Katarina Nolfe (Founder) – Teaches Pop, Rock, R&B , Singer/Songwriter style
“Teaching in New York City for twelve years, I have had quite a unique experience working with professionals, aspiring pros, amateurs or beginners of all ages, including architects, lawyers, brain surgeons, ambassadors, social workers, pilots and many more. I love the diversity this provides every day and watching the joy which people share with their voices, while strengthening their inner voices. This is why I created Voice Academy NYC.”
Swedish-born Katarina Nolfe studied voice technique, song performance and music theory at New School University, and has worked as a singer, songwriter and vocal coach for the better part of the last two decades. She began performing as a child and through her teen years furthered her professional training, including at Kulturama, one of the most reputable music academies in Sweden.
Privately, Katarina studied voice under the world-renowned voice teachers Dr. William Riley and Don Lawrence (whose collective client base is a who’s who list such as, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, and Usher to name a few).
Prior to founding Voice Academy NYC in 2006, Katarina worked as a singer and songwriter and collaborated in recording studios with various musicians and producers such as Catalyst (Lady Gaga), Stargate (Katy Perry, Rihanna, Selena Gomez) and guitarist Willie Brown Jr (Alicia Keys). While coaching different singers in the studios of NYC, she discovered her gift for showing others the fundamentals of singing.
On September 27, 2017, Rachel Platten (Fight Song) joined Katarina and Rob as a surprise guest vocal coach as they jointly coached eight cancer survivors as part of Ford’s Warriors in Pink, More Good Days Tour. (see more at AMNY.com and CBSNEWS.com)
Take a Listen to Katarina’s voice and songwriting from the Harmony Sky EP
*Originally Written and produced.
Azudi Onyejekwe– Teaches Pop,Rock, R&B, Singer/Songwriter, Originals and Musical Theater
Azudi is a Brooklyn based actor, singer-songwriter and educator. As the last born of six, to two incredible Nigerian born parents who immigrated to America in the 1970’s, infectious melodies, soulful basslines, African diasporic rhythms, and a transnational consciousness have permeated his existence for as long as he can remember, leading to a lifelong love affair with music.
Azudi is an honors graduate from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he double majored in Theatre and Africana Studies, but also trained extensively in voice and music theory. His voice teacher throughout his time at NYU was renowned vocal coach Dr. Pamelia Phillips. As an actor, Azudi has performed in dozens of productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway and at multiple Tony award-winning regional theatres across the country. He is a member of the original Broadway casts of the critically acclaimed Broadway musicals “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” (featuring 4 time Grammy nominee and multi-platinum recording artist Josh Groban) and “Violet” (featuring Grammy nominee and 2 time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster).
As a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Azudi has also performed at venues all around the city including 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, Pete’s Candy Store, The Parkside Lounge, The Shrine in Harlem, and Carnegie Hall. He is currently at work on a debut EP of his original music, to be released in early 2019. He has been a member of the Faculty of Molloy College-CAP21 since the 2015-2016 school year and also teaches acting and vocal performance privately.
Fun Fact: Talented Azudi has performed 300+ in Off-Broadway and 300+ on Broadway! Impressive!
Jonna Christensen – Teaches Pop, R&B, Soul, original music
Jonna is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, dance teacher and a vocal coach from Finland. Jonna has been teaching private voice lessons since 2006 and worked as a dance teacher (commercial, hip hop, jazz, musical theater, latin) in various dance schools since 1996.
Jonna’s music career took of in 2002 when she was selected to be in the first Popstars band in Finland (a reality TV-format which was the inspiration for the Idols franchise). Jonna stayed in the band for only a short time before becoming the first singer and songwriter to combine American R&B sounds with Finnish lyrics and paving the way for a new era of pop music in Finland. Jonna released 3 solo albums with Sony Music, received multiple nominations at the Finnish Music Awards, booming radio play and top hits on the Finnish charts.
Jonna has been a TV host (Voice Out!, TV2), is a three-time Finnish “show dance” champion, has worked as a dancer in 2 different dance companies (StepUp dancers, Cat People show dance company) and she was a Finnish National semifinalist for the Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Puppets” in 2011.
Jonna has performed in musicals such as “Hair“, “Grease” and “Hello Dolly!” and she recorded the theme song for Disney’s Kim Possible in Finnish, among other voice over and studio work that she has done over the years.
Jonna got her Bachelor’s degree in pop and jazz vocal performance from Metropolia University in Helsinki, Finland and she also studied jazz vocals for 1 year at the Royal College of Music (Kungliga Musikhögskolan) in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jonna crowdfunded, produced and released an independent album “Sound Mind” in 2015 and after touring with the album in Europe, she relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. After 2 years in California and touring the west coast, Jonna moved to NYC in 2017. For the past year, she has been performing her music regularly at different music venues in NYC and while continuing to write new music and pursuing her own music career, she is very excited to start teaching voice lessons at the Voice Academy NYC.
Jonna’s over 20 years of experience as a performer gives her a unique set of tools in coaching new talent not only in singing but also in the art of performing.
Emma Larsson – Teaches Jazz and piano (piano accompanist)
I am excited to have joined the amazing team at Voice Academy NYC and to be working with all the wonderfully diverse voices this city brings.
Emma is a vocal coach and singer from Sweden. She holds a Master of Education in Music degree from Pitea school of Music in Sweden, and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Finland. She has also received a Diploma from the Complete Vocal Institute in Copenhagen. She spent seven years in Finland educating future vocalists and vocal coaches at conservatories and colleges.
A strong desire to focus more on her own art as well brought her to New York City, where she’s now part of the jazz scene. As an artist, Emma has released four albums as a leader, and performed around New York city at the Blue Note Jazz Club, Smalls Jazz, Zinc Bar etc, and also Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta as well as a recent tour in Japan.
Since moving to NYC in 2010, Emma has also been developing her piano teaching skills; reconnecting with her roots as she started her musical path playing piano. Being as passionate about making music as coaching new talents, Emma loves working with students; finding their voice and personal expression in music. She’s specializing in jazz and improvisation (scat) and she also loves soul and funk.
Fun fact: Emma loves salsa dancing.
www.emmalarsson.com
Testimonials
Taking classes with Kat was a great experience! She is so patient, calm, and friendly. Kat is so knowledgeable and really cares about you and your future career as a singer, which really inspired me. I felt Kat's love for what she is doing through the lessons, which made the lessons more exciting.I have definitely improved dramatically. Kat taught me so much, from breathing correctly to singing with power to rhythm and dynamics. From the first lesson i took with her, i already gained so much.
Malky - Voice Academy NYC
I learned a lot. Rob is a friendly person so it's easy to be comfortable around him. He fits the vocal exercises to your voice and gradually builds up. He also isn't afraid to push you a little so you reach your full potential. He can also give you songs that fit your voice better. Not only does one learn to sing properly here, they can also learn to build their confidence while singing in front of an audience even if it's just one person. Rob cares about your career as a singer whether it's just a hobby or something you would like to pursue professionally.
Nicole - Voice Academy NYC
I came to New York City from Holland and took a intensive course 3 times a week at Voice Academy. Singing with Kat was really nice and I learned a lot. My head voice is already getting stronger! And also my singing teacher here in Holland thinks I improved! Kat has a great personality, that's also why it is so much fun working with her! Thanks so much,
Cynthia - Voice Academy NYC
Working with Kat has been an amazing experience! She is patient, honest, and she is very kind. She doesn't push you to do anything you're not comfortable with, like showcases. I've been in one showcase so far and it was really nice to learn from other people's performances. I've also had a recording session, which was really fun to do! I would definitely recommend her to anyone who is looking for an amazing and professional vocal coach.
Sarah - Voice Academy NYC
I did a lot of looking around and research before I decided upon taking lessons from Rob at Voice Academy. He was more than willing to sit down with me before we started with the lessons so that I could really see what he was like as a person and teacher and if Voice Academy would be a good fit. It absolutely is and Rob is a fantastic teacher. He is very professional and makes you feel immediately comfortable.
Ted - Voice Academy NYC
Get in Touch
Please contact Voice Academy NYC at any time to find out more about what we do and how we can help you achieve your ambition of professional singing…. So always remember that dreams do come true if you work hard and practice.