Private lessons

I offer private lessons to motivated singers of any ability ages 14 and older. My teaching history includes faculty appointments at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (private voice lessons and diction for singers), Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain, and Bach Akademie Charlotte’s Charlotte Bach Festival as well as maintaining a private voice studio. My background in voice, historical performance, choral conducting, and organ have given me a particular talent for developing well-rounded musicianship in my students.

What can you expect in a lesson with me?

You can expect a supportive and encouraging space in which to explore your voice as an instrument and pursue strategies for learning new musical repertoire. Through targeted work on posture, breath flow, resonance, and vowel placement, I work with each student to identify the healthiest and most efficient means of developing their natural singing voice as well as equipping them with skills to sing and learn music for years to come. In lessons, I will help you find your natural resonance and breath support, and we will explore repertoire and vocal exercises tailored to your ongoing technical development. I encourage strong musicianship skills and incorporate music theory and the practice of sight-reading into my teaching.

How can my experience help you develop your skills?

Individualized musical study has been shown to develop leadership, confidence, time management, creativity, teamwork, and many more skills. The decade I have spent as a soloist and ensemble singer in leading American and English professional ensembles heavily informs my teaching and allows me to help students learn to sing confidently and healthily as well as to prioritize strategies for collaborative and persuasive music-making. Through my work as a movement and physical gesture specialist, I assist singers in finding comfort and ease in the use of their bodies as a means of persuasive nonverbal communication. I specialize particularly in Historical Performance Practice and incorporate early music into the voice curricula of all students. I have taught classes in phonetics and diction for singers at the university level and love helping students find fluency in the pronunciation of new languages.

Do you teach online?

Yes! I teach via Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype.

How can I get in touch?

Please contact me HERE to inquire about scheduling and pricing. I look forward to getting to know you!

physical gesture

Of vital importance to every singer is learning is how to maximize the body’s communicative potential while performing. Many singers suffer from fear over the potential awkwardness of physical gesture and subsequently avoid movement altogether. My seminar “Physical Gesture for the Classical Singer” will address that problem and help to change it. This seminar is designed to fit neatly into a university performance curriculum by encouraging singers to free the body and imbue their movements with meaning. An exploration of Baroque physical idioms provides students with a clear and accessible set of adaptable and intuitive physical gestures that transcend any one period of time. Through participation in this seminar, students will learn gestures that will complement their existing repertoire, as these gestures are common to natural human expression and interaction.

Participation in this seminar will assist students in the following ways:

• Students will gain an understanding of the importance of physical stance and gesture to convey ideas and emotions.

• Students will learn to pair gestures with specific emotions, derived from the Cartesian primary passions of wonder, love, hate, desire, joy, and sadness.

• Students will gain awareness of the body as an instrument of communication and the connection between thought, ocular recognition, breath, movement, and stasis.

This seminar has been presented at institutions including:

• The University of Iowa

• Peabody Institute

• Kansas State University

• Bach Akademie Charlotte Vocal Fellows Program

For more information or to request a proposal, please contact me HERE.

testimonials

Dr. Haigh's session with the singers in Harvard's Holden Voice Program opened their eyes to the layers of early music repertoire. She uses the knowledge from the academic treatises as a starting point for understanding expressive possibilities, and weaves it all together with gorgeously-executed examples and demonstrations. For these liberal-arts-minded students, this was the perfect balance of theory and application; she gave us not only an hour of coaching, but a whole world of information to continue to explore.

Elizabeth Eschen, Director of Harvard University’s Holden Voice Program

I've really enjoyed working with Margaret, first as a choral director and then as a private voice teacher. I'm an adult student who has been a choral singer my whole life, but it had been a while since I had studied solo rep. Margaret has helped me fix some unhelpful habits and develop a healthier technique. She's given me strategies to address common things I run into when singing, and ways to be more purposeful in my practicing. Beyond that, Margaret is a joy to work with- passing along her knowledge and giving suggestions in a way that's relatable and unintimidating. I'd wholeheartedly recommend her to any friend or colleague looking to meet their singing goals!

Private voice student

One of the many classes I had was phonetics and articulation with Dr. Haigh and, despite the fact that it was the end of the day, I was always excited to attend and learn something new from her. Her vast knowledge of phonetics, sacred music, and vocal pedagogy was very present in the classroom and challenged my expectations of music. To this day, phonetics remains my strongest subject in college and I plan to focus on it as I progress in my musical career. This is all due to Dr. Haigh, and I would not be where I am today without her strong encouragement and dedication to education.

Former student, UNC-Charlotte

My biggest hardship has probably been tackling English diction. As a southerner you can probably only imagine how hard it was to grab the concept of “proper” English through the IPA symbols. Dr. Haigh is very thorough with her teaching and really makes sure everyone understands before moving on. One big thing that stands out to me is that she is also very personable but still well respected. You can have a full conversation with her and it feels like you’re talking with a colleague rather than your professor.

Former student, UNC-Charlotte

Watching Dr. Haigh conduct, select music, and teach vocal techniques in a choir setting was incredibly educational. Her vast knowledge of sacred music was impressive and taught me so much history and religion alongside advanced vocal techniques.

Choir member, Nova Voce