Julian's Biography
Julian Ward-Smith has worked in the musical theatre industry for over twenty years. As well as building up an extensive private teaching practice, he has taught at several performing arts colleges including the prestigious Arts Ed London, where Julian presided over the audition and assessment panels between 1995 and 2004.
Career Summary 1984-2005 :
- Singing Teacher, Vocal Coach, Chorus Master, Accompanist
- Musical Director for numerous workshops and cabarets
- Created Singing Syllabus ArtsEd
- Singing Coach & Musical Director for Easter & Summer Schools - Outreach visits
- Musical Director for inaugural Agents Showcase
Television appearances :
- Contributions to BBC2's Newsnight Arts slot and BBC1's "Praise Be"
- Musical Director for master classes at Theatre Royal, Haymarket, televised live by Artsworld
- Interviewed on Sky News after Will Young (former student) won Pop Idol
He has helped to develop the careers of myriad West End performers through his highly individual teaching methods.
Julian focuses on preparing students in all aspects of audition technique. Whilst his specialist one-on-one lessons remain a core provision, he has now introduced a series of performance classes/singing workshops, where students are encouraged to perform in front of an audience of other students and receive extensive feedback on their songs. The most important thing for many of them is the opportunity to brush up their audition skills by singing in public. This new innovation is designed to aid audition nerves and, indeed, helps to make the whole process of singing as natural as possible.
Julian's students are currently appearing in the London productions of Jersey Boys, Mamma Mia, We Will Rock You, Wicked, Dirty Dancing, Love Never Dies and Shrek. His students have previously appeared in earlier productions of Hairspray, Chicago, Buddy, Spamalot, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera, Spring Awakening, The Full Monty, Evita, Gone With The Wind, Singin' In The Rain, Saturday Night Fever, Sinatra, Lord Of The Rings, Footloose, Fame, Our House, Beauty And The Beast, Crazy For You and Annie. He also has numerous students away performing in UK/European/World tours.