Carol Westcott

For the past 25 years Carol Westcott has devoted herself to educating the next generation of singers. An expert in teaching adolescent and young adult singers, she is equally skilled at teaching classical and contemporary vocalists. Her classically trained students have attended prestigious schools such as Peabody Conservatory, and Manhattan School of Music. Due to the high demand for competent teachers of contemporary vocal technique, Carol has spent her career becoming qualified in teaching contemporary vocalists of all styles. Beyond vocal technique, Carol has an extensive knowledge of the repertoire associated with contemporary singing. She is known for helping students find the perfect musical theatre audition songs. Her knowledge of rock and pop from the 50's to present is unsurpassed. She is also well versed in Jazz, R&B, Gospel and Country. As a performer, Carol has sung styles as diverse as rock and opera. She performed leading roles with regional opera companies, as well as the Baltimore Opera, Opera Vivente, and soloist with Handel Choir. She was in several bands, most recently, RadManWest. She also performs traditional Irish music while accompanying herself on the Celtic Harp. She is an accomplished pianist, guitarist and songwriter.

Her students have appeared on Broadway and National Television. She was the vocal coach for Episode 8 of the Netflix series, House of Cards. She arranged songs and coached actors, Kevin Spacey, David Andrews, J. C. MacKenzie, and William Hill. Maya Goldman was “Young Fiona” in Shrek on Broadway. Kelly Nealon is appearing as “Belle” in Beauty and the Beast at Hong Kong Disney after several stints on Disney Cruise Lines. Carol was the official voice teacher to the Lion King National Touring Company. She worked with Gilman School graduate, Preston Suan, who was a member of the Dartmouth Aires when they were the runner up in the 2011 season of The Sing Off. Carol also works with numerous rock and pop singers in local and national acts. Her student, Mike Smith was the lead guitarist in the band Limp Bizkit. He is now the lead singer and songwriter in the band Evolver. Carol worked with Jenn Wasner of the national band Wye Oak prior to her 2011-12 world tour. She coached Jenn on a song that she sang on Jimmy Fallon Live in July of 2011.

Numerous students that worked with Carol while in middle school and high school are attending renowned BFA and Vocal Performance programs such as, NYU Tisch, University of Miami, Royal Scottish Academy of Dramatic Arts, University of the Arts, Northwestern University, and Shenandoah Conservatory.

Carol earned both her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Vocal Performance from The Peabody Conservatory. She has additional certifications in teaching contemporary vocal technique. She is a Level III certified teacher of Somatic Voicework ™ The LoVetri Method from Shenandoah Conservatory. She completed the Bel Canto, Can Belto program under the tutelage of Mary Saunders Barton, head of the Musical Theatre Voice Department at Penn State. She traveled to London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts to work with Gillyanne Kayes, author of “Singing and The Actor” and teacher of West End singers. Her latest certification is in Level II Estill Voice Craft.

Carol is a Singing Voice Specialist. This designation qualifies her to work with damaged and injured voices. She receives patient referrals and works closely with the Voice Pathologists and Laryngologists at Johns Hopkins/GBMC Voice Center.

Carol is in demand as a clinician and competition judge. She periodically offers Musical Theatre Audition Workshops assisted by experts in Theatre and Dance.