In 1997, after a long break away from any public singing (apart from in the bath and within ear-shot of my long-suffering family!), I was asked to sing at a friend’s party. After plucking up the courage, I sang rock and pop songs with a small group. That evening marked a chain of events that has led me to the birth of Angela Jackson’s Vocal Workshops and this web site. If any of you out there believe in fate, then you are in good company!

After that friend’s party, one of the guitarists, who had previously played in a band, asked me if I would be willing to form a 60’s cover band. He already had a lead guitarist and a bass player lined up. I had met the drummer through another musical contact and hey presto! “Hard Drive” was born. Unfortunately because I hadn’t sung for quite a few years, my vocal apparatus was not strong enough to withstand the volume I needed to sing above the band. I’m sure there are many vocalists out there who have experienced the same problem. Sure enough I ended up with severe vocal fatigue, hoarseness, and what is worse, the threat of vocal nodules!

After visiting the local hospital’s ENT department, and having a number of investigations carried out, I was told to go away, tell the band to turn their amplifiers down, and “retrain my voice”, or else I would end up on the vocal scrap heap! By this time I had already auditioned to sing with a local community choir “The West End Singers” singing music from stage and screen, and been accepted. Now I knew I needed to do something!

Being extremely inquisitive by nature, I began to investigate singing teachers and singing workshops. Never having had much more training than what I received at school, I began to uncover a whole host of singing styles and teaching methods. The internet has been an invaluable search tool for me.

During the last few years I have had some singing lessons, bought a number of very good instruction books and videos, and more importantly, been on a number of vocal workshops in London, Aberdeen and New York, and even received a “Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy” last year. I have learnt about classical singing, rock/pop singing, belting, chest voice, head voice, speech level singing, vocal ranges, vocal problems, and a whole host of other topics. By attending these workshops the germ of an idea was born and I thought: “Why not try and bring some of these wonderful methods and teachers to the South Coast of England, enabling people to get high quality teaching locally without having to travel around the globe to get it?”

Through my many musical contacts I was encouraged to apply for an Arts Council England grant, which I have just received! The Musicians Union Southampton & Mid-Hants branch (of which I am a member), has also been very supportive in giving me a grant, as has Eastleigh Borough Council. I have had many years of administrative and conference experience, and organised many musical and other events. I’m not qualified to teach, but I am a qualified organiser and administrator, and I’m very keen that other people should have the opportunity to learn what I have.

In the summer of 2003, I was on the committee for the Chandlers Ford & Hiltingbury Festival and, with the support of Eastleigh Borough Council and South East Music Schemes, I ran a pilot vocal workshop at the new Thornden Hall in Chandlers Ford, with the wonderful Black Voices, a fantastic gospel group who have performed for Nelson Mandela and the Queen.

This has led me to where we are now. I hope, when you have looked around the web site, you will want to come to one of my workshops. I have learnt and enjoyed so much from the ones I have attended. Three of them have evening concerts attached, where you will be invited to participate, thereby getting the chance to work with some of the very best talented professional people in the singing world today! Be you from the Rock/Pop, Jazz, Classical/Opera, or Choral worlds, there will be a workshop to suit everybody.

Am I still singing? You betcha!! Although I still sing with Hard Drive and The West End Singers, my heart lies with jazz, and I am now sing with The New Forest Big Band, Salisbury Big Band, and The Clive New Big Band, and work with many small bands.

Take a look around the web site and I look forward to meeting you very soon.

    
   Angela Jackson