The Blue Chair is part of the Music Shed, a creative initiative specialising in vocal and personal development.

My name is Michael, and I am “The Man in the Chair”.

After an international singing career, I began teaching in England at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Marylebone Voice and Therapy Unit. I came to realise that I had a gift for exploring the inner self, and finding those inner critics, which can affect a singer’s performance.

I worked with a young student in England who was an accountant but had a good voice. After he realised that he had a passion for singing, he went on to be one of the most sought-after baritones in the operatic world.

Returning to New Zealand in 1995, I took a break from singing and worked in business, becoming a CEO of medium sized company, but this was not my passion. So, I gradually moved away from being a vocal teacher, to working with the person, exploring the songs they were singing – helping them contextualise the song – Where have you come from, where is here, and where are you going?

I found this work exciting and came to understand that my passion and indeed purpose was working with young adults.

A student who was just finishing her 2nd year at university realised that she would never be a performer and asked me to help find what she should be doing. She completed her music degree, added an education year and is now working as second in charge as a music teacher in one of Auckland’s bigger schools.

I renewed my research into the inner critics that we all have, but which for a singer can be a problem.

A Yr13 girl came to tell me her story after she had asked me to read one of her poems. She has huge potential as a singer. Working with her, she was able to set priorities for her university course. She has an amazing gift for words and is starting her degree in English in 2023.

I have mentored and coached singers at the University of Auckland, the University of Waikato and at High Schools in Cambridge, Taupo and Tauranga; and creative young adults helping them explore their passions, purposes, and unique talents. In 2009, I was Musical Director for Cambridge High School’s production of Grease and have been vocal consultant to a number of other High School Productions. I am a composer and arranger, and wrote, directed, and produced the Cambridge Town Hall’s Centenary Celebration Concert.

The Blue Chair offers a safe place where you can talk, find your creativity, find out who you are and find purpose in your life. This is where you can tell your story.

Then I will take you on a journey of discovering who you are.
Sometimes easy, sometimes not, sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden. But at the end of this journey, you will be able to say: “I am unique, I am special and right here, right now, I am the best that I can be.” And you will know this to be true.