About Alison
Alison is a versatile music teacher offering online and in-home lessons in singer-songwriter, voice, composition, ear training, harmony, jazz improvisation, and music theory. With a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance from McGill University, she teaches in both English and French. Her rich experience includes performing at the Montreal Jazz Festival and winning a Downbeat Award. Lessons are available online or in-home in areas such as Cote-Saint-Luc, Hampstead, and Montreal.
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Music has provided me with self-expression, identity, and confidence - traits I, personally, could not have found anywhere else. Singing is not only who I am, but it is also what I am. Being able to learn how to use my voice and share that passion with others, has been such a gratifying experience for me. Although singing is at the forefront of my love of music, songwriting is the pathway that gets me there. From growing up and using songwriting as diary entries, to performing heavily arranged compositions in front of a wide range of audiences, writing music will always be such a joy for me to create, and share.
Name: Alison (Full name will be provided upon registration)
Age: 24
Gender: female
I have a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance with a minor in music entrepreneurship from McGill University. Some of my favourite classes included topics covering vocal performance, music theory, composition, and improvisation. I also had the opportunity to perform in a myriad of different ensembles including Jazz orchestra, Jazz choir, and Jazz combo. My experience in these ensembles led me to many special and gratifying experiences, such as performing at Montreal Jazz Festival with McGill Jazz Orchestra I and receiving a Downbeat Award for the Small Ensemble Category with the McGill Jazz Conglomerate. Before my time at McGill, I also obtained a DEC in music from Marianopolis College.
Downbeat 47th Annual Student Music Award Small Ensemble Category – Undergraduate College: The McGill Jazz Conglomerate under the tutelage of Camille Thurman and Darell Green
I have had the pleasure of not only being a bandleader for my own group, but also working as a vocalist for other groups. In doing so, I have been blessed to wear many hats and sing in many genres, a luxury most vocalists unfortunately do not receive as much as their instrumentalist peers. Within these bands, I have played many festivals, but most notably, I sung alongside Dusty Brass Band (R&B/ Fusion) at Montreal Jazz Festival where we played five shows. I also had the pleasure of singing at Montreal Jazz Festival with LeCypherX (R&B /Hip Hop) and McGill Jazz Orchestra I (Jazz). These experiences further enriched my love for performing and better clarified how I can better teach my students on the topics of performance and longevity.
English
French
Rates and Studio Policies
Registration Fee: $25.00 (One-time lifetime registration fee may be used by all family members)
Rates for instruction:
30 minute private lesson: $39.00
45 minute private lesson: $49.00
60 minute private lesson: $59.00
Travel charge: additional $15.00 per visit (for lessons in a client's home as opposed to my studio)
1. Cancellation Policy
Lessons not cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice are billable to the client and payable to the teacher. This does not of course apply to travel fees unless the notice is effectively given at the door and the teacher has travelled to the location.
2. Cessation (quitting) Policy
A client must provide a 2 lesson notice period to stop lessons. So a weekly student needs to give 2 weeks of notice, a biweekly student works out to 3 weeks notice and a twice weekly student works out to a week of notice.
3. Illness Policy
Lessons cancelled due to illness or extraordinary circumstances with less than 24 hours notice remain billable to the client and payable to the teacher.
BAH teachers are encouraged to offer a make-up lesson at a future date in the interest of client relations and general goodwill. This only makes sense as teaching a student with the flu for example, will ruin the rest of your week's employment.
No more than 2 lessons may be made up due to illness within a 60 day period.
4. Rescheduling Policy
Any lesson can be cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice.
Summer Vacation and Extended Absence Policy
Clients may schedule longer absences for trips etc. 24 hours notice is required.
It is normal and typical for students and about 20% of our teachers to schedule a break in the summer. We do not enforce a notice period (see cessation of lessons) at the end of a long summer break.
5. Evaluation Period
There are no free trial lessons with Beethoven at Home but we do offer a 2 lesson evaluation period where it is easy to try out a teacher. There are no free lessons during the evaluation period and clients may choose to discontinue the lessons at any time by providing the required 24 hours notice. After the student's 3rd lesson the required 2 lesson notice period will apply (see cessation of lessons above).
Lessons in your home
Alison is available to teach in your home if you are located in the following areas
Online lessons
Alison can provide online instruction. While other platforms are possible BAH strongly recommends the use of the Zoom video conferencing platform as it is optimized for music lessons and audio quality.