Singing teacher from India meets tutor for the first time in-person on graduation day
Anupa Paul who was able to study the entirety of her MA Voice Pedagogy course from the comfort of her home in Chennai, India celebrated her achievement with friends and family at the 2023 graduation ceremony at University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s Carmarthen campus.
Anupa, who has been a singing teacher for over 10 years, was delighted to have found UWTSD’s MA Professional Practice – Voice Pedagogy programme after searching all over for an accredited course relating to her career.
She said: “Though I was already a singing teacher and had completed a number of short courses to help me in my career, I had lots of unanswered questions - I wanted to become a better teacher and serve my students well.
When I came across MA Voice Pedagogy which allowed me to pursue my own questions and areas of interest, I knew it was the right course for me – and the fact that I could do it all from Indian was perfect!”
MA Professional Practice – Voice Pedagogy which is accredited by UWTSD’s Wales Academy for Professional Practice and Applied Research (WAPPAR) for the Voice Study Centre is delivered fully online and enables professionals such as singing teachers, choral directors and speech and language therapists to apply theory to practice within the broad field of Voice Pedagogy.
Since completing her degree in 2022, Anupa has added a number of accomplishments and experiences to her CV including presenting research that she undertook as a part of her studies on the Master’s course at the Association of Teachers of Singing (AOTOS) conference in London, Singing for Health Network’s online conference, plus she will be presenting at this year’s International Symposium on Performance Science (ISPS) in Warsaw.
Her research on music performance anxiety in singers is something that was personal and important for her to explore, and was another driving force behind wanting to study the course.
“When I had anxiety myself as a singer, the advice I was given was to take deep breaths and to think happy thoughts, but this didn’t always work for me. I could see my own students having the same problems as I had experienced, and I knew I wanted to do something about this – I felt obliged to.
The exemplary tutelage and mentoring that I received during my course ensured that my research was conducted in a thorough and professional manner and this has given me the confidence to present my research to different audiences including singing teachers, researchers and health professionals.”
Anupa was finally able to meet and thank the tutor, who she praises, face-to-face at her graduation ceremony which was held at UWTSD’s Carmarthen campus on 3rd June, 2023.
Debbie Winter, Managing Director of Voice Study Centre and Anupa’s tutor on the MA Voice Pedagogy course said:
“It was wonderful to meet Anupa for the first time face-to-face. I supervised her for three years from India on zoom. We went through the Pandemic together and India suffered very badly during the crisis. She just kept going and it was incredible to see her blossom and come into her own. Anupa achieved a Distinction and she has been buzzing around all over Europe presenting her work on Music Performance Anxiety at a range of prestigious conferences. She’s really owning her work, her future and is a real inspiration for our International students. I cannot wait to see where she goes next.”
Anupa continues to teach and coach groups plus individuals, and looks forward to an exciting future:
“Finally having an accredited degree has given me the confidence to explore things I would never have considered before. It has opened doors for me, particularly in Europe where I plan to move to work at the end of the year.”
Further Information
Mared Anthony
Communications and PR Officer: Alumni Relations
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: mared.anthony@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: +447482256996