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Tuesday, 2 July 2024
In the latest instalment of our Alumni Spotlight series, we speak to University of Limerick graduate Renée Yoxon, who studied MA Songwriting.
From hours in the recording studio to discovering their career-path as a gender-affirming voice teacher, international student Renée discusses how they forged their ‘dream career’.
Tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Renée Yoxon, my pronouns are they/them, and I’m a nonbinary gender-affirming voice teacher from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
In my work, I create online courses that help trans people create a voice that gives them gender euphoria. I have been teaching gender-affirming voice since 2019 and teaching singing since 2010.
What course did you study?
While at the Irish World Academy, I studied in the MA Songwriting program in 2018/2019.
Why did you choose to study at UL?
In 2018, I graduated from the B.Mus. Jazz program at McGill University and in my final year of the program, I was craving the space to pursue my own style of music making.
I learned about this programme from my fellow programme graduate, Edel Meade, and when I learned how open and interdisciplinary the programme was, I knew right away that it was exactly what I needed for my songwriting practice.
What were the highlights of your course?
My favourite aspect of the course was my collaboration with the dance department. I have chronic pain, and it had been years since I had been able to express myself with dance. My advisor in the dance department, Jenny Roche, was extremely supportive and helped to access creativity that I thought had been lost to me forever.
As a student of The Academy, you had the opportunity to learn from some of the top academic talent, in state-of-the-art facilities. What was your experience like as a student here?
Because I lived on campus, I was able to take full advantage of the facilities available to me.
I was up early every morning and was often the first one in the practice rooms, meaning I had so much access to amazing pianos and practice rooms and recording facilities.
It was a moment of intense growth and productivity in my art practice as a result.
What advice would you offer to students considering studying at UL?
There are so many resources for prospective students. If you have questions or concerns, especially if you’re an international student, don’t hesitate to reach out to people in your programme because, in my experience, everyone is more than happy to help you in any way they can.
Separately, what advice would you offer to students considering studying your course?
Do it! If you’re a songwriter, nothing will develop your songwriting practice faster than a year of dedicated songwriting, listening, and ideation. Even five years later, I still revisit my notes from the workshops and masterclasses.
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Renée performing on stage at University Concert Hall, UL.
Were you a member of any clubs or societies? If so, tell us a bit about your experience?
Unfortunately, I was not able to officially join any clubs or societies because the system did not allow nonbinary people to select their gender*. Even though I was very supported by my programme director and everyone at the university was very supportive in affirming my gender, some changes in the system were not able to be made during my time there.
(*This system has since been updated and students are now able to add the gender they identify with along with their preferred name.)
What are some of your favourite memories from your time at UL?
My favourite memories were the moments I got to get closer to my friends in the programme.
I felt so honoured to witness them developing their unique crafts and then to be present during each of their recitals and get to see how much they had written over the year.
At UL, we’re known as the ‘Home of Firsts’ – are there any important ‘firsts’ that you experienced as a UL student, that you would like to share?
During my time at UL, I had many firsts! A first that was important to me was learning how to record my own demos. I spent hours in the recording studio, creating my own demos, which was something I had never done before. This skill continues to be valuable to me to this day
Are there any campus locations that hold special significance to you?
Glucksman Library was a special place for me because I spent so much time researching and writing there. Some of the songs that appeared on my final thesis project were written right in that library.
How did your course and your overall UL experience prepare you for entering the workplace upon graduating?
During a Business Skills class, we created a three-stage business plan for our arts careers. It was during the creation of this plan that I made the decision to focus on teaching singing to trans people.
This decision directly led to me discovering the field of gender-affirming voice for trans people. I can genuinely say that I would not have the career I have now without this class.
Could you update us on where you are now in your career?
I currently have my dream career. I create voice resources for transgender people all over the world, which have reached hundreds of thousands.
I spend all day, every day creating courses, short-form video content, and free downloadable trans voice resources.
In my spare time, I’m training new trans voice teachers, consulting with voice and speech-language pathology organisations, and volunteering.
What has been a career highlight so far?
Because my work is completely online, I have been able to spend the last five months working from Mexico City, which has always been a dream of mine.
What are your hopes and plans for the future?
I have so many hopes and plans! I have a number of trans voice courses in the pipeline. This summer, I’ll release a course called Mix & Match: Designing Your Nonbinary Voice.
In the near future, I plan to make a course for transmasculine folks adapting to a new voice on testosterone.
Following that, I’d like to create singing and songwriting resources for trans people. I would also like to find a way to license my courses to libraries worldwide so that they can be free for everyone!
Is there anything else you would like to share?
My programme director, Carl Corcoran, was the reason I had such an amazing time in my year at UL. I was the only international student in my programme and he went out of his way to make me comfortable.
He familiarised my colleagues with my pronouns, he helped me get a scholarship, and he was always there to answer any questions I had.
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Renée with fellow student Edel Meade and lecturer Carl Corcoran
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Renée exploring the grounds of the UL campus
You can find me and my work at reneeyoxon.com or the following social media links:
Email: ahss@ul.ie
Phone: +353-61-202700
Postal Address: AHSS Faculty Office, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.