Deb Rogers says Queanbeyan has a keen audience of kids looking to move into professional performing – and she’s there to teach them what they need to know. Photo: Jo Bowden Bloom Photography.
They say experience is the best teacher, and Deb Rogers has plenty.
The opera singer and teacher has performed for Australian and international audiences, including alongside Michael Bublé, but she has now turned her attention to teaching full-time in southeast NSW.
“Teaching singing is something that I’ve done for a very long time – no matter where I’ve lived,” she said.
“I’ve taught not just in schools, but in my own private studio and at the university level.”
While she was looking for a new spot to call home, a town close to the NSW-ACT border came up: Queanbeyan.
“My husband and I were living in Sydney until earlier this year, and we were wanting to find a bit more space in our lives and get out of the city,” she said.
“I was looking at regional areas because I have a real interest in musical education within regional and rural areas, and the significant lack of that there is.
“A music teaching position came up at Queanbeyan High, and I thought, ‘Let’s move and do this.'”
In June, she started to also offer professional coaching for aspiring singers from her home in the Queanbeyan suburb of Crestwood.
Ms Rogers said professional performers needed to build strong musical literacy if they wanted a career in the field.
“The reality is that singers have done a ridiculous amount of work before they’ve even been seen on stage,” she said.
“There is a standard that they start at [when studying music and performance] at a tertiary level that is a non-negotiable for any study post high school.
“You have to be able to communicate in musical terms to the people that you are working with so that they can communicate back to you.”
Ms Rogers teaches her students how best to manage their bodies (and their voices) so they can sing at their best – all while working alongside other performers, performing choreography, and moving in costumes.
“We tend to think that singing is just two little vocal cords in our throat that function independently of everything else in the body. This is the mistake,” she said.
“It’s a very complex instrument because we’re not talking about an instrument that’s outside of us.
“We’re talking about biology, and biology is ever-changing.
“When you’re having to navigate something that’s never consistent, that has its own challenges, it really does require someone who understands that.”
While some may feel like they don’t have the confidence to take to the stage in front of an audience, Ms Rogers said the skills were worth developing.
“It doesn’t matter what field you’re in, you’re still going to get nervous,” she said.
“But when you know how to manage those nerves, your focus goes elsewhere and it [nervousness] becomes less all-consuming.
“Those are the skills you gain in performing arts.”
Since making the move to the regional town, Ms Rogers has come to appreciate the strong performing arts scene in southeast NSW.
“I’m originally from Brisbane, but there is a regional hub called Toowoomba and performing arts is a massive part of the community – Queanbeyan is very much the same,” she said.
“You’ve got the Q Theatre [Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre] which is fantastic. You’ve got a dance school being run by performers who have gone over and done things in the States.
“To have that kind of access and support for the arts is really cool – you don’t see that everywhere.”
The singing studio is located within Ms Rogers’ home in Crestwood, Queanbeyan. Those interested in finding out more or booking lessons can contact her through Facebook.
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