Donna-Marie (Lyric Soprano) studied voice privately whilst pursuing a very busy and successful career in Radio and Newspaper Advertising Sales and Sales Management. From 2004 until 2010 Donna-Marie juggled a semi-professional singing career with ‘the day job’ and finally took the plunge to go fully professional in 2010.
She has performed in oratorios, operas and opera galas as a solo artist and with various companies and societies throughout England and Europe and has performed at many exciting venues and events including: The Bahrain Grand Prix, Sandy Park for the Exeter Chiefs, 35,000 football fans at Brighton & Hove Albion’s Amex Football Stadium live on Sky TV, and regular solo classical concerts for Sensatori’s 5* Resorts in Crete, Tenerife and Egypt.
In 2010 a chance meeting with a couple of very persistent and enthusiastic children, encouraged Donna-Marie to branch into teaching singing - prompting an intense self-imposed programme of continued professional development and study (gaining ABRSM Grade 8 Music Theory, Piano and Singing, a DipABRSM in Vocal Teaching, and an LTCL in Voice Recital).
Donna-Marie continues to perform, runs a very busy private singing and piano teaching practice from her music studio in Torquay, and is a Peripatetic Singing & Piano Teacher at the Maynard Independent Girls School in Exeter (since 2016).
A keen interest in research and a thirst for more knowledge lead Donna-Marie to find the Voice Study Centre and in April 2021, she commenced their MA in Voice Pedagogy.
Donna-Marie's MA Voice Pedagogy research focuses on Wind Instrument Playing and the Implications for Singing, Hydration, Voice Science and Acoustics, and The Influence of Hormones and Hormonal Transitions on the Voice.