My name is Alexis. I am a singer-songwriter and a compassionate, warm-hearted and joyful teacher. I am here to support your voice and your expression.
Vocal Experience
I have 25 years of vocal experience in opera, musical theatre, jazz, pop, rock, folk, classical Indian and some world indigenous music traditions. I also have decades of experience with songwriting and musical composition. I have been through losing my voice and rehabilitating it. I have also been through reclaiming the power of my voice and my creativity after trauma. My teaching methods incorporate all this experience, as well as my genuine love and respect for all people.
Discovering your voice, whether it’s through befriending the mechanics of your own body as you sing a song you already know, or through choosing the words and melodies that express your own unique heart, is a journey home. Finding my voice is a continual process of discovering what has been here for me, all along. It is finding my center, my foundation, my body, my heart, my breath, my support, my authority, my guidance, my joy, my truth, myself. I believe that our voices have the potential to heal and transform ourselves and others. I believe that by finding our voices, we bring more precision, beauty, empowerment, flow and freedom to all that we do.
Projects and Other Experience
I am currently working on an album of my own special songs (with my band, Pama). I am also working on some personal video projects that celebrate the rhythms of nature.
Other sound-related experience includes studying theory, composition, digital sound synthesis, digital processing, 3d sound composition, and algorithmic composition at the University of Washington. Along with using my voice, I enjoy playing piano, guitar, trumpet, Native American flute, various drums and have quite the extensive rattle collection. When I was younger, I had the opportunity to study with the classical composer John Adams at the California Institute of the Arts, receiving the California State Scholar for the Arts award for both vocal performance and musical composition. I also have contributed voiceover work to local ad campaigns.
In addition, I am a video artist and filmmaker, with local and international showings and awards for my work, including the international Barbara Aronofsky Latham Award for an Emerging Experimental Video Artist, awarded at the Anne Arbor Film Festival, as well as 1st place in the international Charlatan Ink Art Festival. I have done various kinds of video work, including for business, art, documentaries, presentations, video games and music videos.
In the past, I have worked in software development, where I focused primarily on iOS development and game development, including working on virtual environments for healing and for educational purposes, and setting up an interactive virtual reality installation at the Seattle Science Center. I have a personal love for math, science and engineering. I also have a blackbelt in Taekwondo, and in younger years, competed locally and internationally.
I have always loved working with students of all ages. In addition to teaching music, I have been an assistant instructor for adults and children in Taekwondo, and was an assistant teacher for ESL students from elementary school and high school. My work with educational virtual reality installations required a lot of focused interaction with children, as well, which was wonderful.
All of this experience has influenced who I am and how I am able to use my voice.
Personal Healing Path
My personal spiritual path is one of hope, truth, respect, charity, love, faith, healing, prayer and song. It is my honor to humbly learn from and respectfully follow the traditional wisdom and teachings that have been passed down with care and love from those who came before us.
I continue to learn to listen even more deeply to the teachings from our elders and ancestors, and from the indigenous cultures who come from the land we live on. I continue to learn to listen even more deeply to mother nature; to her rhythms and cycles and songs and sounds and wisdom. And I continue to learn to listen even more deeply to my own heart and spirit; to listen to my own inner voice, to express it, and to encourage the same in others. I believe in the sacredness of this life on earth. I believe in the transformational power of our voices.
For some people, finding their voice is a purely technical journey. For others, it is also an emotional and spiritual journey. However it unfolds for you is perfect. I am here to support you in reclaiming the power of your voice in the ways that work best for you.
And I believe that no matter what, life and learning goes better with a sense of humor and lots of laughter.
Thank You!
Singing, songwriting and vocal healing are the pleasures of my life. It is a deep joy to be a guide and witness to another person finding, trusting and LOVING their full, empowered voice. Love your song!
