Taiwo K. TakeLessons Instructor Voice, Dance, Beginning Music Theory Picardy Ave. South, Oakland, CA

Taiwo is a professor, entrepreneur and professional singer and dancer.  A former professor on the music faculty at Berkeley City College, Taiwo taught choir and music history. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance, a Master of Business Administration in marketing, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Vocal Performance. Taiwo has performed professionally for 20 years both singing and dancing. Taiwo arranges African American Spirituals and lectures on their development, correct historical context and the coding found within.  She is also a founding member of two dance companies: N’soromma African Drummers and Dancers (Prairie View, Texas) and Lyric Dance Ensemble (Oakland, California). Taiwo’s professional experience includes teaching, copy-editing and writing. She is currently both co-owner and business manager of Osun 07 Fashions, an apparel manufacturing company out of Oakland, California. Taiwo's professional associations include membership in the California Association of Professional Music Teachers and the National Composer's Forum.

In lessons with me, students can expect to focus and improve on music that is of interest to them. Students will be expected to come in with either music, or a genre, of their choosing that we can work on together. I will assign exercises and songs that will assist students in strengthening weak areas such as vocal technique, stage movement, intonation, and so on. Since I am a professional dancer as well, students that dance as well as sing will especially benefit from the opportunity to receive coaching in both performance areas at once.  

I am laid back, and like to really listen to students to identify areas that can be improved. After 3 to 6 months, students will have learned good stage presence, interpretive ability, tone placement and solid breath control and support. Overall, students will learn what it takes to have a commanding presence on stage. 

I specialize in Classical voice, Spirituals and West African Dance
voice - Classical, R&B and Jazz
dance - Jazz, Lyrical, Liturgical, West African, Stepping
Beginning Music Theory
Ear Training

Voice, Dance, Beginning Music Theory