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Rachael is a professional musician based in Halifax (kjipuktuk), Canada, who practices as a voice coach, background & session vocalist, and vocal health educator specializing in Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) techniques. Rachael has a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Music (applied voice) from Dalhousie University's Fountain School of Performing Arts. Rachael also holds a certificate in Teaching Popular Music in the Classroom from Berklee College of Music and has an accredited certification in Vocal Health First Aid (VHE/UK). Rachael is currently completing her Master of Arts in Voice Pedagogy from the University of Essex (UK) and is scheduled to graduate in 2026. In addition to her accredited certificates, Rachael has also completed certificate courses from the Voice Study Centre (UK) in Teaching Belt Vocals Effectively & Safely, Vibrato and non-Vibrato singing and has participated in online study events including Gender & Voice with Liz Jackson-Hearns and recently engaged in their Long Covid & Singers study. Rachael is passionate about learning and staying up to date with the newest voice science and voice related studies. She actively takes lessons to engage with her own practice as a teacher and performer with notable figures such as Natalie Weiss (NYC) and Tyler Capa (NYC). In addition to Natalie and Tyler, Rachael has also been taught and mentored by Dr. Fran Farrell, John Henny, John Nix, Dr. Gregory Servant, Marcia Swanston, David Alexis, and Christina Murray. Rachael's instruction has crossed several institutions, including faculty positions at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts, the Atlantic Contemporary Vocal Institute, Nova Scotia Community College, Fall River School of Performing Arts, Perform Nova Scotia, and Halifax Regional Arts. Today, she owns a private voice studio. Rachael is a current member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) (juried in 2023), as well as Music Nova Scotia (MNS). |
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In addition to her teaching, Rachael regularly performs in the Halifax region. She is the Lead Arranger and co-host for The Big Sing, and is a regular background vocalist for Aquakultre and Braden Lam.
Notable performances include 2024 JUNOFest with T. Thomason, CBC's East Coast Music Hour with Noah Malcolm and Nicole Ariana (2024), the main stage 2023 East Coast Music Awards with Aquakultre, Halifax Jazz Fest with Aquakultre & Tank and the Bangas, Mosaiq Festival with Aquakultre & Maestro Fresh Wes, Grand Oasis Stage with Aquakultre & Haviah Mighty among many other national festivals, guest conducting with Foreigner, choral appearances with Feist, The Rolling Stones, Cirque du Soleil, the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Marianas Trench. A more detailed list can be found below.
Rachael's voice studio is a diverse community that welcomes students from various backgrounds. Her students include local industry professionals (both ECMA & MNS nominated), professionals in Musical Theatre (Neptune Theatre & Grafton Street Dinner Theatre), hobby singers, and students from post-secondary arts institutions including Sheridan College (Music Theatre Performance), the Randolph College for The Performing Arts, NSCC Music Arts, and Dalhousie's Fountain School of Performing Arts.
Rachael lives a life dedicated to music, education, and the art of singing.