Study with Shiri
Find your authentic voice, learn to improvise, and make a song truly yours
Maybe you can't read music yet and theory feels like a foreign language. Or maybe you have years of classical training but feel lost when it comes to jazz and improvisation. Either way, you might feel like everyone else in the room knows something you don't. Here's the thing: your ear is already musical. Your body already knows rhythm. You just need someone to show you how to trust what you already have and build from there.
I work with singers who want to experience more freedom and effortlessness in their singing, who wish to improvise, make songs their own, and feel confident performing. Whatever your background, we'll work on getting out of your head, into your body, and finding your authentic voice. Yours. And not by imitating anyone else.
Schedule a free consultation call today to find out more!
PRIVATE VOICE INSTRUCTION
One-on-One Voice Packages
Available both online and in-person
Eliminate vocal strain and develop your authentic artistry through integrated vocal technique, jazz improvisation, and somatic awareness. You'll learn to groove naturally, improvise confidently, and be respected as a real musician—not just a singer with a "pretty voice."
This approach is for you if you:
• are transitioning from classical or other genres into jazz and feeling lost • are a music student who can't access jazz vocal training at your institution • cannot read music and struggle with improvisation and scat singing as a result • experience vocal strain or tension and want a sustainable, free technique • want to develop YOUR authentic voice rather than imitate Ella Fitzgerald
In your private sessions, you will:
• learn rhythm and form FIRST—the missing foundation that helps you groove naturally instead of sounding square • integrate technique and improvisation from day one (no more "fix your voice first, then improvise later") • use body-based, somatic learning to get out of your head and into felt experience • work with someone who has lived the classical-to-jazz transition herself and knows exactly where you're struggling
Package Options:
Contact Shiri for pricing and payment plan options
Robin Package
4 lessons (60 minutes each)
Ideal for students wanting to try the approach before committing long-term. Includes initial assessment, 4 lessons, personalized practice plan, and 4 weeks of email support.
Bluebird Package
12 lessons (60 minutes each) over 3 months. Includes comprehensive vocal assessment, custom practice materials, periodic email/text support between sessions, and progress check-ins.
Chaffinch Package
24 lessons (60 minutes each) over 6 months. Everything in Core Package, custom backing tracks for practice, and priority scheduling. For serious students committed to deep transformation.
Perhaps you’re here because you:
are trained but don’t feel like a jazz singer yet • know the theory but have trouble hearing chord progressions in real time • are switching genres but you’re afraid to improvise by ear • are tired of endless vocal drills that feel tedious and don't translate to real life singing
With the Robin package, you will:
embody and audiate common chord progressions in jazz • create your own original "on the spot" melodies within many different jazz standards • develop a solid technique to express yourself freely through your entire range • use actual songs and YOUR desired repertoire
Perhaps you’re here because you:
want to lead a band • want to learn to scat • want to learn to improvise • want to be a better musician as well as a better singer
With the Bluebird package, you will:
put together your own repertoire book and prepare for auditions, jam sessions, and gigs • understand jazz theory and learn basic keyboard skills to continue your own education • discover your original voice and construct new, authentic ideas • break through the barrier of only being able to "sing what's on the page" and find joy and liberation through improvisation
Perhaps you’re here because you:
feel your sense of rhythm is stiff or non-groovy compared to jazz idioms • you’ve wasted years practicing the wrong way • you’ve invested time and money in training that hasn’t helped you improvise • you experience vocal strain, fatigue, and an inability to sing freely through your range
With the Chaffinch package, you will:
get into your body and feel a groove, find your rhythmic coordination, and really swing • learn an unintimidating, step-by-step method for exposing the ear to the language of jazz and improvisation • get out of your head, and out of your own way, to let your body and brain create the most effortless path to singing and performing • develop a positive relationship to your practice and gain confidence in your performance
Group Workshop
Rhythm Embodiment for Jazz Vocalists
Upcoming workshop dates to be announced
Stop sounding square. Learn to embody jazz rhythm physically—through mindful movement, breath, and somatic awareness—so when you improvise, it grooves naturally. This intensive workshop addresses the rhythmic foundation most jazz vocal training completely overlooks.
In this workshop, you will:
• develop whole self-awareness through mindfulness and somatic practices, recognizing that your body is your instrument • practice rhythm embodiment by integrating meditation, breath, and movement with and without voice • understand jazz form and structure so you can navigate improvisation confidently instead of feeling lost • eliminate the "square" sound that keeps you from grooving with the band • develop the direct ear-to-voice connection you need for spontaneous improvisation • break through self-consciousness and perfectionism using extended vocal techniques • build self-reflective practices that deepen your awareness and expression
This workshop is perfect for you if you:
are just starting to explore improvisation •have a hard time feeling the groove in your body •freeze during solo sections •or want to be respected as a real musician—not just a "pretty voice."
Finding Your Authentic Jazz Voice
Upcoming workshop dates to be announced
Stop imitating legendary vocalists and discover YOUR unique artistic voice within the jazz tradition. Learn to access your own authentic expression through improvisation, interpretation, and embodied practice.
In this workshop, you will:
• develop your own personal phrasing and interpretation (not copying what you've heard) • approach improvisation as self-expression rather than a technical exercise • integrate vocal technique with emotional truth so you sound authentic, not mechanical • build confidence performing with instrumentalists who actually respect you • cultivate genuine presence and connection with your audience
This workshop is perfect for you if you:
feel disconnected from your performances •seek deeper artistic expression beyond hitting the right notes •are ready to move beyond imitation toward your genuine creative voice
Custom Workshops for Institutions
Bring these workshops to your university, jazz program, or music institution. Topics can be tailored to your students' specific needs and challenges.
Available formats include half-day workshops, full-day intensives, and multi-day residencies. Each engagement includes pre-workshop consultation, customized curriculum, all materials, and follow-up resources.
What People Are Saying
As a student and vocalist striving to study jazz, Shiri helped further my knowledge and improve my vocal technique, as she was patient and extremely knowledgeable. Together, we worked on different singing techniques, warm-ups, and a variety of different jazz tunes. Shiri took a very personal approach to teaching, as she was also very helpful with helping me to maintain healthy singing habits.
Shiri has a friendly, thoughtful, and informed approach to teaching, and I was able to take so much away from my lessons with her.
— Grace, undergraduate college student, music major
I’ve been a professional singer for over twenty years and frequently sing throughout the Capital Region and Tri-State Area. Occasionally, I’ll stop by Shiri’s studio for a vocal ‘tune-up’, or if I have challenging repertoire to prepare. Shiri’s methodology and pedagogical approach is refreshing and immensely effective, especially when compared to a lifetime of traditional vocal instruction.
The lessons I’ve had with her focused on somatic connection, and understanding the body as the whole instrument, which I feel is sometimes forgotten in traditional instruction. Through her approach to breathwork, resonance focus, and full body connection, I was able to feel and hear a tremendous difference in how I was producing sound even after one lesson.
I highly recommend Shiri to singers of any style and at any stage of their development.
— Matthew, professional singer
I’ve been singing since I was very young, but Shiri helped me connect with my voice on a physical level that had previously escaped me. It had been a long time since my last vocal lesson, and she reminded me just how much good a quality teacher can do. She creates a calm, respectful, and engaging environment in her lessons, and always gives thorough and sound reasoning for what she has students do. She is patient, helpful, and responsive to her students’ goals, interests, shortcomings, and strengths. She helped me a great deal, and I would absolutely recommend her to any prospective students!
— Rimmele, undergraduate college student, music major
ABOUT SHIRI
With 30 years of professional performance experience and a Master's degree in Voice Pedagogy in progress (May 2027) with the Voice Study Centre in England, Shiri brings both deep artistic experience and pedagogical expertise to her teaching.
A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with a Bachelor's degree in Classical Vocal Performance, Shiri made the transformative journey from classical training to jazz performance—navigating every challenge you're facing right now.
In 2023, DownBeat Magazine featured Shiri in a full-page article, highlighting her debut album, Into Another Land. Since then, she has released a second highly acclaimed album, Looking for the Light, and performs regularly throughout the Northeast, bringing her unique voice to concert stages and jazz venues.
Her specialized focus on jazz vocal and improvisation—particularly rhythm embodiment and form—addresses the gap most singers experience when transitioning from other genres or developing improvisational skills. She teaches what most voice instructors leave out: how to feel rhythm in the body, understand song structure, and improvise with your authentic voice rather than imitating what you've heard.
Her teaching draws from somatic approaches, including Feldenkrais-inspired movement work, mindfulness practices, neuroscience and compassion-based frameworks.
Informed by navigating her own journey from classical training to jazz performance, Shiri creates a safe and judgment-free space where you can explore, take risks, and grow without perfectionism or self-criticism blocking your artistic development. She offers both empathy for the challenges of transition and proven methodologies for transformation, cultivating an environment where technical growth and artistic discovery happen simultaneously—where you learn to trust your body, your ears, and your authentic expression.