Sonnie Sitz

As an award winning vocal instructor, pedagogue and performer with a Master's Degree in Music I am passionate about helping students achieve their goals and grow as musicians, all while having fun! (Because music HAS to be fun). 

I graduated from the University of Pretoria with distinction and academic honors for my Bachelor degree of Music, specializing in music education, music therapy and singing. In the same year I started her Master’s of Musicology degree and received a bursary to study music education in Finland for six months. During this time I specialized in music education, music therapy and indigenous music. In 2016 I was part of a team that compiled music textbooks for the South African CAPS (Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements)  for grades 10-12.

Throughout my career I have performed as a soloist at various events and in 2017 I was part of the opera La Traviata. In 2019 I was the alto soloist for Handel’s Messiah a concert presented by the Pietermaritzburg Amateurs Music Society. I have has been a voice teacher for the past 16 years. I specialize in classical and pop singing as well as in musical theater, piano technique and choral conducting. During my studies I attended choral conducting and vocal master classes with Michael Barrett, Cameron Labarr , Rita Varonen and Mimi Coertse. I have also worked alongside conductors such as Charlotte Botha and Tobias Stuckelberger. I spent 2018 as the new boy conductor and singing teacher at the internationally renowned Drakensberg Boys Choir School.

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. - Albert Einstein

I a firm believer that the most important thing about taking lessons is having fun and enjoying what you do whilst learning in the process. My personal philosophy is that everyone can sing and create music and, in my years of teaching, have not been proven wrong. I have had more than a 800 private students, many of which have entered external exams presented by The Associated Board of the Royals Schools of Music (ABRSM), Trinity College London (TCL), Rock Schools and Trinity Rock and Pop. Most of the students achieved an 80-90% aggregate for these exams.

I was trained in the Italian teaching method for classical voice lessons, however, I am also familiar with the French and German schools. Myapproach is to focus on vocal health, which involves proper breathing techniques, posture, tone production, tone projection, interpretation of the music, performance etiquette and music literacy. In both piano and vocal lessons I aim for an all-round education so that students are able to read, write and interpret music. The most important aspect in my teaching is style is for the student, regardless of age, to enjoy what they do and to express themselves while they learn.