Trainer Profile

Born and brought up in Scotland, Eleanor Forbes completed a degree in German studies at Aberdeen University before attending the Royal College of Music in London to study singing. There she attended the opera school and won several prizes. She also took part in masterclasses and courses given by Elisabeth Grümmer, Peter Pears, John Shirley-Quirk and Gérard Souzay. Her performing experience is wide and varied, covering several vocal genres. She also gained experience as a voice-over speaker for Deutsche Welle TV. and narrates audio guides for museums. She has been based in Germany since 1986. Her long teaching career has involved work with jazz, pop and musical theatre singers as well as classical, and many of her students have developed successful careers.  A former board member of the German Voice Teachers’ Association (BDG) and currently secretary of the European Voice Teachers Association (EVTA), she is also a qualified teacher (EMT) of Estill Voice Training and has been a regular member of the jury panel for Jugend musiziert, Germany’s young musicians’ competition. Eleanor currently holds an honorary professorship from the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin, where she teaches a class in vocal technique in the Jazz Institute Berlin. From 2007-2019 she also taught at the University of Music in Dresden and was a vocal tutor at Stage Entertainment’s Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg from 2011-2016. She has presented at conferences in Germany and abroad and is in demand as vocal coach to experienced professional singers, due to her extensive knowledge of healthy vocal function. Eleanor Forbes studierte zunächst Germanistik in Aberdeen und Zürich, anschließend Gesang am Royal College of Music. Zahlreiche Auftritte als Opern- und Konzertsängerin mit einem breitgefächerten, Repertoire gehören zu ihrer Bühnenerfahrung. Seit über 30 Jahren unterrichtet sie genreübergreifend, und viele ihrer SchülerInnen haben erfolgreiche Karrieren entwickelt. Sie ist Mitglied im Bundesverband Deutscher Gesangspädagogen (BDG), Vorstandsmitglied des European Voice Teachers Association (EVTA), akkreditierte Lehrerin (EMT) von Estill Voice Training und Mitglied des English Choir Berlin. Als freischaffende Gesangspädagogin unterrichtet sie privat und im Jazz-Institut Berlin, wo sie seit 2010 Honorarprofessorin ist. 2007-2019 hatte sie einen Lehrauftrag in der HfM Carl Maria von Weber Dresden, 2011-16 auch an der Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg. Ihr Hauptinteresse liegt in der Verbreitung von Wissen über gesunde, genreübergreifende Gesangstechnik.