Testimonials
Catherine is an wonderful voice teacher whose passion for singing creates an inspiring learning environment. Her unique ability to balance rigorous instruction with a supportive approach has significantly improved my voice over the past year. Catherine's lessons are energetic and well-structured, reflecting both her technical mastery and natural teaching ability. Her talent for putting students at ease while challenging them to excel truly sets her apart. I highly recommend Catherine to anyone seeking to develop their singing skills under the guidance of a very gifted instructor.
Claude G.
I have been taking voice lessons from Catherine for over 5 years now and during this time she has guided me to keep improving my singing technique and to engage more deeply with the Italian language and the tradition of bel canto. Catherine challenges me in an encouraging way, patiently offering constant feedback on breathing, pitch, vocal resonance, legato, vowels, and shaping the emotional thread of a song. I learn so much at every lesson and find the process extremely rewarding. Catherine is a sensitive teacher who works collaboratively with her students, giving each one her individual focus and what they need to know at the time of the lesson. She is an excellent teacher.
Angela K.
I have been taught voice lessons by Catherine for almost two years. She is a wonderful teacher.
I am a beginner singer and would not have imagined singing in a recital two years ago. Now I have done two recitals and I have really benefited from the experience.
Catherine is wonderfully methodical in the lessons while learning technique and training the voice. She is extremely encouraging, yet demanding in a good way to ensure the students improve and succeed.I highly recommend her especially if you are looking for training in singing classical arias.
Eliza C.
At 10 years of age I went to Catherine's studio in North Vancouver with a love of singing. She has taught me great singing techniques and has guided me through expanding my range in a safe way for my age to ensure no damage is being done to my voice. All of her knowledge and support has brought my voice to a point where I have been booked for small professional gigs, I've competed in music festivals and have been accepted in Vancouver Youth Choir and other audition entry programs. All of this is made possible because of Catherine’s extensive comprehension and experience as a vocalist and teacher. I look forward to working with Catherine for years to come!
Keava M.
I have been taking lessons with Catherine since I was 10 years old. Not only is she an amazing vocal coach, teaching me incredible technique for beautiful singing, but she is also a mentor of mine. She is a wonderfully kind and thoughtful person and I look forward to every lesson I have with her.
Olivia S age 15
I have been taking private voice lessons from Catherine for several years. She is an excellent teacher - very good at teaching all her students of different levels, and extremely patient. She makes learning bel canto technique challenging yet doable and fun!
Louis B
I have been taking weekly lessons from Catherine for a year and a
half now. I've been an enthusiastic amateur musician (recorder, organ,
harpsichord, Persian ney) all my life and even did a BA in music at UBC,
just for fun. I am in my early 60’s and I've always been under the
impression that I couldn’t sing, and it was too late to start. So, I joined a choir. After a season in a choir, I realized singing is fun, but too complicated to learn on my own.
Then I started my lessons with Catherine. I still was not sure if I could get anywhere with my voice this late in life. However, I have made more progress than I thought
possible, though I still have a long way to go before making my international debut! Catherine’s lessons are extremely well organized and are based on the best pedagogical training methods of ‘bel canto’ that have been used for centuries and by stars like Pavarotti.
At each lesson we go through a fixed set of vocalizes and technical exercises that we go back to every week, as well as when I practice on my own. This gives an objective measure of my progress and Catherine uses this as a tool to determine where I should focus my attention on to improve my technique. She provides customized methods to do so based on my own voice and based on her long experience as a voice teacher. After the technical part of the lesson, we turn to repertoire and apply the technique. We typically spend many lessons on the same piece to get it as best as possible according to my current abilities. Twice a year we get a chance
to sing what we have been working on in recitals or master classes which she organizes. I highly recommend Catherine for aspiring singers of all levels.
Kees V
Catherine is very good at diagnosing my singing problems and effectively working with me to overcome them. I am amazed at how much progress I have made in the time we have been working together.
Leslie M
Studying is hard work, and Catherine makes it fun. We have lots of laughs. What makes Catherine a great teacher is that she is always encouraging and corrects in a non-judgmental way. She is relaxed, which makes the student relax. Over the year I have been studying with Catherine, I've noticed how my breath flows smoother, and the sounds are purer. Not only has my sight reading improved, and my ears are hearing more, but also I've begun to use my instrument with greater ease. And, to top that, with Catherine's gentle encouragement and belief I could do it, I took part in a recital and master class. I performed before and audience, which gave me a fantastic experience of confidence!
Marianne P
My lessons with Catherine are a high point of my week. Catherine's extensive knowledge of music is both broad and deep, and she shares her knowledge easily. Catherine is always good humored, and she is also very patient and encouraging, while still insisting on getting a good hour's work from me!
Jane S. QC.
When I first came to Catherine's studio, on the recommendation of one of my choir mates, I had modest goals in mind: to improve my musical and vocal knowledge so as to be able to stand with the other singers, most of whom were more experienced than I, and to feel like I belonged among this quality group.
What Catherine offered me was an opportunity to actually learn how to sing, through the fundamental application of the traditional bel canto technique - the way singers have been trained for centuries. In the year I've studied with her I have found security, challenge, inspiration and an appetite for music that constantly grows. She calls us 'vocal athletes' and offers the kind of training that, if followed, can produce a beautiful sound.
She herself is a professional working singer as well as an educator, which inspires my confidence in having her advice on any subject that may come up as I advance in my own knowledge. I feel that I have definitely been developing as a musician because I've been following Catherine's instruction and because I'm treated with respect, as someone who is able to make music.
I feel that my studies with Catherine have been wonderfully beneficial; in my choir I now feel very much at home and have begun to think of myself as one of the strong singers in my section, something that I wouldn't have thought possible without the personal training I've received from Catherine.
Her method is patient - she takes every person as they are - but she is constantly encouraging and her eye and ear are very sharp - she's not going to let us drift into bad habits through inattention or misunderstanding. She also expects us to stand and deliver, in public, among our fellow students, as singers, at special recitals she organizes - so that we can see ourselves as the musicians we are - and who we would like to be.
Any person who studies with Catherine is fortunate to have found a teacher who has the skill and heart to inspire us to learn. I am thankful to have this opportunity to become a better musician.
Milton M
I am thrilled to be studying with Catherine in North Vancouver because she has such a great aptitude for teaching. As a performer, she has acquired many excellent and helpful techniques to share with her students. Her method of bel canto training leads to beautiful, free and resonant tone. She is skillful at identifying and correcting vocal problems or habits and consistently works on navigating the passaggio. I highly recommend Catherine to anyone who is ready to improve his or her vocal performance.
Diane K
Thank you for guiding me with so much patience and consistency. You have helped me develop a strong foundation of technique, self-awareness and self-confidence, and it has been a true pleasure to spend time with you in your studio!
Jenn M
At 70 years of age, I decided it was time to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up. It took about 30 seconds to realize my passion had always been singing. I found Catherine, singing coach
extraordinaire, online. Not only did she make me feel comfortable and hopeful from day
one, but has made me feel that way every lesson since. Catherine has done so much to teach this old girl new tricks! (I sincerely doubt that Catherine views her expert instruction on how to coordinate the entire body to produce a beautiful sound… as ‘tricks,’ but I’m sure you get my point). Now, after a two-hour choir rehearsal, I feel I could keep singing for another two hours… and never feel throat strain. That was not my previous experience! Catherine uses every moment of the lesson to watch and listen, accurately identifying areas that require refined instruction. She loves to hear my voice improve, loves to challenge me, loves a good laugh, loves dogs… could I ask for more?! So grateful my online search resulted in lessons with Catherine!
Pat D