is where it happens. → Click the image to find out more about Virtually Vocalise

Studio 5: August Intermezzo

The first Studio 5 Intermezzo has now concluded. Click the image to find out more if you're curious.

Running from 3–28 August, the Intermezzo offered a different way of remaining connected to singing during the holiday weeks between terms, without adding pressure or another programme to complete. Through Arrival, Trust, Living and Meaning, we explored different perspectives on how we sing, learn, think and remain connected to the art of singing.

Alongside the weekly material, our informal Studio Conversations allowed the ideas to develop through questions, observations and shared experience. Together, the four weeks created something that could keep our singing and thinking ticking over while usual routines were interrupted. 

The August Intermezzo was the first in a new series of Studio 5 spaces between terms. Studio 5 will return with the Festive Intermezzo in December, carrying us through the festive period and towards the New Year. Full details will follow later this autumn.

Workshop events, dates, and deadlines: choices to grab your attention right now ...

I plan Voice School events well in advance, and when booking first opens, there’s usually an early bird payment option available for a short period. This allows singers who like to think ahead to spread the cost and plan their singing activity year-round. Once that early-bird window closes, standard payment applies.

Your Desert Island Songs 

What would be in your folder if you could choose only the songs you most wanted to live with?

Your Desert Island Songs is an opportunity to bring together the repertoire that speaks most strongly to you: favourite songs, trusted companions, pieces you've always wanted to develop, or music that has gradually become part of your life as a singer.

Join me for two days of shared singing, listening, study and reflection as we begin a new Voice-works year by exploring the repertoire that matters most to you.

Applications to sing have now closed, but observers are still very welcome. With the weekend now just around the corner, you can join us for a full day or drop in for a morning or afternoon session. Click the image to find out more about your options as an observer.

Songs to Float Your Boat 

16–17 January 2027 · Winsham, Somerset, UK.

Songs to Float Your Boat is the next port of call on this year’s Voice-works Study Weekend journey. Together, we’ll explore the repertoire that continues to call to us, songs that reveal something more each time we return to them, and gradually claim them as our own.

Join us for two days of shared singing, listening, study and reflection as we explore the music that continues to earn its place in our repertoire. Click the image for more...

Final application deadline: Saturday, 5 December 2026. Three places left!

Voice-works Study Weekends — a note on preparation

Voice-works Study Weekends are designed for singers who are ready to work in depth. Repertoire does not need to be performance-polished, but it does need to be known securely enough to explore in detail. These weekends assume that you have already spent time preparing your music, engaging with the text and style, and thinking about the artistic questions your repertoire raises. Our time together is then used for discovery, shared listening, and focused development, rather than learning notes or catching up on basics.

Love Your Voice & Sing Joyfully 2027

“This Love Your Voice weekend gave me more insight and practice than any of the week-long summer music schools I attended in my younger days.”

Love Your Voice 2026 took place in Winsham, Somerset (UK), on 14–16 March, and a wonderful time was had by all.

Next year, we celebrate 10 years of LYV & Sing Joyfully. Special plans are in the making.

Dates for your diary: 12th-16th March. 

The Learning Curve: Ways to begin your learning

Below are a few ways to begin orienting yourself within The Voice School, lighter resources you can explore at your own pace.

This Month’s Vocal Focus:

Build your singing from the ground up

Before thinking about breath, support or resonance, start with how your whole body is organised for singing. Build your singing from the ground up by considering your upright design and how greater body awareness can help rather than hinder the natural coordination already in place.

Explore further ... Tap the image to read what I have to say about this.

Your whole body is part of your vocal technique 

Good posture isn't about holding yourself in the 'right' position. It's about understanding how your whole body is designed to work as an upright, coordinated system.

The relationship between head and spine is particularly important. When balance and length are allowed rather than imposed, the breathing and vocal mechanisms have the freedom to do their work with less unnecessary effort.

Before trying to fix the voice, consider the whole singer.

Explore further ... Tap the image and read more.

Thinking about joining us? 

There comes a point when watching and reading isn't quite enough, and you begin to want to bring your repertoire into the room and see what happens to it in real time. That's where the live work begins to feel different. We sit at the piano, we try things, we listen carefully, we adjust, and gradually the music reveals more than it did before.

I've always believed that singing isn't about arriving somewhere finished. As Anaïs Nin wrote, "Perfection is static, and I am in full flow." That feels much closer to the truth of how voices grow: steadily, thoughtfully and over time.

If that way of working speaks to you, one of the Voice-works Study Weekend series might be the next step. Observer places are always available too. Sometimes simply being in the room, listening and learning alongside others, is the first step on your own singing journey.

Inspiration in Progress

I also write on The Classical Singer’s Path, my Substack. A quieter, more personal corner, where I share my voice as a singer rather than as a teacher. It’s where I reflect on my own journey, share recordings or stories, and sometimes open conversations that you’re welcome to join in the comments. Subscription is free right now. If you’d like to come and share your own experiences, I'd love that too.

Latest read: Deepening our relationship with song. Just click here to hop over and have a browse.