Sharon Tree

Sharon has been performing as a singer and pianist in choirs, bands, musicals, churches and concerts from the age of 10. Since 2005, following a move to Canberra from Brisbane, Sharon has worked full time as a music educator. This work has included private singing and piano tuition, choral direction and accompaniment, and university tuition.

A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Griffith University), Sharon’s undergraduate studies covered the history of classical music, music theory. Her more recent postgraduate studies focused on a detailed examination of the voice and vocal training, with an emphasis on contemporary and jazz styles, for which she received a Griffith Award for Academic Excellence (2004). She now stays in touch with current research through her wide reading, and networks with colleagues in the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS) and the Music Teachers’ Association (NSW).

Sharon is committed to helping people, whether beginner or professional, to understand themselves as they come to understand their own voice, believing that the two are closely linked. The human voice is the most diverse of all musical instruments. Every voice is unique because every person is unique. Sharon believes in acknowledging this diversity, helping each individual singer understand how their instrument functions, incorporating the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects as a whole. For the singer, the whole body is the instrument, so attention is given to the musculoskeletal, immune, endocrine and neural systems. The focus is on understanding how overall health and wellbeing supports vocal expression, ensuring that unnecessary muscle tension is reduced so that efficient use of relevant muscles can occur. This foundation is then used to support the authentic performance of popular repertoire, from music theatre to rock and pop to soul and jazz.