Teacher Talks: Grace Hunt

Time for another Teacher Talks with another incredible teacher, Grace! Grace is a fun, bubbly, and encouraging voice teacher at Loud & Clear and we can’t wait for you to know more about her! 

Question: Hi Grace! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Grace: Hello! My name is Grace, I’m a voice teacher here at Loud and Clear Music School! I’m into all this Broadway and can never stop talking about my dogs. My favorite musical is Wicked and my favorite place to sing is in my voice lessons and in my car at top volume. Every year for my birthday instead of cake I ask for a Rootbeer float! 

Q: In your opinion, what makes a good lesson?

G: Enthusiasm to learn makes a good lesson! Coming prepared with things you want to sing and work on and being willing to adapt and be flexible is always wonderful! We make weird sounds and do crazy things with our bodies and our voice, so being light and easy is always great.

Q: Who are some of your musical inspirations?

G: Stevie Wonder, obviously! I’m heavily influenced by musical theater, but I’ve always been a jazz girly. I’ve always been into the soul of it all and I love a good horn section. More recently though, it’s been an artist called Yola. She’s straight rock n’ roll, but as we all know rock n’ roll is pulled from different things. Black influences for sure! 

Musical theater inspirations…it’s always like what parts can I play? Rodgers & Hammerstein – those are some clever folk, I won’t even lie! They’re not only pulling the classical of it all, but also I love how playful their music can be. I love when that playfulness meets romance because I’m a sucker for that. It’s because I’m a pisces. I also love the icons, like Patti Lupone, Heather Headley, and Audra McDonalids (who I met once).

Q: Why do you think music education is important?

G: Because music is the only universal language. I have worked with people from all over the world and if you have a sheet of music and you play it in a remote location, it’s always the same. The words can be different but it’s always going to be the same. It’s so important because it’s unifying and it’s great to have that musical knowledge. It will serve you for life! 

Q: What have been some of your favorite performances that you’ve done?

G: Favorite performances? When I was in middle school I sang “Walking on Sunshine” for my church talent show and I won! The next year, they brought me back for the talent show and they said I couldn’t compete, but you can come back to perform and I sang “Livin’ on a Prayer.” I invited kids onstage and sang to a crowd of kids, and I was a mere 13 years old and it’s still my favorite performance to this day! My favorite performances are the ones where I’m truly having fun with the people I’m performing with on stage. I love trying to make others break because I’m a professional.

Q: What are some personal goals that you have as a musician?

G: I would love to put out my own EP! I’ve been writing for a while now. I have my own Christmas album, which has been released and has always been a bucket list goal. But I would love to put out my own EP of like 6 songs, then go and do a little solo show and do it with people I love and respect. There could be like 5 people in the audience, but that would be the night of my life.

Q: Did music come naturally to you or did it take some time?

G: I’ve always liked to sing. Whether I was the best singer or not, I liked to sing. I still don’t think I’m the best singer. The drive to work at it came a little bit easier and I put in the work. But when it comes to theory and piano do not come naturally to me. I have to work on things more to get it. The physical stuff can be challenging, but I think I have a pretty good ear with pitch! 

Q: Do you have any hidden talents?

G: I’m really funny, I’m hilarious. No, I’m kidding. I can cook! My grandmother’s signature chicken tortilla soup is my signature dish. Wait, actually, I do have a hidden talent! I can look at anything in a pantry and make a meal out of it. Open a fridge blind and I can make something. This really reminds me that I am creative! 

Q: You have to give up one of your 5 senses – which would you give up?

G: Probably touch. I can’t imagine not hearing Stevie Wonder, especially Sir Duke, and I can’t imagine not watching the sunset. All the senses in the head are great, but like I don’t need to feel my car and know what that feels like. It’s not as important to me.

Q: If your life was a song/musical/album/etc., what would it be and why?

G: Sweetener by Ariana Grande. Because I’m sweet like that. I probably would say Yola’s second album, Starlight. It’s about going through the motions of life in a really light-hearted way. She has such bops, but when you listen to the lyrics, you’re like “That’s really sad” and I’m just here jamming. It just really helped me a lot at that time of my life when I listened to it. 

Q: Last question! Let’s talk cruise life – what has been your favorite destination and what’s it like being a singer on a cruise line? 

G: Working on the ship is a dream job. You get paid to sing and travel the world and have the time of your life! That’s all I ever wanted and I had the privilege of meeting some of my best friends through these opportunities. Not everyone has had the same experience, but I’ve been lucky.

My favorite destination was Brazil. When we got there, we woke up to the seaside mountains and it’s so beautiful. The water was so blue! We took a little tender from the ship and when we got to the land, I had not one acai bowl, not two, but three acai bowls. By the time we left Brazil, I WAS an acai bowl. I loved everything about it and I’m not even a beach girly! It’s just something I’ve never experienced, that level of beauty, and I would definitely do it all over again. 

Thank you so much to Grace for taking time to be interviewed! We love hearing about our teachers and learning more about them, but also discovering their passions! Interested in taking lessons with Grace? Visit our website to learn more about getting started on voice or beginner piano with Grace today.