Mission Statement

I was first drawn into classical music while playing video games as a child. It was amazing to me how sound, when artfully composed, could evoke emotion, immerse you in another world, or put you in someone else’s shoes. Music has such a power to heal, such a power to transport the weary soul and forget worldly woes, if even for a moment. It allows us to process our hurt, and gain closure within ourselves. Music also gives us the ability to express immense joy and wild passion. This is why I chose to be a musician.

Achieving performance excellence takes immense dedication and disciplined practice. We must consider ourselves athletes if we are to treat our bodies properly and take our craft seriously. Consider how opera vocalists are able to fill large opera halls with such clear, rich, beautiful tone. There is a concerted power, and yet agile ease, in the body that must be found to produce sound to cut through an orchestra’s sound like that. Opera performance may not be everyone’s end goal, but the same principles that go into that singing can apply to casual karaoke, if one so desired. That being said, I truly believe everyone has the ability to sing. Singing takes three things; technique, ear training, and musicianship. All can be taught. Some of these components come easier to some than others, and some are further along this journey than others, but all can be taught. If you are someone who believes they are “tone deaf” or cannot sing, I dare you to come prove yourself wrong. You will undoubtedly thank yourself for the effort!

My goal is to aid my students in progressing toward their singing goals, be they to have a better singing voice for karaoke, or to prepare for music festivals, exams, or auditions. But above all, my goal for my students is to have fun expressing themselves, no matter what level they sing at. We have voices first and foremost to communicate; to laugh, to weep, to cheer. We use our voices when with other people. Singing with others has also been scientifically proven to be good for your health! It is my hope that my students can take what they learn in my studio and be able to express their soul’s joy, and sadness, and bring people together to experience that magic.

“Without music, life would be a mistake.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Biography

Grayson Nesbitt is young professional hailing from the National Capital Region. While Grayson has only been studying music seriously for the past decade, he has been singing in church settings and in performance contexts since he was 3 years old. Grayson began his formal education at the University of Ottawa under Laurence Ewashko. In his third year of study, Grayson was awarded the Anna-Maria Brancker Schubert Award for excellence in Schubert lied performance. Grayson attributes this award to the way Laurence Ewashko pushed him to have crisp diction, and more importantly, to tell a story every time he sang.  Grayson completed his Masters degree in Music Literature and Vocal Performance at the University of Western Ontario in 2018. While there, he studied under Jackalyn Short who pushed him to be even more expressive and find vocal ease through communicating emotion. While at UWO, Grayson was awarded the 2017 London Opera Guild Excellence Scholarship and Chinese Canadian National Council – London Chapter Music Prize. Grayson has performed a variety of roles from different musical periods from Baroque to Contemporary, but some highlights include: Goro in Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Frederic in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, and Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.

Grayson has always felt that clean diction while singing is of the utmost importance. He believes that communication and expression of text while singing is paramount because if the audience doesn’t receive the communicated text, then he has failed to do his job as a story teller. Being able to immerse people in a performance and make them truly believe in the characters he portrays is Grayson’s greatest passion and sincerest desire for his audiences.

This will be Grayson’s third year with the Bytown School of Singing and he is excited to continue growing and teaching with the Bytown family.