Teaching
Teaching Style and Philosophy
I am a bass-baritone singer, I offer singing and music theory lessons to students of all levels, from beginners to advanced, as well as piano lessons for beginners to intermediate. My goal is to help my students achieve their personal musical aspirations, regardless of the genre, whether it’s classical, musical theater, jazz, gospel, R&B, pop, African music, or any other style. My teaching approach is based on building a strong foundation of musicianship and technical skills that promote versatility, agility, and flexibility, expand vocal range, and revitalize a fading voice. I work with each student to create a customized lesson plan that considers their individual needs, proficiency level, and unique style of music.
Before singing became easier and more enjoyable, my learning journey was rough and difficult. However, through this process, I have learned and developed an efficient structure to help others who are struggling to find stability and control that brings out their unique singing voice and resonance in any style they choose to sing. I have successfully helped various singers and musicians of different genres and levels regain their singing voices.
I have worked as a music instructor at multiple academies in Lagos, Nigeria, and prepared my students for both local and international music examinations. Since relocating to the United States, I have taught voice, piano, and music theory at various music academies situated in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. I also collaborated with various music academies to develop an effective singing curriculum. I presently run a personal teaching studio virtually while maintaining a consistent performance career.
I am considered exceptional at helping:
Singing Healing & Restoration
A damaging/deteriorating singing voice heal and restore.
Singing Stability & Control
A singing voice struggling to find stability and control
Singing Technique
A singing voice with little or no technique learns a correct means of making quality, pleasant, and resonated singing sounds.
Crossing Genres
A cross-over singer from one genre to another (i.e., classical – other styles, and vice versa).
All Levels
Beginner to advanced singers who want to continue to improve their singing
Biography
As a versatile bass-baritone singer, I am also an instructor for voice, piano, and music theory. I am skilled in songwriting, arranging, and composing music. Additionally, I work as a music director, worship leader, and consultant for churches. My musical interest covers a wide variety of genres, including Western and African music such as opera, musical theater, jazz, pop, gospel, and African music. I frequently perform as a soloist at various events, concerts, and recitals.
I am currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance, Pedagogy, and Church Music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas. Prior to this, I received a Master of Music degree from Temple University in Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Music degree with a minor in Theater Arts from Gordon College in Massachusetts. In October 2021, I achieved first place in the Adult Classical TBB Voice category at the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Competition, in addition to other awards and honors throughout my singing career.
I began my professional singing career without any formal training. I sang gospel, jazz, popular music, and African music with various professional bands and artists. I also served as a worship leader at different denominations for over a decade before my exposure to formal training. However, I missed out on some essential information about singing despite gaining strong musicianship, versatility, and experience.
During this time, I struggled with maintaining a stable, balanced, and healthy singing voice. I had issues with breathing, jaw-locking, tongue and throat tightness, vocal rigidity, lack of breath control, and many more. These problems often led to a loss of voice after a short singing session, constant vocal fatigue, easy loss of breath within a phrase, inability to maintain perfect pitch, and more. I did not know what to do, and this made me realize that talent alone is not enough.
However, I then had the opportunity to receive formal classical/operatic training from top professionals, and my life changed. After high-level intensive training and various master classes, I transformed from a struggling singer with many vocal issues to becoming a fascinating and expressive bass-baritone singer with good vocal flexibility, agility, stability, balance, wide range, compelling resonance, etc. It was a journey of determination and hard work. It never ends, but it is worth it so far.