Music Instruction
After the birth of my first son, I took a break from predominantly performing in the Classical and Operatic Repertoire and discovered a new passion for teaching voice and piano students, being a music educator and developing curriculum for arts organizations. I have worked with DARE Arts, the Canadian Opera Company, the Cambridge Centre for the Arts and Opera Everywhere Productions. Around the same time, I began working as a clinician helping performers of all ages and levels who were struggling with performance anxiety. With Opera Everywhere Productions, I began writing shows which fused several genres of music to make opera fun and accessible for people who had never experienced the art form. I teach beginner to professional level voice, beginner to intermediate piano, and all levels of musical theory. I currently have limited space available. |
Conducting
Ms. Cleland is in her 7th season as Artistic Director of the Milton Choristers, and has just conducted her first opera, Suor Angelica with the newly formed Grand River Opera. She has recently completed her Masters of Conducting at Messiah University in Pennsylvania. Rachel loves choral music and strives to ignite that same joy in her choirs. Upon studying choral conducting in University, Rachel began working with various church and children's choirs as a guest clinician until she was asked to become the Assistant Conductor and vocal teacher for the We Are One Jazz project (approx. 400 children). From this experience, she was asked to conduct a Glee choir featuring both song and dance. Rachel spent 8 years as Music Director for the Guelph Community Singers, 3 years as Director of Music Ministry at Knox Presbyterian Milton, 2 years conducting the Woman to Woman feminist choir and several years teaching children and adult choir classes at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts. |
Vocalist/Performance
Rachel can be an asset to your event whether it be large or small, a wedding or other family event. An aria, a show tune or a pop song are all possible. With classical singing training, Rachel can sing a variety of styles and genres including Classical, Opera, Celtic, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Gospel and Pop music. She has written and produced a variety of shows which feature a fusion of different musical styles and will customize her performance to suit your needs. Rachel is a very interactive performer and will often be found singing right to some of her audience members. She is also available for audition preparation (arias, songs and monologues) and performance coaching to help you achieve your best performance in your field. Rachel has worked as a guest clinician to help people overcome stage fright and performance anxiety. |