WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO
Education & Experience
Curious about my academic background and professional experiences? Below is my work history, qualifications and past teaching positions. Please get in touch to find out more about me.
September 1994 - August 2004
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY YOUTH CHORUS
Sir Simon Rattle founded the CBSYC in late 1994. At eight years old, Tara was the youngest founding member of the choir and remained until she was eighteen. During this time she performed regularly at the Symphony Hall Birmingham, BBC The Proms, the opening of the Commonwealth Games not to mention performing specifically for the Queen mother at the 50th Veterans anniversary and subsequently becoming the highest placed British choir at the Langollen Eisteddford in 2003.
2001-2005
BRITISH YOUTH MUSIC THEATRE & NATIONAL YOUTH MUSIC THEATRE
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 'Creation' by Richard Taylor. 'Goblin Market' by Conor Mitchell & Kath Burlinson at the Lyric Theatre Belfast & the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
September 2005 - August 2006
LONDON SCHOOL OF MUSICAL THEATRE
A one year intensive course in Musical Theatre. During this time,Tara played the lead role in the end of year production which ultimately lead her to sign with the prestigious Regan Rimmer agency.
2007 to present
PRIVATE TEACHER, ESSEX/LONDON
Tara started her own private studio in late 2007. During this time she has taught hundreds of students from beginners to professionals some of which have gone on to play leads in the West End and qualify for various TV talent shows such as the X-Factor and BGT. Just some of the things that can be covered in lessons are; ABRSM, LCM & Trinity exams, prep for scholarship/music school/drama school & auditioning in general, performance coaching, Estill introduction & figures prep.
Qualified in May 2016
ESTILL MASTER TEACHER
"Estill changed the way I saw voice the way I taught and the ways in which I could use my voice. In short, it gave me more choices, more colours and more tools for all things voice"
Shortly after Tara attended her second Level 1 & 2 course in 2010, she started her Estill pathway studying with Anne-Marie Speed and achieved the EMT qualification in May 2016.
September 2014 to present
MOUNTVIEW ACADEMY
Lecturer in anatomy, physiology and advanced vocal technique for 1st, 2nd & 3rd year degree students. In addition to this, Tara has hosted several workshops on commercial singing in the musical theatre world.
2015 to present
THE WANDERING HEARTS
The Wandering Hearts are an award winning vocal harmony group. The same year they released their debut album 'Wild Silence', they won the Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award at the UK Americana Awards. The following year they flew to Nashville and became the first band to ever debut at the Grand Old Opry and the Ryman Auditorium in the same week (receiving standing ovations at both). They have opened for Tom Petty, Eric Clapton & Celine Dion. Their second self titled album proved to be an even bigger success with the group reaching number 1 in the official Americana and Country album charts and placing 16th in the official top 40 midweek charts.
2014
URDANG ACADEMY
Lecturer in anatomy, physiology and advanced vocal technique for degree level students.
September 2015 - August 2017
UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX, COLCHESTER INSTITUTE
Lecturer in anatomy, physiology and advanced vocal technique for degree level students.
February 2021
ROYAL BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE
Lecturer in anatomy, physiology and advanced vocal technique for degree level students. As well as high level performance coaching.
May 2016 to present
ESTILL COURSE PRACTICE GROUP INSTRUCTOR
Practice group instructor
focusing on anatomy, physiology and advanced vocal technique on a number of courses in Helsinki, Edinburgh, Newcastle & London as well as a number of online courses during the COVID19 pandemic.
May 2020 & March 2021
ESTILL & CONTEMPORARY COMMERCIAL MUSIC
Co-presented with Anne-Marie Speed. Contemporary Commercial Music is constantly changing and it can be hard to stay on top of current vocal and musical trends, even for established artists. A course to help identify key skills – technique for different styles, what’s hot – who to listen to and what it tells you about technique, and helping in preparing artists for the studio, live TV and touring.