Information About Sophia - Leeds teacher

Personal Description:

Born in 2000 and raised in Cyprus, Sophia made a transition from high school to University at the young age of 16, after being successfully accepted to pursue her studies towards a BA Honors Degree in Popular Music and Vocal Performance at the prestigious Conservatoire ‘Leeds College of Music’ in the UK.
Her love for music and her dedicated approach towards her discipline have always been reflected through her passionate, self motivated and driven nature. She has been infatuated with music and started taking piano lessons at the age of 4 and later on continued with theory and vocal lessons too. Her ever-growing fascination, led her to start composing her own songs at the age of 9 and performing in front of audiences even earlier. Described as a child prodigy by many, at the age of 13 she was selected to represent her country at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014, where she gained great international exposure and extensive press coverage.
A talented singer-songwriter, recording artist and live performer with a soulful take on pop music, Sophia, for the past few years has been releasing original music, and debuted her first EP in 2018, titled ‘Everything I Ever Wanted’, which featured on BBC Introducing. She has also been releasing successful covers of hit songs, with total exposure rising over a million views on YouTube, and half a million streams on Spotify. Besides working on new material, Sophia recently started providing music and vocals for American TV and Series, signed by two prestigious Music Publishing companies in Los Angeles.
Even if only eighteen, Sophia has been performing live for a number of years, whether in concerts, exclusive events or TV shows, always captivating with her emotional and powerful performance. Her strong stage presence and ability to stir emotion and excitement within an audience are accentuated by her authentic style and exceptional ability to collaborate creatively with onstage musicians to always create an unforgettable experience.

Tutoring Experience:

Instrumental Music Tuition Module at Leeds College of Music for 1 year - Finished with a 2:1
Assistant Tutor at Coop Academy Leeds for 2 months - Preparing students for vocal exams in the form of weekly 'masterclasses'

Tutoring Approach:

Learning how to sing -properly- should be fun, enthusiastic but RELAXED - and requires a lot of dedication, concentration and practice! I like to communicate with my students in a casual manner, as I find this is the most effective way to communicate concepts that are tricky, like supporting your breath through the diaphragm but remaining relaxed in the upper body (which to me is the most important factor to ensure the longevity and health of our singing voice). I like to emphasise the importance of taking care of our body, as our instrument lies in our body!
I include lots of demonstrations on my lessons, both of the correct and the wrong way to execute something, so as to show the difference clearly. My lessons are very practical, and everything I talk about I encourage the student to try out and workshop throughout the lesson, until a certain technique is perfected. My lessons are a safe and comfortable space, with humour and space for mistakes! That's the best way to learn. I love teaching children and young teens as I am one myself and seek to establish a friendly relationship in which the student feels comfortable to ask questions, which in turn maximises learning!

I can either teach a student who wants to work towards a singing qualification / grade like RockSchool, or a student who simply wants to sing for fun but wants to learn how to do it properly so as to not damage their voice and possibly develop into a great singer !