Robyn Driedger-Klassen
Voice teacher. Soprano
Where Technique Meets Artistry
What do I do?
I help established singers blossom into their true voices through technique, interpretation, and mental work.
As a soprano, I have performed hundreds of recitals, concerts, and operas. I specialize in Contemporary Classical Music and have worked with numerous ensembles, instrumentalists, poets, and composers on creating new works. I’ve premiered many pieces for voice and have been lucky enough to have quite a few pieces written especially for me. I often work with young, upcoming composers to help them understand how to write for voice. I don’t have perfect pitch, so I have had to develop a multitude of little tricks to help me learn this often harmonically-complicated music.
Opera has also been a big part of my life. Britten, Mozart, and Strauss are my top three opera composers. If I depart this mortal coil to the strains of Rosenkavalier, I’ll die a happy person. In addition to opera, I’ve spent countless hours in the world of German Lied, French mélodie, and English song repertoire, both as a performer and teacher. There are few things I love more than helping a singer put their own 21st century stamp on a piece that might be 200 years old. While performing these works, I’ve been lucky enough to develop a handful of deep relationships with pianists with whom I could trust my life on the recital stage. One of my greatest joys is collaborative work–that’s how I learned to become an artist.
I have done extensive studies in Vocal Pedagogy with Dr. Shannon Coates. Countless hours have been spent understanding ways of giving my students Agency over their own learning. Singers learn how to make their own decisions about their sound, the repertoire they want to sing, and how they want to sing it. My goal is for my students to eventually not need me anymore!
Creative curiosity shared with a fellow musician opens up endless pathways.
I invite my students to walk these paths with their collaborating partners as well.
I love my garden. This is where I learn a lot about pursuing creativity, making mistakes, daily routines, patience, and “failing forward”.
I’ve also committed myself to reading at least 75 books each year. I do this because I love it, but also because entering into the mindset and experiences of another person in another place and/or time gives me a wealth of inspiration for my teaching and my own singing.
spark a song
“Voice lessons with Robyn are the highlight of my week! She is a truly supportive, caring and an incredibly knowledgeable voice teacher with a poet's heart and hence a mastery over song interpretation. I find my sessions with her to be filled not only with interesting, much helpful, technical workouts but also with the exploration of the stories and characters and human emotions, while duly pausing to appreciate the beauty of the images that are painted for us in the songs we sing.”
— SRINATH
