“Prior to my studies at Berklee College of Music, I was fortunate enough to have taken private vocal lessons from a few different instructors over the years. Connie, being one of them, is such a wonderful, insightful teacher, who cultivated an open environment that fostered the vulnerability necessary to really dig deep into my flaws and weaknesses as a vocalist. I had a few goals from my lessons with her, that I stated upfront: I wanted to become a better sight reader, have better control over my registers (and a smoother transition between them), and become relatively fluent and versatile across genres. I had spent some time studying popular music so we used our time to study Italian arias, musical theatre, and jazz tunes. She helped me to understand points of tension in my range as well as bad habits and tendencies concerning diphthong, scooping into notes, lack of breath support, etc. Despite the emphasis on constructive criticism, she constantly gave compliments and was always encouraging. Not only did I leave her lessons feeling stronger as a musician, but more connected to my instrument, and more confident as well. I still employ warm-ups and techniques she taught me when I tour and perform my original music! Thanks for everything Connie!” -Brandon
Instagram: @iray_bran
www.crichfieldmusic.com
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/brandon-crichfield
“I had zero vocal training before working with Connie and I’m glad I found her. She was patient, flexible, and effective in her teaching style. She helped me with the material I was excited about. I had goals of increasing my range, tone consistency, and support, all of which improved greatly. Years later, I still remember her warm ups and analogies whenever I’m recording or singing on stage.” – Ethan
“I’ve known/worked with Connie (then ‘Ms. Hong’, my choir teacher) since I was 12 years old. Eight years later, as an actress/singer who is starting to work professionally, I have her to thank for giving me a strong foundation for my training. I started studying privately with Connie at 14 years old, mostly practicing Musical Theatre. However, we went on to look at other genres such as Pop and Jazz. We’d even work on monologues from time to time. We’d practice sight-singing at every lesson; she’s definitely the reason I got into All-State choir my first year auditioning. As a young artist and singer, she used techniques that were comprehensive for my age, and always safe. Going on to work with many other voice teachers, there have been some who have pushed my voice and I’d go home with pain in my cords, so it’s nice to have a teacher you can trust with your voice, who always checks in to make sure everything feels good. I highly recommend Connie, especially students who are just starting out, and are perhaps a bit apprehensive about singing. I don’t even know if I’d be going into this profession if I hadn’t met/worked with Connie!” – Tessa Elyse
“Taking voice lessons from Ms. Hong was probably the best experience and exposure to different genres and singing styles that I could get. Not only did I get the opportunity to be exposed to song styles I didn’t even know I’d end up loving, I was also able to feel more confident as a singer. My main problem when singing is my lack of breath support, but Ms. Hong and I tried different techniques to get the sound out, things I wouldn’t have thought of but were wholly effective (such as laying over chairs to keep consistent breath support). My favorite style ended up being jazz and there were times that I just wasn’t confident in either my tone or technique, but through each lesson with Ms. Hong I was made a more confident and better musician overall.” – Courtney Marshall