Testimonials

“Allison is an amazing and incredibly gifted piano teacher. My granddaughter began studying with her at seven. Allison has a wonderful way with young children: patient, encouraging, disciplined but joyful and fun. She inspires appreciation of the music and pride in the accomplishment of performing it. She encourages improvement and motivates the student to do the very best. She plays duets with the students almost from the start. “It makes me so happy to do a duet with her!”, said my child elatedly. As a teacher myself, I have never seen anyone more cut out to teach than Allison.” – Katherine Major (Grandparent of Piano student)

“Allison Leyton-Brown is seriously talented, seriously brilliant, and seriously delightful — a great musician, a great composer, and a great teacher. And as the father of a young singer, I could not be more appreciative. The way she has taught and nurtured my daughter the past three years has been a gift that is both wondrous and colossal.” – Chris Bohjalian (Parent of Voice and Piano student) 

“Allison has truly helped me to discover my voice. She is a voice coach that provides a relaxed comfortable space to explore creativity and vocal freedom. Her passion for music is contagious while her encouragement supports an artist to discover their full potential. My voice has never been more free and open due to the fun that is found with Allison in driving a character and her technical guidance. I am positively grateful for the confidence I have gained through working with her and am overcome with joy to finally have to tools and courage to let my voice be heard!” – Elise Sievert (Voice student, Transcendence Theater)

“I have taken voice lessons with Allison since I arrived at NYU three years ago. Working with her has changed me as a singer, as an actor, and as an artist. With Allison’s guidance, I have learned how to approach and sing all styles of music — from Adam Guettal to Miley Cyrus. I understand how to approach music technically, as well how to approach it from an actor’s standpoint — how to tell a story through song. This spring, she guided me through my first professional audition experience. In December, I enter the professional world, and I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through the last three years without her.” – Grace Experience Blewer (Voice and Piano student, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Heartwood Theater)

“I am so thankful to have found Allison as a teacher. It’s important to know that she works both from the technical and performance aspects of music; in fact, she doesn’t believe in the divide. Her holistic approach leads to fast results, especially since she’s kind of a genius, always one step ahead of you slipping in secret lessons when you least expect it. In the past year, Allison has helped me learn more about the capability of my voice than any other teacher in the past decade of my training. What makes her truly special, though, is that Allison creates an environment in which she is both a teacher and a collaborator. I came to her to strengthen my voice but together we also created; that’s what happens when you go to an artist instead of just an instructor. Allison motivates by jumping right in there with you. Basically, she’s just super awesome!!!” – Jennifer Waxman (Voice student, playwright and founder of Balfour Players)

“With musical theatre being the cornerstone of the entertainment industry in NYC, I felt very lost as an actor in this city without professional musical training. I came to Allison looking to develop a wide range of skills, and before even our first session, Allison worked with me on developing a lesson structure based on those specific needs. What I love about working with Allison is that she’s not just a vocal coach, but she’s also a pianist, composer, and all-round musician. The benefits to this are many: from developing my ear training and music theory foundation to helping find 16-bar audition cuts that actually feel organic and where the accompaniment supports the performance (which is not an easy feat!). Thanks to Allison, I went from being unemployable in the musical theatre industry, to booking regional shows, national tours, Off-Broadway and now having my Equity Card. I can’t imagine where my career would be right now without her.” – Eddie Gutierrez (Voice student, A Chorus Line national tour) 

“My girls (now 8 and 10) have been studying with Allison for several years. She is a wonderful teacher! She has a unique ability to connect with kids and inspire them musically, without intimidating them. While she certainly stresses the importance of disciplined practice, she also believes in encouraging her students to develop a love for the music being played. For Allison, it’s not enough that the child simply learn a piece of music—she wants them to experience the piece fully – and that includes feeling the joy of making music. As well as stressing discipline, Allison encourages playfulness. Regardless of the student’s level, Allison works in games and even gets her students together for group jams, which is a lot of fun but also exposes the students to working collaboratively. Her techniques and enthusiasm have given my girls confidence in their musical abilities, and in themselves in general! Allison truly helps her students to gain ownership over the process of learning the language of music. She is a truly gifted teacher!” – Suzanne Maynard-Miller (Parent of Piano students)