Teaching
Private teaching
Sarah teaches privately in her studio in Bromley and her clients include young professional classical and musical theater singers and keen amateurs of all ages.
Since 2020 Sarah has started to regularly teach online and this has enabled her to reach singers in other parts of the world including Mexico, Hong Kong and China.
Sarah believes that everyone can sing and her aim is to help singers reach their full potential with a combination of clear technical guidance and motivating repertoire, for the best possible vocal and artistic results.
Sarah has taught on the BA Musical Theatre degree course at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama for the last fifteen years and has sought to understand the needs of more commercial singers. She is therefore able to guide both classical and contemporary singers to safe, sustainable vocalizing in their chosen field.
Workshops and Masterclasses
Sarah gives regular workshops and masterclasses at Benslow Music in Hertfordshire, and Jackdaws in Somerset.
Her four courses at Benslow Music annually are very popular.
With pianist Stephen Gutman she runs the Sarah Leonard’s Summer School, The English & American Song Weekend and the Spring Songfest.
“Marvellous tutors. Both Sarah and Stephen have great patience and sensitivity, as well as expertise”
“Excellent course as ever in 2019. Indeed l think the best ever. Sarah and Stephen give us their all, honing in on our individual needs, enabling us to improve greatly during the week.”
With pianist Stephen Dickinson Sarah runs the annual The Wonderful World of Musical Theatre.
“Sarah and Stephen were brilliant. Their love for the Music Theatre genre spilled over into their teaching and playing and we had a great time while improving as the course progressed through their skilful input”.
Sarah has also taught on Summer Schools at The City Lit, COMA, and at The East Anglia Summer School and given master classes at Trinity Laban, working with both composers and singers, Morley College, Birkbeck College, Hull University and the Leeds Lieder+ workshops for young composers.
Continuing Professional Development
There is so much to understand about the art of singing and Sarah feels that continuing professional development is vitally important for her work in passing on recent reliable research into the voice.
Sarah has done a Post Graduate Diploma PGDipMtpp (Music Teaching in Professional Practice) at Reading University 2003 – 2005, an Integrated Voice Certificate of Vocal Fundamentals with Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher in 2007, and the Estill Levels 1 & 2 and Advanced level in 2012/14 with Anne Marie Speed.
Sarah is a great admirer of the work and research of the singer and teacher Janice Chapman and regularly attends her ‘Training the Classical Voice’ workshops in person and online.
In the autumn of 2020 Sarah embarked on the four year training programme to become an Estill Certified Master Teacher with Anne Marie Speed through her company The Voice Explained.
“For many years I studied with the world -renowned teacher Paul Farrington who was one of the first Estill Certified Master Teachers. The work he did with me transformed my understanding of the function of the voice, identifying and controlling individual structures for a much more informed technique. This helped so much in creating safe, reliable singing in whatever music I was confronted with. It’s time to pass this on.”
Sarah welcomes enquiries for singing lessons from young professionals and keen amateurs. Please use the contact page.