We were thrilled to welcome Shaun Aquilina to our Drama Department this week!
Shaun, who is a Lecturer in Musical Theatre at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), delivered a fantastic masterclass to Senior students on Tuesday evening (May 7th).
Mr Isaac Beeton, our Director in Residence, said: “Shaun’s workshop focused on singing technique. The session emulated a typical singing class that students can expect at ARU, which gave our pupils a great insight into what professional musical theatre training can look like. The group learnt how they can utilise different singing techniques to help them deliver big musical theatre numbers with more confidence, whilst also protecting their voices so that the standard of singing can be replicated each night of a show’s run.
“Shaun certainly put the pupils through their paces, but it was great to see them rise to the challenge and show excitement towards a deeper level of musical theatre training. Shaun finished the workshop with a chat about higher education opportunities in performing arts. Shaun explained what to look out for when researching institutions and courses, what the differences are between a University and a Conservatoire, and what to think about when choosing which degree courses to apply to. It is safe to say that everyone left with lots of food for thought, and a plethora of information about what higher education opportunities are awaiting them after King’s.
“I would like to thank Shaun and the Musical Theatre Team at ARU for organising such a fantastic workshop, and I would also like to thank the students who attended for showing great enthusiasm and throwing themselves into the singing exercises and post-workshop discussion.”
Shaun began performing at the age of 13 when he joined the West End cast of Oliver! He later moved to opera, training at the Royal Academy of Music, and performing with companies such as Opera Holland Park and Northern Ireland Opera. He is a member of the Professional Singers’ Scheme with the Philharmonia Chorus and has toured the UK, Spain and Germany. Before joining ARU, Shaun taught singing at the Guildford School of Acting, ArtsEducational, Laine Theatre Arts, Bath Spa University, Brunel University, and Winchester University. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.