About CHRIS NOLAN
Chris is a specialist in functional voice training, working across both spoken and sung voice. He began his career in Singapore and the UK as a keys player and accompanist before moving into voice teaching, eventually becoming Head of Singing & Music at Mountview Academy UK, one of Europe’s leading conservatoires for Music Theatre training. Returning to Australia, Chris took the position of Coordinating Lecturer in Spoken Voice and Singing at the Victorian College of Arts. Chris has taught and guest lectured at other leading institutions including NIDA, the Royal Scottish Conservatoire, LAMDA, and the Royal Academy of Music. He often prepares actors for vocally demanding roles, (recently including leads in Beetlejuice, The Book of Mormon, Beauty & the Beast, Pretty Woman, Anastasia).
Chris holds a Master’s degree in the Practice of Voice and Singing from the Guildford School of Acting, and has undertaken graduate research on training dancers to sing. His professional development includes an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance, Estill Figure Proficiency certification, Vocal Health First Aid, and a current Graduate Certificate in Neuroscience and Education. He is also among the first certified Singing Athlete Trainers in Australia.
Chris’s broad skill set and evidence-based approach allow him to move seamlessly between spoken and sung voice work, tailoring his methods to the unique demands of each performer.
About Chris’s Teaching
My teaching is evidence-informed - I think it’s important to be up to date on the latest voice research and teaching approaches, so I’m not just relying on ‘how things have always been done’ when I’m working with students.
My teaching is holistic - I don’t just shine a spotlight on the voice/larynx when teaching - I consider the whole system. Our voices sit at the centre of a lot of processes in the body - breathing, swallowing, talking - and it would be weird to not consider how those interact with our singing. In a singing lesson it is not unusual for students to be using weights or resistance bands, doing aerobic exercise, working on peripheral vision, or stretching out the tongue!
My teaching is student-centred - which for me means that those first two dot points are used to facilitate your goals and what sounds you want to play with. Because of that, lessons are always a back and forth conversation, to establish and refine what makes you feel good as a singer, and what sounds you want to work towards, and we go from there!