About Nicola

Teacher and Director

Director of the Embodima School and originator of the evidence-based motor training system for singers in training, Nicola is a multi-facetted practitioner with extensive cross-disciplinary training and a deep skill set across singing, language, performance, medicine, anatomy and body-based practice. As well as music, she has literary and medical backgrounds and is an expert pedagogue with both PGCE, PCE and an MA in Education. She teaches in London and globally online.

Nicola has had a fantastic teaching career working with some truly great singers and performers in her private studio and as a Retained Lecturer at Oxford University (Pembroke College). She was the vocal coach at Billy Elliot the Musical for 10 years (Leeds and London). and has been the vocal coach at Oxford Brookes University, at Sheffield University, at Westminster College of Education and at Brasenose College and Exeter College choirs, training and developing a large number of choral scholars. She also runs a successful private studio.

She has run courses for lecturers in speech, language, presentation and performance skills, mentored and trained speakers in a variety of languages, and was the Oxford Summer Schools lecturer in speech and presentation. She has lectured and workshopped at numerous festivals in the UK and abroad (Oxford May Music, Three Choirs Festival, EVTA, AOTOS, ICTV & many more) and presented her research at voice conferences nationally and internationally.

Performer

As a pro singer and scriptwriter, Nicola has written and directed a number of touring shows and is an Art Council-funded performer and multi-genre singer. Find out more at: https://nicolaharrisonperformance.co.uk/

Students

Her students continue to win international prizes, scholarships, and have won Olivier Awards, MBE and BEM awards, performed at the Royal Variety show, had Oscar nominations, toured the world, and sung in a private audience with the late Queen. Some are now starring actors and actresses with major film careers. She has worked in senior schools, community groups such as the WEA, University of Sheffield and Further and Higher Ed (Oxford). She has also worked in the public and private sector with young professional singers, adults, the elderly, students with extreme learning difficulties or with dyslexia, dyspraxia and ASD. She has a thriving teaching practice and teaches in London and globally online. Find out more at: https://nicolaharrison.co.uk/

Writing

Nicola has written two books about poetry and music for singers – The Wordsmith’s Guide: Poetry, Music and Imagination. For many years she was a columnist in The Singer and Classical Music magazines. As a former journalist she wrote for other music-related media such as British Music magazine, BBC History magazine, and a variety of newspapers, journals, BBC and local radio.

Nicola co-wrote the anatomy book ‘A Singer’s Guide to the Larynx’ with Dr Alan Watson and, after 12 years’ testing, research and study, she produced the Embodima workbook.

Academic

Nicola has degrees from Oxford University, an MA in English Literature and PGCE, PCE and MA in Education. She also has a BSc in Nursing at Westminster Hospital, specialism ENT, Voice Clinic. She has had multiple cross genre trainings spanning 3 decades and been trained and mentored by the very top vocal teachers and anatomists in the country.

She has won a number of scholarships, most notably a singing scholarship to study with mezzo, Pam Bowden at LCM, a Major County Award from the City of London and the prestigious Wolfson Prize for Academic excellence. Her finals results have been among the highest in the UK.

Embodima

Embodima began in 2011 when Nicola started researching the anatomical connections between voice and body in the hugely physical act of singing. Curious to find a way of activating muscle coordinations that are not under our conscious control, she began a research programme that looked at the neuroscience of singing at UCH, then dug deep into functional anatomy with Dr Alan Watson at Cardiff University, with long periods spent in the human dissection labs, looking at the shape and direction of muscles, and in the brain labs discussing and setting up ways to test muscle activity in singers.

Preliminary work with the Embodima visual cues and gestures was piloted by the world–leading choir Cantamus, volunteers from Schola Cantorum and other Oxford University choirs. Some of these choirs also provided subjects for the preliminary tests at UCH, with volunteers from ENO, and later RWCMD.

From here, Nicola went on to the full scientific testing of Embodima, working with neuroscientists and anatomists Dr Alan Watson, Professor Damon Hoad, with input from Professors John Stein and John Rothwell.