Tara started her career in Further Education, preparing instrumentalists and vocalists for teaching and performing diplomas. She now works as a freelance voice teacher, accompanist, and conductor, running a busy practice in Alford, Scotland. She is an examiner for London College of Music (LCME) and an adjudicator for the British and International Federation of Festivals (BIFF).
As a specialist in singing and voice use, Tara is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the Voice And Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), as well as a long-standing member of the Independent Society of Musicians (ISM). A passionate advocate for community music, she organises concerts to provide amateur musicians with a safe environment to perform. This includes running free concert events and projects within the Newton Dee community in Aberdeen. Tara has also held positions as music director for both the Con Anima chamber choir and the Banchory Singers community choir. She continues to appear regularly as a performer and conductor in the local area.
Her most recent article, "Healthy and Efficient Voice Use Awareness in Amateur Group Singers: A Multi-Sensory Self-Assessment Protocol Trial," focuses on the need for amateur choir singers to develop self-monitoring skills. The research involved a three-week trial of a self-assessment protocol with 18 amateur singers. The findings revealed that the protocol increased participants’ awareness of their singing habits, leading to improved thinking, mental attitude, and practice behaviours. While visual and aural self-assessment were easily adopted, kinesthetic self-assessment proved to be the most challenging. The paper concludes by advocating for choir leaders to educate singers on vocal health and encourage self-monitoring to foster independent learning.
Research papers:
Leiper, T. (2024). Healthy and Efficient Voice Use Awareness in Amateur Group Singers: A Multi-Sensory Self-Assessment Protocol Trial. Voice and Speech Review, 18(2), 181–198.https://doi.org/10.1080/23268263.2024.2349979
Leiper, T. (2021) “A study of the impact on health and wellbeing of Amateur Choir Singers as face-to-face group singing moved online,” Voice and Speech Review, 17(1), pp. 48–65. doi: 10.1080/23268263.2021.1994698.