Singing Teachers Talk

How do you choose the right repertoire for musical theatre auditions? In this episode of Singing Teachers Talk, we explore the many musical styles of contemporary musical theatre, using SIX the Musical and its six queens as our inspiration. 
From Beyoncé and Avril Lavigne to Adele and Alicia Keys, discover how pop influences, vocal demands, character and storytelling can help shape repertoire choices. Plus, pick up practical repertoire-searching tips and song suggestions to expand your singing teacher toolbox, whether you teach musical theatre, pop or other contemporary commercial music (CCM) styles.  

About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.174 Demystifying Tax for the Self-Employed Singing Teachers with Accountant Andy Muckett 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.258 10 Plus ‘Legit’ Songs for Musical Theatre Singers with Alexa Terry 
So You Want to Sing Musical Theatre by Amanda Flynn 
Amanda Flynn 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.133 Mastering Belt in Musical Theatre  
Singing Teachers talk - Rep eps 
Six the musical  
Amelia Carr 
Musical Theatre Resources 
Theatre Trip  
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Article 
musicnotes.com  
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
Alexa is the Deputy Head of Singing at one of the UK’s leading performing arts schools - Italia Conti, and she also runs a private singing tuition practice in the South of England. In addition, Alexa is the host of BAST Training’s Singing Teachers Talk podcast, and acts as both unit tutor and mentor for their level 5 vocational singing teaching qualification, as well as mentoring on their foundation course.[Text Wrapping Break][Text Wrapping Break]After graduating with a BA Musical Theatre degree, Alexa Terry donned her sailor’s cap and performed as a lead soloist on cruise ships travelling the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Baltic seas. She trod the boards in London’s West End as the protagonist in a new Musical Theatre project, studied as a librettist with Book, Music and Lyrics (BML), and has written for the likes of BritishTheatre.comas a reviewer. Alexa has also presented on topics of Musical Theatre repertoire, authentic Musical Theatre performance, and imposter syndrome for Vocology in Practice and The Sing Space; and at the BAST Intensive Weekend of Summer 2026, Alexa delivered talks in diagnosing and assessing voices and choosing repertoire to build technique. 
 
Website 
Instagram: @AlexaTerryVocalCoaching  
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
basttraining.com | Stay Updated

What does it really mean to help someone find a voice that feels like their own? This week, Alexa is joined by gender-affirming voice specialist - Renée Yoxon - to explore the fascinating relationship between voice, gender and identity. From rethinking traditional approaches to vocal training to creating more inclusive spaces for singers, Renée shares fresh perspectives that might just challenge the way we think about the voice, as well as giving us an insight to her book ‘The Trans Voice Practice Journal.’ Whether you're already working with trans and non-binary singers or simply looking to broaden your understanding, this is a conversation every singing teacher can learn from. 

WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?  
0:00 Book Review: The Trans Voice Practice Journal by Renee Yoxon 
6:33 From physics to gender-affirming voice work  
9:00 What is gender-affirming voice work?  
12:28 Why is it important to play with gender expression?  
16:07 How transferable are speaking voice exercises to singing?  
18:01 Understanding hormone replacement therapy  
23:57 An insight into gender-affirming voice work in practice  
32:34 Creating inclusive learning spaces  
37:57 Leveraging online platforms 
39:54 Creating The Trans Voice Practice Journal 
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith 
Eli Conley 
Peter Fullerton 
Stephen Davidson 
The Transmasculine Voice: A Guide to Vocal Euphoria by Stephen Davidson 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.175 Understanding the Transmasculine Voice with Stephen Davidson 
The Singing Teacher's Guide to Transgender Voices by Liz Jackson & Brian Kremer 
Queering Vocal Pedagogy: A Handbook for Teaching Trans and Genderqueer Singers and Fostering Gender-Affirming Spaces by William Sauerland 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.68 Training Transgender Voices with Dr Felix Graham 
ASHA 
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
Renée Yoxon (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary, and disabled gender-affirming voice teacher based in Montreal. They have taught voice since 2008, and since 2019 have focused on helping trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people create speaking voices they love. Renée is known for explaining complicated concepts in plain language, and for an approach that lets each student decide what their own voice should sound like. Their online courses have reached nearly 2,000 students worldwide, and they have trained over 100 voice teachers and speech-language pathologists. Renée is the author of The Trans Voice Practice Journal (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2026) and was named Canada's Inspiring Person of the Year at the 2026 INSPIRE Awards. Learn more at reneeyoxon.com 
 
Website 
Instagram: @reneeyoxon 
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
basttraining.com | Stay Updated

How can singing teachers better support neurodivergent singers? In this insightful episode, Alexa is joined by singer, educator and former hospital school deputy head Sarah Marion to explore neurodiversity in singing lessons. From ADHD, autism, Tourette’s and anxiety, to sensory overload, perfectionism and performance overwhelm, Sarah shares practical ways teachers can create safer, more flexible and inclusive learning environments. Discover why structure and preparation matter, how music can support communication and connection, and why focusing on each singer’s individual ‘superpowers’ can transform the way we teach. 
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?  
7:33 What is a hospital school?  
8:02 The role of music in education and neurodiversity  
17:34 Supporting singers with ADHD 
19:26 Supporting singers with autism and Tourrette’s  
22:42 Recognising the signs of overwhelm 
24:00 Preparation, predictability and structuring the singing lesson 
30:27 Supporting neurodivergent singers in rehearsals and auditions 
31:43 Helping neurodivergent singers with organisation  
36:34 The neurodivergent teacher  
38:44 Rethinking professionalism and making adaptations 
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
Alternative Provision Huh - The Importance to the Arts and Wider Opportunities’ by Myatt and John Tomsett 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.280 What Singing Teachers Need to Understand About Performance Anxiety with Mel Toy 
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
 
Sarah is a Wirral-based singer and pianist with a lifelong passion for music and performance. In her twenties, based in Manchester she performed extensively with bands, session work and solo gigs, including a stint working abroad. Sarah is a classically trained singer to post graduate level. Following her performing career, Sarah dedicated 30 years to teaching music in Wirral comprehensive schools. During this time, she led numerous school productions and successfully prepared students for GCSE music examinations, inspiring a new generation of musicians. During the last 10 years in education Sarah became a Deputy Headteacher in a hospital school specialising in Trauma Informed Teaching, creating teaching toolkits for reducing anxiety in young people with poor mental health, often comorbid with a diagnosis of neurodiversity. Sarah now combines her time between performing, 1:1 Teaching and has a mentor role with the SSAT. [Schools Students and Teachers Network] 
 
Youtube 
Instagram: @sarah_marrion_sings 
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
basttraining.com | Stay Updated

What does it take to be ready to step into multiple roles in the musical theatre industry Today, Alexa is joined by West End performer and vocal coach Corinne Priest to talk about her time in Titanique, where she covered Céline Dion, Rose and Molly Brown alongside her role as a backing vocalist. Corinne shares how she prepared to embody Céline’s unmistakable vocal style, the realities of switching between multiple tracks, and why making a role fit your own voice is so important. They also explore the growing vocal demands of musical theatre, life as a swing, and what it takes to build the versatility and vocal sustainability needed for eight shows a week.  
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?  
1:33 Corrine’s favourite song in a contract so far  
2:18 Corrine’s journey into the Musical Theatre industry 
4:15 Representation: drama school and agencies  
7:45 Titanique  
23:24 Impersonation as a training tool  
24:30 Vocal coaching Vs performing  
26:25 Corrine’s top tip for current musical theatre demands  
29:45 Corrine’s contract wish list  
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
London School of Musical Theatre (LSMT)  
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.221 How Knowing Musical Theatre History Makes You a Better Performer with Molly Marie Walsh 
The Criterion  
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.279 On Vocal Crashes, Career Lessons and Sustainable Singing with Chris Killik 
Mischief Comedy 
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
 
Corrine is a professional Musical Theatre Performer and Vocal Coach, originally from Somerset. 
 
Training: London School of Musical Theatre 
2025 Vocal Balance Accredited Teacher  
 
Corrine is a guest tutor at Urdang Academy and full time Singing Teacher at Emil Dale Academy, and also teaches private 1:1s. 
 
Credits include: BGV2, cover Celine Dion, Rose and Molly Brown in Titanique the Musical (Criterion Theatre, Lido2Paris), Beauty in Beauty and the Beast (Playhouse Theatre), Swing, cover Sister Mary Robert, cover Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act (UK Tour), Workshop of Disruption (Park Theatre), Fairy Queen / Resident Director in Claus The Musical (The Lowry), Ensemble in Les Misérables (Sondheim Theatre), Dance Captain in Les Misérables: The Staged Concert (Sondheim Theatre), Elizabeth Benning in Young Frankenstein (English Theatre Frankfurt), Swing, cover Fantine, cover Gavroche, assistant Dance Captain, assistant Children's Director, in Les Misérables (UK & International Tour), Lucy in Can't Stop It (The Other Palace), Lucy in Ushers: The Front of House Musical (Edinburgh Fringe & Arts Theatre), Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol (Blackpool Opera House), Soloist in Stephen Sondheim 85th Birthday Gala (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), cast in God: The Stephen Sondheim Parody (London Theatre), Amy Thomas in Girlfriends (Union Theatre), Lead Vocalist onboard Holland America Line, and Viv Nicholson in Spend Spend Spend (Bridewell Theatre).  
 
Corrine won The Stephen Sondheim Student Performer of the Year award and more recently won a What's Onstage Angel award in 2021. Corrine also recorded the critically acclaimed one-woman song-cycle Heart of Winter, available on iTunes and Spotify.  
 
Website 
Instagram: @corrinepriest @coachingwithcorrine 
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
basttraining.com | Stay Updated

What if performance anxiety isn’t just about what happens on stage? In this episode, Alexa is joined by performance rehabilitation coach and PhD researcher Mel Toy to dig beneath the surface of music performance anxiety. They unpack the surprising factors that can shape anxiety, why common advice doesn’t always help, and how singers and teachers can approach performance with more curiosity, compassion and individuality. They also discuss the surprising impact of noise, sleep and everyday life and why anxiety isn’t always easy to spot. A thought-provoking conversation for singing teachers and performers that challenges some common assumptions about anxiety and performance.  
WHAT’S IN THIS PODCAST?  
2:05 ‘Music Performance Anxiety’ as a social anxiety disorder  
8:52 Creating well-being environments for learning 
12:40 A note on cognitive reframing  
24:52 Anxiety contributors  
31:16 Spotting anxiety 
35:05: Stress and progress   
46:30 What about when it’s the teacher who is anxious?  
51:23 Mel’s research 
 
About the presenter HERE
 
RELEVANT MENTIONS & LINKS 
Singer & the Self 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.271 Singer & the Self: Rethinking Singing Teacher CPD with Becky Gilhespie 
Cat Ogden  
The Singer’s Guide Podcast by Tessa Smith - Trust the Process: Alexa Terry on Unfinished Sounds and Developing Your Voice  
This is your Brain on Food by Dr Uma Naidoo 
Wendy Parr 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.94 Developing The Singer Into an Artist with Wendy Parr 
Lydia Hart 
Singing Teachers Talk - Ep.277 Identity, Self-Worth and Burnout in the Performing Arts with Claire Cannon 
 
ABOUT THE GUEST 
 
Mel Toy is an experienced voice and performance coach, voice massage practitioner, and vocal health specialist dedicated to empowering artists and performers to unlock their creative potential. With a holistic approach that integrates tailored technical exercises, artistic development, and rehabilitative techniques, Mel works to help clients overcome both physiological and psychological challenges, fostering their creative freedom and promoting vocal wellbeing. 
 
In addition to her client-focused work, Mel is a seasoned lecturer in voice and contemporary performance. Since 2018, she has taught at leading institutions, including the British Institute of Modern Music (BIMM Institute London), the Voice Study Centre, and the Eastern Institute of Technology (Hawke's Bay). Through these roles, Mel has guided singers and musicians in developing their vocal technique, performance health, collaborative songwriting, and career strategies. She also supervises undergraduate and Master's theses and serves as a reviewer for the Sages Music and Science Journal. As part of her international teaching experience, Mel has contributed to the European Vocal Camp and joined the team in 2025 for the launch of their Asia-Pacific camp. 
 
Mel is a certified Vocal Coach through the Institute of Vocal Advancement and Modern Vocal Training, as well as a Vocal Health Habilitation Practitioner with Vocal Health Education. She has also delivered masterclasses on Music Performance Anxiety, Performance Psychology, and Vocal Massage to global audiences, helping vocal coaches, singing teachers, and other support practitioners better assist their clients in managing performance-related stress and anxiety. 
 
In addition to her vocal techniques education, Mel is a researcher and academic, holding a BA Hons in Creative Musicianship and an MSc Psychology. She is currently undertaking doctoral research through the Department of Culture, Communication, and Media with University College London’s Institute of Education, investigating the ongoing implications of music performance anxiety on the wellbeing of contemporary singers. 
 
Website 
Social Media: @meltoyvocalcoach 
🎁 Free Resource: Get your copy of How to Assess the Singer’s Voice with Confidence — a practical guide to help you understand what’s going on in any singer’s voice.  >>> DOWNLOAD HERE
At BAST Training, we help singers turn their experience into a meaningful teaching career. Building the confidence, knowledge, and real-world skills to teach with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
“The BAST Advanced Foundation has given me more than the tools I need to teach — it’s given me confidence, a community, and a future.” Jess McGlinchey, UK
Start with the foundations >>> ENROL NOW
basttraining.com | Stay Updated