Interview with the founder of TVS

Coach Hanna shares her Email Interview with the founder of TVS and reflections!

Many of TVS’s current coaches and students might not be aware of how old TVS actually is, and who were the first people at The Vocal Studio Singapore. Surprise surprise, we are already 13 years old as a vocal institution, and the founder of TVS is Ms Lauren Dogan.

2012 The Vocal Studio Singapore Student Recital. Ms Lauren on rightmost in the picture.

Ms. Lauren is currently based in Australia. Though I haven’t met her personally, I had some questions about and curiosity to know her - the aspiration of creating The Vocal Studio, her visions, and the journey that she has been on from the point of opening TVS to current moment of life. As a principal myself, it has not been very easy to learn about A to Z of running a studio and conducting vocal lessons as an expat newbie in town, and I can only imaging how challenging it would have been for her to start things from scratch. This is surely a kind of work that one could pursue when there is a deep passion.

Below is a short Q&A exchange about her experience at TVS.

1) When is the birthday of the vocal studio? Is there any specific opening date of the studio ?

October 2009. We relocated from Sydney to Singapore and I commenced TVS 6 weeks after from my home in Mount Sofia before moving to #02-11 Kramat Lane and then to #03-04.

2) What motivated you to open the vocal studio singapore?

I had been a singing teacher in Sydney for more than 5 years and wanted to continue my passion for providing singing lessons and helping people attain their goals.

3) Could you share the most difficult and most amazing moment of your time at TVS?

Most difficult time was having to move on from TVS due to family reasons as I had grown the business from the start and formed lifelong relationships with students and staff. My time at TVS brought many happy memories of teaching singing to so many different groups of people.

I also volunteered for 2 years teaching singing to the residents of Touch Community Services  as well as teaching members of the Singaporean Air Force (not sure if it's still been retained, but the plate in reception was a token of appreciation) as well as my regular students. I am still in touch with many students as they will always remain a very special part of my life.

4) As a founder, how do you wish for TVS to grow in the future?

I would love to see TVS grow possibly into having a recording space (studio) or a venue for recitals. Also, incorporating other instruments for lessons are some of the things that I was dreaming about before I had to relocate.

5) Would you like to share a bit more about yourself now, current focus in life, and your dream?

I am still singing professionally from time to time (corporate functions and weddings etc) but I have returned back to my studies that I undertook prior to moving to Singapore working within environmental science. I have moved from helping people with their singing and confidence to helping the greater community in a different way.

Well done to you for all that you have achieved so far with TVS, yourself and your team should feel very proud!

I deeply thank Lauren for the passion that she had inside the heart and for the effort that she put for carrying it on, for it has impacted multiple lives including mine, and opened many doors beyond what she could see.

Now we have grown as one of the biggest (if not only) school, specialising in private vocal lessons and we meet 150-200 individuals in our day to day activities.

Remembering the beginning, and drawing the dot from there to now is important, because it’s a reminder showing that whatever work we continue to do with heartfelt passion, however small the initial steps might be - it can one day grow as something bigger than ourselves.

And I also dream about TVS building a good world where the singers with dreams and passion gather as learners and coaches to exchange the knowledge and skills and support each other to keep creating great things in life.

Same goes for you! If you have an interest, a passion that makes your heartbeat, just dream in it and believe in it, sing it 🎶