Meet the Founding Members: Stephanie Born Krüger

Next up in our meet the Founding Directors series is Stephanie Borm-Krüger:

What’s your musical background?

Music has always been part of our family life. My dad was an a cappella singer at our church, and my mom played the flute and a bit of guitar. So we would sit together in the living room singing holiday songs and traditional German songs.

When I turned five, I started to play the flute and then a few years later switched to alto flute. At the age of eight I started with piano lessons and received a six-year scholarship at the Munich Youth Conservatory.

Starting very young, I always sang in choirs at church, at our music school, at elementary school all the way up to high school. I loved performing and was always extremely happy when I could do a short solo pa

Looking back, I remember thinking that taking voice lessons was only for the rich and especially talented singers. In my teenage years it was always a secret dream of mine to at some point take a voice lesson. Who would have thought that some years later - after singing in rock bands and a cappella trios, and loosing my voice due to lack of technique – I would move to California for eight years to intensively study vocal technique with the best teachers on the west coast.

Becoming aware of what good vocal technique could do completely changed my life in so many ways and made me 100% dedicated to passing on my knowledge to other singers. Now I’m back in my hometown of Munich (Germany) teaching full time at my own studio and I couldn’t be happier. I’m so excited and feel simply blessed to be connected with these brilliant teachers and incredibly wonderful people at IVA and to follow our vision of teaching voice and educating teachers.

Where have you taught?

I have taught private lessons and workshops in many big cities in Germany, like Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. For eight years, I taught in San Francisco at The Voice Studio and at Blue Bear School of Music. In the first two seasons of The Voice of Germany, I was the vocal coach of Team NENA on all the shows.

What's your favorite part of being a voice teacher?

Oh, there are so many … First of all, I just love working with people! I really enjoy building an interpersonal connection, finding out where the singer is at and what they need at this point in their development. I love to watch those smaller and bigger epiphanies when a singer “gets it” and they start to become more and more knowledgeable and independent in their vocal ability. I’ve seen people cry and hug me, saying that they finally found their true voice.

I love vocal technique and I’m a big nerd when it comes to that. However, being a voice teacher is so much more than just technique. It is highly rewarding, touching and fulfilling. It is my dream job!

What is your vision for IVA?

My vision for IVA is to build a transparent platform for voice teachers where they can find the highest standard of vocal education and pedagogy, where they feel comfortable and are taken seriously while getting the opportunity to be taken to the next level with their voices and their teaching.

Any words of wisdom for budding singing teachers out there?

Work hard and enjoy the process! There is always more to learn and the more you learn, the more questions come up. Keep searching for answers and communicate with like-minded people. Always aim to improve your results and be responsible with the voices you’re working with. It’s not about you; it‘s about the singer’s voice!

What an amazing and exciting journey we’re on! I love it!