About

Biography:

Courtney Cutchins is the founder and voice coach of Seadragon Songhouse. For 15 years, she’s been sharing her passion for music education, helping clients learn to sing their songs and love their voices – from Seattle to New York City to Atlanta. With a Master of Music degree in Jazz Vocal Performance from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, her coaching is informed by Somatic Voicework™ methods, as well as her experiences as a performing artist and educator. Her teaching focus is on CCM (Contemporary Commercial Music) styles such as pop, rock, jazz, folk and original songs – and she believes in trusting her client’s creative voice to guide each session, encouraging their authentic and unique self to shine through.

Originally from the mountains near Seattle, WA, her musical journey has taken her around the world. Since 2004, she’s enjoyed working with students and clients across the country – and has since become an in-demand clinician for college and high school vocalists and jazz choirs. She’s helped singers of all kinds in preparing for major auditions, album releases and recording projects, graduate school studies and music applications, competitions, performances and more. After her years as a teaching artist with the groundbreaking Manhattan School of Music Distance Learning Program, and her need to work remotely while on the road, she gained appreciation for e-learning as a medium for voice and music education, inspiring Seadragon Songhouse’s professionally-equipped online session services.

For nearly a decade, Courtney was instrumental in the development of JazzClubsNW, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring future generations of jazz musicians throughout the Pacific Northwest. She was the creator and host of JazzClubsNW’s popular “Vox at the Box” vocal jam series which was active for many years. She was also the voice mentor for the area’s weekly, high school vocal jazz labs (and later worked as the jazz choir interim director). Additionally, she planned and coordinated numerous marketing campaigns, jazz & blues festivals and special events which established relationships with nearly 100 local businesses and raised substantial funds which exceeded goals for the organization.

As a vocalist and composer, Courtney has been an active performer since 2009 and has shared her music nationally at venues and festivals from coast to coast: Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, Earshot Jazz Festival, Cornelia Street Cafe, Rockwood Music Hall, Columbia University, Silvana, Poncho Concert Hall, Tula’s Jazz Club, Boxley’s, North Bend Jazz Walk, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and many more. In 2015, she held a monthly residency at NYC’s legendary 55 Bar with the Vinyl Live series. Influenced by the intensity of Jeff Buckley and the sophistication of Sarah Vaughan, her upcoming album “Grunge to Grace” is an introspective fusion of her Seattle rock upbringing and lifelong passion for jazz and storytelling. For more info, visit her performance website at courtneycutchins.com.

In 2009, she graduated summa cum laude from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA where she received the Welland-Jordan scholarship, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Vocal Performance. She was later invited to sing and compose as a member of the esteemed Jim Knapp Orchestra which performed regularly at the Seattle Drum Club. In 2010, she was a finalist in the Atlanta Jazz Festival’s “Ultimate Score” contest, and in 2011, she was a finalist in the Seattle-Kobe Female Jazz Vocalist Competition.

Courtney is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Voice Foundation, Voice & Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) and Somatic Voicework Teachers Association. She’s also an Apple Teacher and Certified Google Educator.