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Grace Newberry has a passion for storytelling; sharing emotional journeys with one another through music and finding freedom through artistic expression. As a new South Pasadena resident, Newberry is bringing that passion to music students at Green Brooms Music Academy.
A life in the arts came early and naturally for Newberry, practically by osmosis, having grown up with a trained opera singer father, a mother who was a dancer and four siblings making careers in the visual and performing arts. She tells us, “I have been deeply inspired by all the arts and began formal voice and dance lessons at age 13.” Dance had the spotlight through high school but a very special college mentor led her to fully embrace her true love for singing. “She saw something special in me,” she says, “and encouraged me to take classical voice lessons.” It was the catalyst that led her to Oberlin Conservatory of Music and graduate school at University of Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music.
Throughout her studies, Newberry performed professionally for Wolf Trap Opera, Arizona Opera, Opera Birmingham and Cincinnati Opera. Grace has also performed as a jazz and cabaret singer. Most notably she performed the complete cabaret songs of William Bolcom with a group of 5 women at the Neue Galerie in New York City. She now teaches while continuing to perform and says, “I am loving the opportunity to nourish a community of rising musicians and artists as their teacher and mentor.” Her passion for singing and teaching springs from an ever-questioning mind and desire to learn. “The voice is unique for many reasons,” she says, “mainly because it is a window to the deepest parts of us.”
Newberry loves being a part of the South Pasadena community and being a part of Green Brooms is a dream come true for the artist that she says is a real honor. “The Green Brooms community is rich in talent and dedication and strives to serves its students with musical integrity while also creating a fun and exciting learning environment,” she explains, “I feel very fortunate to be teaching amongst such incredible colleagues and to have students that are driven, talented and ready to learn.”
Creating a safe and imaginative space for her students to explore what makes their voice unique is her deepest desire for each of them, she explains, “my approach to the voice is very holistic and rooted in body awareness. I have an extensive background in dance that has helped me understand my own body and those of my students; as a singer, the body is our instrument.”
It is a goal of Newberry’s to help foster a deep love and a vivid passion for music for each of her students and fun fact: Grace loves to dance and has recently fallen in love with Salsa Dance! You can catch her on the dance floor or practicing in the dance studio in her free time!
Grace Newberry is currently teaching both voice and piano at Green Brooms Music Academy with availability on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The academy offers a range of lessons including voice, drums, guitar, bass, ukulele, violin, viola, cello, banjo songwriting and music theory.
All ages and experience levels are welcome!
Located at 803 Fremont Avenue in South Pasadena. For information call 626.808.4031 or visit www.greenbrooms.com
