I am an early-career music therapist with nearly thirty years’ experience in one-to-one singing tuition, music teaching, and performance. I have a life-long passion for music, and a more recent deep interest in the therapeutic uses of music.

I started my interest in music early, being lucky enough to have a piano teacher aunt and an extended family with an interest in music. I learned piano as a child, then later learnt singing in high school, which fostered my ongoing interest in education and music. After school I studied school music teaching through a Bachelor of Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium, then worked in high schools as a casual and music teacher for a decade. Alongside this I performed and continued to learn with music groups including opera groups and choirs. I returned to complete a Diploma of Opera at the Sydney Conservatorium, then worked with Opera Australia for a year performing opera in schools. This was a great learning experience: I found I preferred being on the people side of things in teaching and development, so I started teaching singing privately.

I’ve taught singing and music skills for over twenty years over a wide range of ages, music styles, and student needs. I love to work with students to guide them to a greater understanding of their voices, and even themselves, to help them grow as singers, whatever their level. However, I found over this time that students often had needs greater than I could serve with my teaching education. I became aware of music therapy and learned that it was an area that interested me greatly, being a more scientifically grounded and intentional approach, that uses music as a therapeutic tool.

I am in the early stages of my professional development in the field of Creative Music Therapy, where my lifelong passion of goal-based singing tuition is being informed and refined by evidenced based research into therapeutically centred musical activities. I am deeply committed to assisting people in working towards their physical, social, cognitive, and emotional potentials. Having completed my Master of Creative Music Therapy recently, I am excited to commence serving the local community within the long-established and nurturing environment of Da Capo Music Therapy Services.

Rebecca’s qualifications: Master of Creative Music Therapy (WSU), Neurological Music Therapist, Bachelor of Music Education (SCM / USyd), Diploma of Music (SCM / USyd), Registered Music Therapist (AMTA)