I met Ann four years ago in the late Summer when I went to her Learning Annex lectures. When I walked away, she said, “Oh, what I could do with that voice.” And a month later I decided to check her out, and see what she had to offer. I thought it was all about singing, but she just kidnapped me and dragged me in to an amazing wealth of knowledge about music that I never had. She’s probably the best thing that ever happened to me in my upper adult life.

I started coming to Ann’s Saturday class. After six months of knowing her, she asked me if I could be an assistant to her on Mondays. Then I got to know her in a different way. She’s so full of joy, and she has such a penchant for living and life and people. Ann is just so up and positive in spite of everything she’s lived through (and, believe me, she has lived through a lot!). She has been a fantastic influence. You feel like whatever you complain about, she has been there.  She has been a real inspiration to me.

Ann has taught me to never give up, to keep focused on the future and never compare myself to someone else. That everyone has a different path. To never think that you have all the knowledge. To listen to what someone else has to say, ponder it, and take what you need.

I was vocal teaching before I met Ann, but now I teach from a whole new perspective, because know I know what I’m doing. It’s given me a wealth of knowledge in an emotional and technical way. If you are a musician and you want to be in music, you need to know how to talk to other musicians, to know the technical words.

At one point, I was ready to leave, and she wouldn’t let me. She simply said “no.” She said “You are too talented, and you are not leaving.” I couldn’t believe that she was saying that, because I didn’t even think that she liked me.

I am also in Ann’s Tuesday class, which is a performance class. I have been trying to quit that one for the last two years. I always make a list: what are the benefits to staying, and what are the benefits of leaving?  Ususally there are no benefits to quitting, and there are a million benefits to staying.

Sometimes I get depressed because I’m not as young as the other students, and that my heyday has passed, but Ann has tuned me in to the fact that there are other doors that I can walk through that are just as gratifying, and that feels good to know.

It’s not like she’s going to give you a career. She gives you the knowledge of how to go get yourself into the world that you choose to be in. She gives you the info, and what you do with that is your business. 

A lot people come into the class thinking, “She’s going to make a big star out of me.” That’s not what she does. She gives you the info, and you have to follow through.

If you have a dream, Ann has taught me, don’t let go of it. Just keep marching forward and stay true to yourself. So many people will come along and say, “You can’t do that.” They don’t mean to be mean. It’s just that musicians and artists have a different take on life than the people who would prefer to go to a job every day. There are people that have a set amount of hours, that make a set amount of money.

I am now able to pass on Ann’s knowledge to my students, and can keep them under my wing like Ann has kept me under her wing. In Ann’s classes, I have found the support system that I needed.