Heather Baker

Heather Baker is a Contemporary Voice Teacher based in the North of England. She is a Founding Director of the Institute for Vocal Advancement (IVA) and an IVA Ambassador teacher delivering training to voice teachers globally.

Heather has continuously studied the art and science of voice-teaching and vocal pedagogy since 2001 attending ongoing training with organisations like IVA, BVA, AOTOS, NATS, VASTA and VSC. In 2024 she received an MA with distinction in Vocal Pedagogy through the University of Wales (Trinity St. David). 

Heather has presented at a variety of Singing, Voice and Music conferences including IVACON in California (2014, 2015 and 2017), Edinburgh (2015 and 2024), Vienna (2019) and online (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023); The Music Education Solutions Conference (2022); VASTA, Mexico (2023), AOTOS (2024) and ISME Conference, Finland (2024). Her research interests include the Cognitive and Neuroscience of Singing, pitch problems, gestures to enhance the voice, and general vocal pedagogy. In 2019 she delivered a TEDx Talk on the Joy of Singing. She also co-hosts the Vocal Advancement Podcast and has travelled extensively delivering training in vocal technique.

Heather’s client list in her private teaching includes gigging musicians, musical theatre performers, songwriters, signed artists, cabaret performers and voice teachers. She also runs a contemporary choir company, Cheshire Pop Choirs, which encourages adults to experience the joy of group singing. She has taught in performing arts institutes in Malta, Israel and the UK and was a lead voice lecturer on the music course at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Insitute for Performing Arts (LIPA) for 2 years.

Heather has a love of singing, a passion for voice and an enthusiasm for sharing knowledge. Her larger-than-life personality, intuitive nature and keen understanding of the voice make her an incredibly effective and personable teacher.