Danielle E. TakeLessons Instructor Voice, Songwriting New York, NY

Danielle has been singing her whole life.  Since her first memory of sitting in front of the piano with her father, she knew music was what she wanted to spend her life doing.

Growing up, Danielle was always involved with different musical endeavors.  She started singing in her church choir and later began performing in musical theatre.  While in high school, she started studying voice privately and joined her school choir and was accepted to be a part of the All-State choir in her senior year.

After graduating high school, Danielle attended Western Connecticut State University to study classical voice; but after getting involved with the jazz program, decided she wanted to pursue her jazz studies and moved to New York City to attend The New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music.  There, Danielle was able to study with jazz greats such as Sheila Jordan, Bobby Sanabria, Andy Milne, Reggie Workman, and Dena DeRose-to name a few.  She further continued to immerse herself in musical groups of various genres including Afro-Cuban, R&B, world, and standards ensembles.

After graduating from The New School in 2006 with a B.F.A. in Vocal Performance, Danielle began to teach private lessons out of her apartment on the Upper West Side and was also Musical Director for “Fantasy Girl”, a play featured in the 2006 NYC Fringe Festival, and “Waking Kya”, a play performed for the non-profit organization Sisters Geographic, which benefits women and children living with AIDS in Darfur. 

As a teacher, Danielle likes to focus on control, technique, range & repertoire expansion, and helping her students to find their own, unique voice.  She enjoys teaching in all genres from jazz to musical theatre to pop, and whatever special interests her students have.

Danielle currently performs around the city with her own group as well as singing backup vocals for other bands.  She recently released her first EP of seven original songs and has been working on writing more music for a full-length album.

I like to work on whatever my students concerns are.  As a teacher, my focus is on improving my students range, control, presence, and confidence.  I like to work in all genres of music whether it's musical theatre, classical repertoire, jazz, and R&B.  I feel it's important to be versatile in many genres if you're goal is to become a working singer.  And if your goal is to have fun and learn how to be a better singer, learning to sing in different genres can open you up to new musical experiences.  

I will not force you to sing in a specific way but will help you to find your voice so that it's distinctly YOU when you sing!

My degree is in jazz but I also have classical training and musical theatre experience

Voice, Songwriting