Shannon Holmes Voice

Shannon Holmes Voice Dr. Shannon Holmes is a voice-centred artist, scholar, performer and vocal coach based in Regina, Saskatchewan.

“I work 1:1 with business professionals and performers who want a stronger, more influential voice—reach out if you’re ready to begin. 💫

Follow me on Instagram: shannon.holmes.voice With over 30 years of experience, she has performed and presented her research throughout Canada, the US, the UK and Europe and mentored students who have gone on to perform on Broadway, London’s West End, and major stages across Canada and North America.

The most powerful voices I’ve worked with weren’t trying to become someone else, they were discovering how to sound more...
06/16/2026

The most powerful voices I’ve worked with weren’t trying to become someone else, they were discovering how to sound more like themselves. ✨

Too many of us think we need to take on an alternate persona or develop some “voice of authority” to be taken seriously.

But the research says otherwise.

Audiences are moved and inspired by authenticity.

We’re all craving connection above anything else and the real work is about letting go of the mental, physical, and vocal habits we’ve built to protect ourselves from being vulnerable.

This past year, my clients have:

→ Spoken up with more confidence
→Walked into audition rooms they had once feared
→Tackled roles they once thought they were not qualified for
→ Navigated fear in corporate spaces
→ Shown up more powerfully as entrepreneurs and creators
→ Built sustainable practices connecting body, breath, mindset, and voice

None of this was about “performing” confidence or changing their voice to match some perfect aesthetic of what they thought they *should* sound like.

It was about claiming their true vocal identity and becoming the best version of themselves.

As one client put it:

💬 “I’ve gained such a respect for the power of my voice.”

✨Remember; your voice carries everything about you; your history, your values, your way of being in the world.✨

Who you are and how you authentically express yourself isn’t something to overcome but everything to reveal.🙌

AND, (most importantly) it’s your greatest strength. 🙏

✉️. I have 2 openings for 1:1 coaching (in person or on Zoom) this July.

If you’ve been thinking about investing in your voice, this is your invitation.😊

🔗DM or see link in bio to book a Connection Call

David Hockney the influential (and recently departed) painter, stage designer and photographer famously held to the phil...
06/15/2026

David Hockney the influential (and recently departed) painter, stage designer and photographer famously held to the philosophy that true, inspired creativity is not an accident, but the result of rigorous preparation, deep knowledge and mastery of one’s craft. From my experience in voice, this absolutely holds true.

I do not believe in “too much rehearsal.” That doesn’t mean there isn’t a point where you stop rehearsing and get up on stage, however, I do believe we cannot ever be over-prepared. Inflexible, perhaps. Unwilling to take further creative risks, maybe. But over-prepared? Never.

We can only feel brave enough to take big, bold creative risks — to be spontaneous and in the moment — when the mechanics of our vocal expression are so integrated that we are no longer fixated on them and when we can let go of worrying about whether we’ll remember our lines, or whether we’re “doing it right.”

Despite what some may think, preparation builds our capacity to be free and spontaneous in performance.

It opens up possibilities; it doesn’t get in the way of them.💫

If you are interested in learning how to better prepare, let’s chat! I har 2 summer 1:1 coaching spots available in July.
DM and let’s chat! ⭐️

[Vocal Coaching Actor Training Voice Executive Presence Public Speaking Personal Development Business Communication Voice Coach Leadership Development Professional Growth]

06/12/2026

Great art makes profound connections. It makes us feel seen, heard and often, understood.🙏

The B side to Kate Bush’s album The Hounds of Love is a seven part conceptual suite or song cycle called The Ninth Wave which tells the story of a woman swept overboard into a dark, cold sea and it describes her struggle to survive—I was absolutely obsessed with it as a young person, it was THAT album that I played on repeat, sitting in my room, alone, with the liner note on my lap. I never even considered that anyone else was listening to it. There were other albums that I would listen to with friends but not this one. This was mine.

So, what an interesting sensation to experience 41(!!!) years later, such possessive feelings about The Ninth Wave. It really reminds me of how intimately we engage with music and perhaps even more deeply with singers sharing stories with their voices, the most vulnerable of instruments.

To the folks doing “The Ninth Wave” at the Montreal Fringe thank you for sharing this work (the concept for the show looks incredible). Here’s hoping your audience feels seen, heard and understood the way that I did all those years ago listening to that B-side.

Has a song/book/play/piece of art ever made you feel it was speaking directly to you and only you?✨

06/08/2026

Adapting a beginner’s mind and releasing myself from the pressure to always know how to do something has truly been a game changer in my vocal practice.⭐️

Coming from a classical voice background where mastery of a technique was always the goal, I have found that by giving myself grace (when it comes to the pressure of mastery) and allowing myself to explore with a bit of childlike wonder has truly allowed me to find freedom with my voice.

I now try to approach each day’s practice with a spirit of curiosity instead of control.✨

Spending the weekend at the conference “Raise Your Voice” this past weekend- where I shared the room with not only some of Canada‘s leading voice experts and practitioners, but also emerging artists, students and voice-curious voice folks was the the most perfect space for me to practice “beginners mind”.

What a joy it was to be led by, to learn from, and to share space with all these extraordinary people. 🙏

I leave feeling inspired and humbled all at once.

06/04/2026

My vocal practice has been anything but “typical” and in many ways I would say there have been many “derailments” along the way. 🚂

Most notably, the opera singer track that I had so earnestly committed to as a teen began to show signs of derailment when, in my 20’s I started to question the rigidity of my training, the expectations that I sound a certain way, the inflexibility I faced when wanting to explore expression that was not deemed aesthetically pleasing.

These questions and curiosities led me in my 30’s, 40’s and beyond to my research, my graduate studies, my professor position, the art I make... thank goodness I did not resist derailing and insist on staying on that original track.

I continue to follow the impulse to derail, change course, discover new and uncharted paths. ✨

My work in speech for performers, and the work I am doing with public speaking, came from an impulse to derail a lot of the “advice” out there that I felt was not honouring a more honest and authentic form of vocal expression.🙏

To be honest, I think we should all be aiming to be “derailed women.” 😉

I mean, if you don’t go off the rails, explore what is off the beaten path, how are you ever going to discover something new?🙌

06/01/2026

Vocal development isn’t just about working on skills like volume, diction, or even confidence and “stage presence”.

It is also about learning how to be grounded enough to speak the truth of any given moment.

To stay centred when the unexpected happens and deal with whatever is happening in the moment.

To feel as if you can speak not only with confidence and power, but with integrity.

I didn’t get that “dream job” (for which I am, of course, now grateful) but I did learn a huge lesson; the work I do as a vocal coach, teacher and researcher, goes beyond the mere technical aspects of speech and leans way into showing up as an integrated, whole being who feels empowered to speak the truth, no matter the situation and what is at stake. 💪

When I returned home after the interview, I told my family about how I had l lied—telling the committee I had 3 kids instead of 6, and one of my sons responded “Well, who made the cut?” 😆

As funny as his remark was, it’s a little sobering to think that I felt fearful enough to compromise myself in that moment.

And I am also reminded that sometimes speaking your truth has nothing to do with answering the question being asked. 🙏

[Vocal Coaching Actor Training Voice Executive Presence Public Speaking Personal Development Business Communication Voice Coach Leadership Development Professional Growth]

05/22/2026

“Summer” (I put that word in quotations because I suppose technically we’re almost there, but I’m in Saskatchewan so…😆) is typically a time I carve out space to plan for the upcoming academic year- but, also a time to take stock of what has been nourishing me creatively over the last year and what I would like to let go of. ☀️

I use the time to dream and scheme new projects but also to take a hard look at the systems and rituals I have in place. Are they working? Or is it time to build something new.

Here’s three books that are guiding me.📚

What books or resources get your creative juices flowing or that help clarify and activate your goals? ✨

vocalcoach

05/14/2026

Has anyone ever commented on your voice? Suggested something was wrong with it? Maybe it was dressed up as feedback. Maybe it sounded like advice. But what they were actually saying is: the voice that has carried you through your entire life needs to be fixed.

Well I’m here to tell you– that is not true.
Only YOU get to decide if something needs to change. And more importantly: who the change is actually for.

Feedback is essential in our vocal journey because we physically hear our voice differently internally than what our listener hears BUT before you rush to label your voice problematic (after receiving some unsolicited advice) ask yourself, do I trust this person’s opinion? Are they credible?

And most importantly; am I compelled to work on my voice for myself, or for them?

That’s the only question that matters.🙏

I talk more about this in my monthly newsletter “Voice Note” .

🔗Link in bio to subscribe.

This is a slide from the Virtual Masterclass “Your Voice IS Your Message” that I gave last Friday.I was a bit frazzled g...
05/11/2026

This is a slide from the Virtual Masterclass “Your Voice IS Your Message” that I gave last Friday.

I was a bit frazzled going into it and I have to admit, when I opened the Zoom room and people started showing up, I was a wee bit nervous. I was fiddling with my slides and couldn’t get my screen to share. I was very aware that people were waiting for me to start. And lo and behold, that old familiar “Negative Nancy” voice in my brain starting to say things like “they’re going to see you don’t know what you’re doing!” “Could you be any more unprofessional?” “What’s wrong with you?!”

But fortunately… just as quickly as that voice appeared, my practice kicked in, I was able to tune it out and make a decision, to ditch the slides and focus on making contact with the fabulous humans who have shown up to be with me.

In that moment, I stopped worrying about myself and what my audience might be thinking about ME and turned my attention to where it should be when communicating— to the listeners.

I talk and teach about the importance of presence over perfection all the time, and yet, I still face the same struggle from to time and THAT’s why we practice.

You know, despite the technical glitches, It might have been my favourite online teaching/sharing knowledge experience to date… such an engaged Zoom room! And like what Dr. Maya Angelou said in the quote I shared (verbally because my slides weren’t working, remember!🤣) I so remember how I felt during those 45-mins. Present and connected. 🙏

I also ao appreciate the messages I received afterwards from several of the attendees letting me know that they also felt “it”.

Connection over perfection for the win. 💫

[Vocal Coaching Voice Executive Presence Public Speaking Personal Development Business Communication Voice Coach Leadership Development Professional Growth]

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