Tim studied voice with renowned vocal coach, the late Mr. George Peckham, from 1971 to 1985. Other Seattleites having studied with George include Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Grammy winning jazz vocalists Diane Schurr & Ernestine Anderson, Merrilee Rush ("Angel of the Morning"), Jane Lambert (head of Vocal Dept. at Seattle's Cornish Institute of Art) and Kelly Harland. Tim began teaching "The George Method" (as taught to him by his teachers: James Stevens, Claude "Pops" Saner, and George Walker) in Seattle and now teaches in Los Angeles.

Tim studied and learned from George the classic technique that has been employed by opera singers for over two hundred years and has applied it to modern-style singing.

George was surprisingly open-minded about modern singing (as evidenced by the wide variety of students he worked with, from opera and chorus singers to jazz stylists and even entire rock bands). His theory was that if one learned to sing correctly, from the diaphragm and without throat tension, then one could do just about anything with their voice. He didn't care for abuse of the voice, however. He felt that, as the one truly "human instrument", it should be respected and well cared for.

Today, Tim acknowledges that George saved him from destroying his voice in his teens, due to incorrect vocal technique, and is happy to credit everything he knows about good vocal technique to his study and work with George Peckham.

More about George F. Peckham

George Peckham Master Class
(video courtesy of Bob Brown)

George photo 2        George photo 3