I kept asking others to share their journeys and realized it was time I shared my own with our Nourish Your Voice following. 

Hi there. My name is Mallory McGrath and I suffered from a vocal haemorrhage.

Take a listen and hear my story of learning to love singing, sharing my voice, injuring my voice, recovering my voice and finding comfort and support in teachers and educators. 

Season 1 of the Nourish Your Voice podcast is dedicated to Angela Haweleshka; the woman who gave me my voice back.

Sylvie Tetrault is a Nutrition and Strength Coach, co-host of the podcast @championshiplifestyle, and creator of the Inner Athlete Coaching Program and the Her Strength Development Series. Sylvie’s philosophy centers on helping clients find their Inner Athlete through hands-on strength training, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching. Sylvie has worked with professional athletes across several sports, (NHL, NFL, UFC, WBNA, Olympians, Ironman etc.) and high performers of all kinds.

Sylvie believes in 3 principles of recovery for any type of performance (that means you, singers!!):

1. Sleep - quality and quantity
2. Nutrition - this is something we can control
3. Lifestyle factors - what we do in-between our performances - journaling, meditation, mindset etc. therapeutic modalities

As a Strength & Conditioning Coach, Sylvie is passionate about her clients finding a way to incorporate movement into their lives in a way that they love to do. Movement decreases stress, helps reduce illness, and is a truly personal experience for each person. What do you love to do to move your body?

Reach out to Sylvie Tetrault!!

Website: http://www.sylvietetrault.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sylvietetraultRHN/

Instagram: @sylvietetrault

Podcast: @championshipliftstyle

Alison Jane Taylor is a performer, music educator, and Certified Alexander Technique Teacher.  Her performing, teaching, and studies have taken her all over North America and the United Kingdom.  Alison is a versatile performer as soprano soloist, in opera roles, musical theatre, choral singing, and ensemble work.  She has a busy schedule presenting Voice and Alexander Technique workshops and intensives at various post-secondary institutions, including York University (Faculty of Music) and Mount Allison University (Faculty of Music).  Alison has taught at Toronto’s George Brown College (Acting for Media) and Centennial College (Theatre Arts) and maintains a private studio in Toronto teaching voice and the Alexander Technique. She became a Certified Alexander Technique Teacher in 2009 and previously earned her Bachelor of Music and Education from Western University in London, Ontario.  She is currently training to be a Gestalt Psychotherapist at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto. Alison is a novice potter, and enjoys hiking, board games, baking, and cross stitch.

Be sure to reach out to Alison!

Twitter - https://twitter.com/AlexTechWithAT

Facebook -  https://www.facebook.com/Alison-Taylor-Voice-and-the-Alexander-Technique-246704552038609/

Instagram - @voicealexandertech

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXO40zUDOr0L7BtHpdogfg?view_as=subscriber

Website - www.alisonjanetaylor.com

Email - [email protected]

There are probably more non-professional singers in the world than there are professionals, so it seemed only fitting to chat with my good friend, Erin Mouchian, all about being a non-professional singer.

Erin has been singing and performing for over 20 years. A classically trained singer, Erin has performed in Canada, Ireland, Holland and Italy in various professional choirs and musical groups. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University in 2002, with a focus in vocal performance.

Erin has been teaching grade 7 & 8 since 2003 with the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board. She directs the choir and musicals at her school. Erin loves to perform and is passionate about teaching. Her philosophy is that every child deserves a place to shine and strives to provide opportunities for young people to find and pursue their passion and artistic dreams.

Though she teaches by day, Erin spends her off-time performing in musicals throughout the GTA. Favourite credits include Lucy in Jekyll & Hyde (City Centre Musical Productions), Aldonza in Man of La Mancha (Alexander Showcase Theatre), Lily in The Secret Garden (Brampton Music Theatre), Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (BMT), Florence in Chess (CCMP). She has just begun rehearsals as Esmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (CCMP) which will be presented in March 2020 at Meadowvale Theatre in Mississauga.

Check out Erin as Esmerelda in March 2020!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Presented by: City Centre Musical Production

Dates: March 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 2020 at 8:00pm and March 8, 14, 15, 2020 at 2:00pm

Meadowvale Theatre (6315 Montevideo Road, Mississauga, ON)

Get your tickets at: 905-615-4720 OR www.encoretix.org

Jennifer Taverner is a Toronto based soprano and Registered Health and Nutrition Counsellor. She is passionate about helping singers adopt lifestyle and nutrition habits that will nourish their bodies and support their vocal health so they’re in top form, onstage and off!

Jen joins Mallory in a talk about whole-body nutrition, fueling your body with the right foods to help you sustain through long rehearsals and gigs, and tips & tricks to survive cold and flu season. She just started a Facebook Group called Holistic Wellness for Singers. Check out the link below and be sure to join her amazing support network for your whole-body health as a singer!

Jen Taverner – High Note Health

Website: https://www.highnotehealth.ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/singerswellness

Instagram: @highnotehealth

Erin Clark, Registered Psychotherapist (RP), Credentialed Music Therapist, Music Therapist Accredited (MTA), uses her singing voice 8 hours a day and then comes home at night and parents two joyful & rambunctious boys. How does she keep her own vocal health in tip top shape?

Erin Clark is the owner and operator of Durham Music Therapy. Erin has been working as an accredited Music Therapist since June 2007 and as a Registered Psychotherapist since June 2017. Erin is a singer/songwriter who also plays guitar, dabbles in Reiki and composes meditation music. Erin has held many volunteer roles for the Canadian Association for Music Therapists, most recently as the team lead for the National Mental Health Task Force. Erin is an official "in house" workshop facilitator for the Ontario Music Therapy Academy. Erin specializes in working with individuals with special needs, those experiencing mental health issues and individuals with acquired brain injuries.

Erin & Mallory get to talking about music therapy, the techniques involved, the benefits and more. Erin emphasizes how important it is to reduce your stress and take care of yourself in order to ensure that your voice & body in the best possible condition.

**Thanks for your patience with the first 5 episodes being recorded originally as video files. This is our first one that was recorded as a podcast and we are excited for many more to come!

Erin Clark

Website: www.durhammusictherapy.ca

Imagine waking up in the morning, kissing your partner goodbye, and then finding yourself in the intensive care unit a couple of hours later after a series of strokes. Claire Hughes is a classically trained singer who found herself in this unfortunate situation 5 years ago. She ended up with deficits on both sides of her body, which included paralysis of her right vocal cord. She worked tirelessly in the hospital and rehab to re-learn how to do basic things: feed herself, walk, tie her shoes etc. Her voice was airy and light after the stroke and with the help of a Speech & Language Pathologist she was able to get her full speaking voice back. The same cannot be said for her singing voice even after over four years.

Claire takes us on her journey of pain & suffering, perseverance, exploration with her voice post-stroke and shows us all that moments are fleeting. Take the good & the bad together and find a way to see joy in your life again.

**Reminder that Episodes 01-05 were recorded as video files when we thought that this interview series would be shared on YouTube. Thanks for sticking with us during these first five episodes. We cannot wait to share the next 5 episodes with you all. We've got some really amazing interviews and they will have been recorded as podcasts! So yay to good audio! 

Claire Hughes

Website: www.claireah.com

Being a professional singer takes so much physical & mental energy. You have to search for auditions, prepare material, find time to warm up in the wee hours of the morning, buy clothing that makes you look a certain way for a certain part you want, practice, practice, then practice some more, all the while staying as healthy as possible. Now take all of that and add two kids into the mix. So many professional singers are finding a way to incorporate their livelihood of singing with having a family. Canadian soprano, Jacqueline Woodley, is doing just that AND her husband, Julien Patenaude, is a professional singer as well. How do they do it all?

Learn all about Jacqueline’s journey as a singer and a mother and how she manages to take care of herself, her voice, support her husband’s career, all the while not losing sight of her own, and also be an exceptional parent to her two beautiful children.

**Reminder that Episodes 01-05 were recorded as video files when we thought that this interview series would be shared on YouTube. Head on over to our Facebook page to learn more about our supportive community of singers!

Jacqueline Woodley

Website: www.jacquelinewoodley.com  

FB: https://www.facebook.com/jacqueline.woodleysoprano.5

The use of Eastern medicinal practices is becoming more and more common in the Western world. As the demands on singers become more exhaustive and prevalent, we need to continue our journey to find different and new ways to promote all around vocal care and vocal wellbeing. The use of sound bowl therapy is an excellent tool that all singers should give a try. Reach out to Jen Lang to learn more, book a session with her or ask her for a recommendation of another sound bowl expert in your area.

Jen also touches on another area that she is passionate about called Voice Activation. Her focus is with womxn who are entrepreneurs, public speakers, fitness instructors, seminar leaders etc. She advocates a music and body-centred approach to getting a stronger connection to one’s voice.  As singers, we are taught how to use our voice for singing, but we are not taught how to use our voice for speaking.

**Reminder that Episodes 01-05 were recorded as video files when we thought that this interview series would be shared on YouTube. Near the end of this episode Jen will perform a brief sound bath for us all.  Head on over to our Facebook page in order to see that portion of the video, and get interested in this amazing, healing creation of sound! 

Jen Lang – Sound Body Sphere

Website: www.soundbodysphere.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/JenLangsoundbodysphere/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/soundbodysphere/

Jen Lang – Inspired Creative Communication

Website: www.jenlang.com 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/IamJenLang/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jeniuslangus/

Competition is present for all singers, professional or non-professional, as we are always competing to get a role/part/gig etc. Sarah Maclachlan, the Kindness Warrior, has built a community of kindness in Ontario. She talks with us all about how to stay grounded in who you are, how to put self-care first so that you don't burn out, and how to survive in a competitive industry constantly judging the very essence of you.

Sarah is all about being in the service of others, showing love & support to your community and making sure you don’t burn out. She advocates for women and female entrepreneurs and encourages them to be sure to make time for themselves in order to be the best version of themselves that they can be.

Although she is not a singer, she has many friends in the arts industry and has watched as her friends have given too much of themselves to this tireless industry of auditions, competition and constant criticism. Be sure to take notes on this one folks and learn all you can about great ways to stay grounded, support yourself & your voice, and be the most well-rounded version of a singer you can be!

**Reminder that Episodes 01-05 were recorded as video files when we thought that this interview series would be shared on YouTube.  Head on over to our Facebook page in order to see some funny photos from this episode!

Connect with The Kindness Warrior

Website: www.thekindnesswarrior.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheKindnessWarrior/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/kindnesswarrior/