performer - voice teacher - workshop leader
Polly is a highly skilled and adaptable performer, teacher and workshop leader with 20 years of professional experience.
She has a busy freelance career working with a wide variety of vocal ensembles and as a soloist. In addition to her role as a performer, she runs a busy teaching practice working with individuals of all ages, voice types and musical genres. Recently she has expanded this to singing workshops and community choirs in her native Oxfordshire and elsewhere which have proved highly popular. She combines high standards of musicianship and technical knowledge with a personable and flexible approach.
Mezzo Soprano
Polly’s performing background is as a professional classical and consort/choral singer. Polly studied music as a choral scholar at Kings College London, and then completed an MMus in Vocal Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She currently studies with Alison Wells.
She has performed in venues around the UK and in some of the great concert halls in Europe and around the world with ensembles including BBC Singers, Monteverdi Choir, Gabrieli Consort, Armonico Consort and Philharmonia Voices, as well as in the recording studio on music for film and television.
Her ongoing projects as a soloist range from oratorio to song repertoire and contemporary music.
Voice Teacher
Polly’s teaching is defined by both her varied, high-level performing experience and her clear understanding of technique and performance skills. Her meticulous yet collaborative approach allows her to be as effective with young singers at the beginning of their journey as she is with students looking towards further study or a professional career or those looking to improve their skills to sing for pleasure.
She is actively engaged in new developments in vocal teaching, and her ongoing involvement with the Association of Teachers of Singing and the British Voice Association is testament to this. She is enthusiastic about the many benefits of vocal training to a student’s confidence and communication skills, wider education and life. She is currently teaching online due to current restrictions.
Workshop leader
Polly believes that the enjoyment and benefits of singing should be accessible to all regardless of musical experience or ability. Both the physical and psychological benefits of group singing are widely known and participants are often surprised by how much they can learn and progress in a short time.
Her approach to group sessions is inclusive, approachable and fun, bringing her enthusiasm for singing in addition to her broad experience as an ensemble singer and singing teacher.
She has led group singing sessions with both children and adults, which include physical warmups, singing games and exercises, and music from classical and folk to pop and music theatre.