Mary Bourne

My name is Mary Bourne, and I can remember singing all of my life: from childhood skipping games to school concerts, amateur dramatic companies and adult choirs; singing my children to sleep, singing with preschoolers and babies whilst working for a national music franchise and singing purely for myself.  More recently, my passion for singing has encouraged me to be part of the Natural Voice Practitioner Network (NVPN) as a music leader for adults and children in Kingston-upon-Thames and surrounding communities since July 2008.

In other cultures singing is an everyday part of life, a way of bringing communities together.  For thousands of years, all over the world, people have sung without worrying about having a ‘good’ voice or ‘getting it right’. My style of teaching is inclusive of everyone regardless of their musical background.  There are no notes to read and no solos to sing - all songs are taught by listening and ‘singing it back’.

Whether you choose to sing once a day, once a week or once a month you will reap the rewards. Singing raises self esteem and confidence. It is great for team building and friendships.  Singing can reduce blood pressure and boost the immune system, alleviate feelings of isolation, anxiety and depression.  Singing is a natural thing to do and indeed most of us made sing – song sounds before we could talk. Somewhere along the journey, it may have been suggested that ‘you can’t sing’ or that you were’ out of tune’ and thus have lost the confidence to sing.

My aim is to help those who have become slightly fearful of singing whilst also offering those who sing regularly to indulge their passion through a varied repertoire amidst a friendly atmosphere. I love nothing more than seeing the smiles on people’s faces as they begin to relax and start singing again.

Partnerships – schools, INSET days and Challenging circumstances

Jean Buck is a classically trained musician (ALCM, ATCL violin/viola) and is an experienced and qualifed class music teacher. She has taught music to all age groups from nursery to A level.  In the past she has worked as a peripatetic violin teacher and run children’s choirs and chamber groups for local authority music departments. She continues to sing and perform with local music groups, choirs and orchestras and has experience of performing and teaching music abroad as well.  She is a trustee of the music charity, Musequality.

Mary and Jean work together offering a great team approach for schools. Having met and co mentored on the Sing up ‘let’s reflect’ programme, we continue to share our music skills and ideas.  Please contact us to discuss how we can best help your school, or go to the schools tab for more information.