Vocal Coach
“The voice is the muscle of the soul” – Roy Hart
I have a deep respect and love for many styles of music. As a Voice Artist with decades of performance experience under my belt, and former School of Performing Arts instructor and faculty member at Capilano University, I work within and have a strong practical and pedagogical understanding and approach to a variety of musical and vocal styles, including Musical Theatre, Jazz, Rock/Pop, Folk, Operetta and World music.
Whether coaching someone for a singing audition, an MP3 voice over submission, a live or recorded session, I believe in a tailored and personalized approach as each person and voiceprint is unique. I have coached hundreds of dancers, singers, voice actors and triple-threat talent of all ages and levels and have developed a technically mindful approach rooted in the foundations of breath/body/sound, and how ‘singing as a feeling’ is connected to authenticity of sound and emotional openness.
My current and former roster of students enjoy busy careers as working professionals in Rock/Pop and Country music, Musical Theatre, Acting for Film/TV, Theatre, Composition, Voice Over, cruise ship performance work and more. They are spread out all over the globe in New York, LA, Toronto, Montreal, Paris and right here at home in Vancouver, BC.
I offer coaching sessions out of my home studio in East Vancouver, BC. Contact me to set up a lesson! Zoom sessions can also be made available.
“Sylvia's hard working approach made me so comfortable, because I felt like I was garnering the skills to accomplish anything! Her skills as a vocal coach and pianist are top notch. She gave me the confidence and flare, and knew how to work with me to get the best performance out of me! I felt ready for anything! I highly recommend Sylvia. She rocks!”
- France Perras, Actor/Voice Actor
“Since seeing her, my vocal range has broadened and my vocal stamina has strengthened. Sylvia teaches excellent, healthy technique and encourages her students to bring out their best vocal work, fine-tuning the voice. She is great for audition coaching, offering helpful acting advice, digging into the mindset and history of the character. "I continue to see her because she gets results.”
- Michelle Bardach, Singer/Actor
Voice Artist
My voice over career started in the late 1990’s booking various roles in Anime, Animation and Video Games for EA, Hothead and Klei Entertainment. Memorable anime roles include Kudachi Kuno (Ranma ½), Sora (Vision of Escaflowne), Wasp (Project Arms), the Water Goddess (Inuyasha) and Lieutenant Matilda in Mobile Suit Gundam. Since then, my roster has proliferated into more and varied characters including Cherry Jubilee (My Little Pony), Dr. Ratfinger (Geronimo Stilton) and Ocean Breeze (Being Ian) as well as a multitude of dubbing gigs (NHK, Hulu), Audiobooks (Pray.com, Grape City Inc.), The Jesus Podcast for pray.com, and a variety of commercial VO work for clients world-wide. I was honored to be the English Speaking Announcer at Whistler Medals Plaza during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games, announcing all the medal winners including our very own John Montgomery!
I am based in Vancouver, BC and record for clients from my professional, acoustically treated studio equipped with Source Connect Standard, enabling live, remote sessions from anywhere in the world.
“Sylvia is a tremendous voice talent. She can play a wide range of characters and takes direction like a champion.”
- Max Bard, Pray Inc.
“She is effortless to direct and the text just seems to sing; she is always my first choice!”
- Shel Piercy, Infinity Films