Vocal Coaching

In person at The Voice Lab Studios in Ōtepoti, Dunedin

Rock / Pop / Musical Theatre / Folk / Jazz / Classical / Songwriter

 

Private Sessions

The Voice Lab nz Studios is comprised of nine private voice coaches. Most of our coaches specialise in CCM (Commercial Contemporary Music) styles of singing, including Musical Theatre, Pop/Rock, Folk and Jazz. A few of our coaches teach Classical singing styles; have a look at their bios below for more information. We work with singers of all skill levels and ages, and no prior experience is necessary.

Prices for private sessions depend on the length of the session and the coach. Please contact us for more information.

 

Group Sessions

Group sessions are held at our Ōtepoti studio for school-aged children. Please get in contact to check the current group sessions.

 

Our Team

Kelly Hocking

Principal Voice Teacher, Vocal Technician, Teacher Trainer - NZ Wide

Kelly Hocking trained in acting, voice and dance at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles where she studied singing with the late Tony Award winner, John Peck.

In New Zealand, Kelly has performed in productions for The Fortune Theatre in Dunedin, The Court Theatre in Christchurch, Musical Theatre Dunedin, Taieri Musical Society, North Shore Musical Society in Auckland and in national touring productions. Musical Theatre credits include “Kate/Lucy” in Avenue Q, “Ellen” in Miss Saigon, “Roxie Hart” in Chicago, “Sally Bowles” in Cabaret, “Mrs. Banks” in Mary Poppins, “The Baker’s Wife” in Into The Woods, "Diva" in Priscila Queen of the Desert and "Glinda" in Wicked. Kelly has performed as a lead vocalist with groups including The Oxo Cubans, St Kilda Brass, La Forza and The Divas.

Kelly was the first recipient of the full Level 3 certification in Applied Vocal Pedagogy and Voice Science from AtlasVoice. In 2014, she completed a course in Somatic Voicework©, The LoVetri Method, which is dedicated to CCM (non-classical) styles of singing. Kelly is a mentor for voice teachers all over New Zealand and has a special interest in vocal health. She also works with professional actors, presenters and other voice professionals to expand their voices in a sustainable way.

Beth Waite 

Senior Coach and Studio Manager- Ōtepoti

Beth Waite trained in Musical Theatre Voice at the University of Otago. She went on to receive a Master of Arts with Distinction in Theatre Studies, focusing on revisionist feminist intervention adaptation theory with the creation and performance of a one-woman show about Wendy Darling from J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.

 

Alongside teaching, her work ranges from performance, coaching, directing and producing around Ōtepoti. Performance credits include The First Time, Chicago, I Love You - You’re Perfect - Now Change, and Ovation, for which she was nominated for an Otago Southland Theatre Award. She was selected as an Emerging Professional for Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School in 2014 and 2018, where she received instruction from a robust international teaching staff, including Andrea Burns and Jonathan Groff. Directing credits include Women Like Us (Little Scorpion), Now. Here. This. (Arcade Theatre Company) and Footloose (St. Hilda’s Collegiate). She was also the Vocal Director for Highlights, a celebration of Musical Theatre in collaboration with Musical Theatre Dunedin, Taieri Musical Society and Showbiz Dunedin.

 

She has achieved her Level 1 certification in Applied Vocal Pedagogy and Voice Science from Atlas Voice. In 2020, Beth completed Level 1 in Somatic Voicework, The Lovetri Method. She also participated in Anti-Racist Theatre (A.R.T.): A Foundational course and also holds a Mental Health First Aid Certificate from St. John's.

 

Beth is passionate about creating a safe teaching space for all ages, with particular consideration for neurodivergent students and alternative learning styles. She has a special interest in musical theatre repertoire selection. 

 

 

 

Anna Langford 

Senior Coach - Ōtepoti

Anna has recently returned to The Voice Lab NZ after a year away performing in Mamma Mia! onboard Allure of the Seas for Royal Caribbean. During this time, she joined a very short list of women worldwide who have played all three Dynamos (Donna, Tanya and Rosie) professionally.

Anna has spent many years studying and performing musical theatre and voice both in NZ (BA, Otago University) and in the U.K., where she gained her Post Graduate Diploma in Musical Theatre, studying under Paul Sabey at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London. She is known to Otepoti audiences for her roles as Elphaba in Wicked, Eponine in Les Miserables, Diva in Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Kate Shephard in That Bloody Woman.

 

Anna has taught at The Voice Lab since its formation in 2018. She specialises in coaching CCM (Commercial Contemporary Music) styles, including Musical Theatre, Pop and Rock, with an emphasis on both technique and performance. She has completed her Level 1 and 2 TOSCA certification with an emphasis on Voice Science and Applied Vocal Pedagogy. Anna's clients have reached performing success both locally and internationally. She currently has clients in many international productions, including Wicked (UK Tour) and Mamma Mia! (West End), Moulin Rouge (Germany) and Saturday Night Fever (Royal Caribbean).

 

Anna is available to take on pupils of all levels and is committed to helping clients reach their vocal goals whilst furthering their vocal development and education.

Toni Lenore 

Senior Coach - Ōtepoti

Toni Lenore began singing at the age of six and instantly fell in love with performing arts. She has been heavily involved in the local musical theatre scene, performing in Taieri Musical shows such as Ovation! (2018), and Mary Poppins (2017). A highlight of Toni’s acting career was performing in the four-person play Now. Here. This. directed by Beth Waite for Arcade in 2020. She graduated with a Bachelor of Performing Arts in 2016 before going on to complete a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education, allowing her to share her passion for performing arts with the next generation of performers. Toni Lenore is currently working as a Music and Drama teacher at Bayfield High School, and she is excited to be back teaching at the Voice Lab.

Chelsea McRae

Vocal Coach - Ōtepoti

Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Performing Art (Music Theatre) from the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art and previously completed Grade 5 ABRSM Music Theory (Merit) and papers in Certificate and Adult Tertiary Teaching (UCOL). She has spent time working in Sydney TVC, represented by Lee Leslie Management and training with Estill trainer Peter Bodnar.

 

Previous theatre credits include original work Bachelor Party, Cathy Hiatt - The Last Five Years, Kirsty Knight - Shortland Street the Musical, Holly Sullivan - The Wedding Singer, Candy - Working, Bridget - Ragtime, Bea - The Collective, That Bloody Woman, The Skriker, Othello, A Comedy of Errors, The Wizard of Oz, Hazel Kirk and Grease.

 

Currently, Chelsea works at the University of Otago and is completing her postgraduate studies in Theatre. Her special interests include working with students in Musical Theatre to help them achieve their singing and acting goals.

Erin Connelly-Whyte 

Vocal Coach - Ōtepoti

Jay Bailey

Vocal Coach- Ōtepoti

Jay has a Bachelor of Arts and Science majoring in Music and Psychology, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours, First Class) in Music. Through his degree he studied contemporary voice and vocal pedagogy with Arlie McCormick and Dr Tessa Romano. His honours thesis was an autoethnographic case study of his vocal transition on gender-affirming testosterone therapy, particularly analysing its technical, psychological, and emotional impacts on him as a singer.

Although they grew up in a musical family in Porirua, Jay truly fell in love with singing after joining their highschool barbershop chorus bass section. Under the direction of David Brooks, ACBC won the national Young Singers In Harmony women’s category four times during Jay’s time at school. Jay also competed nationally in two YWIH quartets (Noteworthy, 1st Place 2017; SEEK, 3rd Place 2018) and a mixed quartet (Mixed Messages, 2nd Place 2018). 

Despite intending to return to barbershop for several years now, Jay has recently been distracted by local musical theatre. His musical theatre debut was with Pop-Up Productions in Spring Awakening in the role of Ernst, and he has since appeared in MTD’s Firebringer (Ducker/Nikolai) and Taieri Musical’s Footloose (Garvin/Ensemble).

Jay is looking forward to launching their career in teaching voice and is open to working with a range of adult/adolescent students on CCM repertoire including pop and musical theatre. They are particularly interested in creating an affirming space for LGBTQIA+ and transgender singers.

Lexie Tomlinson 

Vocal Coach - Ōtepoti

Born in Dunedin, Lexie Tomlinson has been performing in the local scene since 2019 and holds a Bachelor's of Performing Arts from the University of Otago. In 2025, she began her teaching career at Big Rock Primary School, specialising in performance, guitar, singing, and music theory. She has performed in shows such as Jersey Boys, Spring Awakening (Wendla),  and Footloose (Rusty). Lexie strives to create a safe and encouraging environment. Whether you have never had lessons before and want to work on pitch and confidence, or have been singing all your life and want to work on performance, details and how to refine your voice. She provides a space of knowledge, fun and encouragement for all.

Lexie teaches Musical Theatre Voice and Contemporary Voice and is open to all ages and genders.

Charlotte McKay 

Vocal Coach- Ōtepoti

Charlotte’s experience as a vocal practitioner has covered many musical genres and taken her around Australasia and beyond. Her formative vocal experiences came from classical music, specifically opera and choral work. After being part of several Youth choirs and Opera programs, Charlotte studied Performance Music at Victoria University, gaining a degree in Performance Music (Voice). During this time, Charlotte also worked in the NZOpera chorus, and was a member Sings Harry, a vocal ensemble dedicated to performing vocal works for 8 parts with only 8 voices. With this group, Charlotte recorded several original New Zealand compositions and toured the country with Chamber Music NZ. Charlotte has wound her way back to music theatre, a genre that gave her first theatre experiences as a child.

Charlotte is a familiar face to Dunedin audiences appearing on stage in various roles and productions. Favourites have included Rizzo in Grease: The Arena Spectacular, Mary in Jersey Boys, and Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar. Charlotte also works as an actor for Trickster Ltd creating a variety of characters in an improvisational style.

Charlotte has previously taught voice privately in Dunedin, and had her first taste of musical directorship as the Assistant Musical Director for Taieri Musical’s production of The Sound of Music. Subsequently she was the Vocal Coach for Musical Theatre Dunedin’s production of Wicked. While musicianship is very dear to her heart, Charlotte believes that communication and storytelling are at the heart of effective singing and hopes to convert her students to the same idea!

Rong Zhang 

Vocal Coach- Ōtepoti

Rong Zhang is a third-year doctoral candidate in Vocal Music at the University of Otago, supervised by Dr. Tessa Romano, Blair Professor Terence Dennis, and Associate Professor Jennifer Cattermole. Her doctoral research, “The Localization of Bel Canto in Chinese National Vocal Music Through the Lens of Coloratura Soprano,” investigates the intersection of Western operatic technique and Chinese vocal traditions.

After completing a Master’s degree in Vocal Music Performance at Yunnan Arts University in 2019, Zhang gained three years of teaching experience as a vocal instructor at Yunnan University of Economics and Management in China, as well as at several music training institutions. She also holds formal teaching qualifications for both universities and high schools in China. In addition to institutional teaching, she founded and directed the West-to-East Art Training Institute, where she managed faculty, curriculum, and student development for intensive residential programs in music theory and vocal studies. Following her graduate studies, she also undertook two years of training in popular singing, further broadening her stylistic range and pedagogical expertise.

Over 15 years of vocal study, Zhang has achieved multiple provincial-level first prizes in China. Since commencing her doctoral studies in New Zealand, she has earned some awards in vocal competitions, including seven first prizes across different classes in the Dunedin Vocal Competition, and a second prize in the Christchurch Competitions Society.

Zhang is dedicated to vocal pedagogy and performance. Her long-term goal is to contribute as an outstanding university music educator and opera performer, bringing a cross-cultural perspective to vocal training and performance practice.