Meet Ariella Forstein | Vocal Embodiment Coach & Songstress Priestess

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ariella Forstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ariella, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Today I am a Vocal Embodiment Coach + Songstress Priestess, that’s helped thousands of people find & share their voices.

18+ years ago, I started teaching voice lessons on the side when I was touring the country with a folk ensemble. We’d be on the road for 2-3 weeks, and then back for 2-3 weeks, and then on the road again.

I literally taught my 1st voice lesson when I was 26, in my bedroom (it was a big bedroom!).

As people were doing vocal warm-ups, they’d sometimes start to cry, or nervously laugh, and I was able to pick up on their insecurities and emotions that were coming forth. They’d be surprised that I could “hear” their inner voices, and we gently discussed what was emerging emotionally. It soon became clear that I was innately more than a voice teacher.

I found myself acting as a life coach, a somatic + spiritual practitioner, and a voice teacher in one.

I Ioved being “let in,” and exploring people’s fears and blocks intertwined with sharing their voices, and helping them transform into free and flowing self-expression… and my business was born!

Over the years I was certified in energy work, somatic healing, and studied other vocal approaches, instruments, healing practices, and techniques that supported my vocal embodiment coaching.

So, The Ariella Approach was born out of necessity – in my bedroom and then living room – and expanded into a business w/ international and local clients, choirs, and different healing & ritual offerings around the globe.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I let go of singing, and start being sung…. the musical magic occurs.

It’s a feeling.
A sound.
An energy.
An elating, orgasmic resonance.
It expresses what feels most alive within me.

Each singer has their own sound, and different audiences who appreciate them.

My sound is, well, I hope you’ll listen and decide for yourself, but can be described as:
Otherworldly, bell-like, operatic, earthy, ethnic, tribal, classical, soulful, aching, and beyond.

I am excited about working on my 1st solo album after spending 20+ yrs. supporting others as a coach and gigging as an ensemble vocalist. With gratitude and joy, I’ll continue to do that, and, it’s also time for this Vocal Embodiment Coach’s voice ‘n spirit to shine out in ‘ze world! 🙂

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have an admission = I’m new here! Been here just 9 months.
So I actually feel like perhaps you, kind reader, could enlighten me.

But here’s what I know:

-We’d perhaps start at the Boulder Farmer’s Market, and then drive up to my friend’s little cabin in Ward, and spend time singing on her porch and breathing the fresh thin high altitude air, and then visit St. Vrain River, or Brained lake. How am I doing so far?

We’d go see local Mediterranean band Sherefe (some of my fave ethnic music), and then go shake it all out at Ecstatic Dance! We’d meet a Hare Krishna on Pearl street, and then get some chocolate at Peace, Love, and Chocolate, and giggle on the couch at Tonic. Sound good?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shout out to my voice & music teachers who not only taught me how to be a better singer, listener, and student, and but who really SAW me, and helped me harness my feelings, heart and soul, into and through my voice. I aspire to be that for my students and clients.

Thank you: Mr. Jewett, Cantor Newman, Harriet McCleary, Eileen Davis, Dr. Peeler, Cantor Perryne Anker, Danny Maseng, Dr. Avorgbedor (and all of the other choir directors + music mentors in music I’ve had).

Website: https://ariellaapproach.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/songstresspriestess/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariellamusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ariellaforstein

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-ariella-approach-longmont-2?osq=The+Ariella+Approach

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@songstresspriestess

Other: https://www.SongstressAriella.com

Image Credits
Autumn Lee, Tedx Minneapolis