About Yiwen
Yiwen specializes in voice, ear training, music theory, and Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) exam preparation. She guides her students to pay attention to their bodies, fostering healthy singing habits and vocal freedom. Fluent in both English and Mandarin, Yiwen offers lessons in both languages upon request. Her extensive musical education includes a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Queen’s University, where she explored various musical genres and performance opportunities. Yiwen's teaching philosophy emphasizes fostering a supportive and positive learning environment, where students can explore their musical potential with joy and confidence. Book an interview with Yiwen now for online or in-home lessons!
BOOK AN INTERVIEW WITH YIWEN NOW
My education in music, mostly in singing, has made me a firm believer in the idea that every individual is unique and has their own unique potential. Just as each person has a different personality, each singer as an individual has their own strengths and weaknesses, and the distinctive quality of individual voice sets one singer apart from another. A healthy vocal technique serves as a crucial foundation for vocal music-making and should come prior to anything else. Once a good technical foundation is established, I then dig deeper into musical interpretation. I introduce interpretative tools and ideas, such as the usage of dynamic markings or word painting, and explore those with students briefly in lessons, but especially for beginners, the basic technical is what I focus on the most. I also dedicate myself to guiding my students and helping them to pay close attention to what’s happening in their own bodies, not only their vocal cords, so they can maintain healthy habits and sing with vocal freedom. On top of learning the songs, I strive to help students release any tension in their singing so they may sing as freely and beautifully as they possibly can. Students are more than welcome to email me any questions that come up in their own practices between lessons, too. I cheer students up, especially younger students, with positive comments constantly so as to enhance the motivation for music-making while working on details and give students confidence when they get to perform on stage! After all, I value the potential of each singer and concentrate on helping them discover their own capabilities and grow as individual artists. EVERYONE has the ability to sing beautifully! I am so excited to make music with my students, guiding them to healthy habits of singing and giving constructive feedback.
Name: Yiwen (Full name will be provided upon registration)
Age: 26
Gender: female
I am a classically trained mezzo-soprano who obtained a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Queen’s University. Under the guidance of a number of musical experts, I worked on vocal technique and interpretation in Classical vocal music, ranging from the Baroque period to the 20th century, as well as in Musical Theatre. As a student, I consistently sought out opportunities for involvement in various musical communities, performances, and ensembles. I was a part of the university Opera, Musical Theatre, Choral and Chamber Ensembles where I had a lot of fun working on and performing music in each category. I also joined the cathedral choirs of St. George’s Cathedral and St. Mary’s Cathedral successively where I had chances to practice singing sacred music in liturgical settings. My education at Queen's University enhanced my love of Classical singing, so much so that I proceeded to pursue opportunities for performance and musical growth after graduation. I continued to work on solo repertoire and choral singing in concert and sacred settings. I have basic knowledge of the Royal Conservatory of Music Exams; with my teacher who also adjudicates exams, I am currently working towards completing my Voice Exams, aiming at completing the Level 10 Exam within the next 5 years and eventually finishing in higher levels. I was a part of Coro Spirito (the adult Women's Choir) of the Cantabile Choirs of Kingston for 3 years. I am still a member of the St. Mary’s Cathedral choir to this date. I have also developed interests in conducting and music directing. After studying conducting during my studies at Queen’s University and afterwards privately in Kingston, I successfully music-directed and co-vocal-directed “Footloose, the Musical” and vocal-directed "Happy Days, a new musical" with Blue Canoe Production Inc.
I held a Choral Scholarship at St. George's Cathedral from 2016 to 2018 when I was a part of the Cathedral choir. I was also one of the semi-finalists of the Baroque Idol Competition in 2016 hosted by Melos Choirs and Period Instruments. Not much yet but More to come !
Coming from China, I feel blessed to be able to learn a completely different language than my mother tongue, Mandarin, and to be able to complete my post-secondary education in such a lovely country as Canada. While my main language of teaching is English, I do offer to teach in Mandarin if there is any request. My earliest music education traces back to when I was 3-years-old when I started to take piano lessons with an instructor who was a former student from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music; and in elementary school when I first joined a children’s choir. I was just doing those things for fun, but I am glad that I was able to start my music education back then alongside the heavy domestic Chinese education that I had to complete. Who would have thought back when I was a kid that I would go ahead and pursue a degree in music? The one thing I know was that my singing experiences enriched my life as a student. My favourite events at school included music courses, choral competitions and art and music festivals. I sometimes was discouraged by my class-teachers who stopped me from attending any of those. My teachers back then cared more about how I was doing academically than my singing, which was considered by them as my “hobby.” While my teachers thought I should be focusing on my schoolwork and focusing on boosting my marks on exams, I felt a need for music in my life so I still went for all the music courses and competitions and impressed my teachers by how I was singing. Things started to turn around in high-school, when I had teachers who saw my artistic abilities and encouraged me to follow my passion. Having that in mind, I went ahead to take voice lessons and continue my music education until now when I am pursuing music as a professional career.
English
Mandarin
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
Yiwen is available to teach in your home if you are located in the following areas
Online lessons
Yiwen 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.