On the 7th of March, Class of 2010 alum Lara Basakinci led a vocal workshop for 11 music students who wanted more voice instruction. Lara, a vocalist and vocal coach, ran exercises on how to breathe, how to properly use one’s voice, and after that, they practiced singing the song “Titanium” by Sia & David Guetta.

This is not Lara’s first music event back at her alma mater. Lara also helped us judge our fantastic IICS Idol event in February.

About her vocal aspirations and getting out of one’s comfort zones, Lara says: I always loved singing but I was incredibly shy about it. By the time I was 8 I finally conceded to singing and began participating in musicals and show choirs. After graduating IICS, I went to California College of the Arts in Oakland, California At the time I never considered music as a career path because of my performance anxiety.

When I returned to Istanbul, I got an internship at a radio station and after a couple weeks, I realized it was time to follow my passion. That same day I started a search for a music school and later that week I applied to The Institute of Contemporary Music in England and went for an audition. I got a BMus degree in Contemporary Music Performance and learned all pop genres. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and now I can confidently sing live in any genre because of what I learned at that school.

During her degree work, Lara began performing live and doing session work (recording jingles and demos in the studio). She also writes music in her own style of neo-soul, blues, R & B, and jazz.

Lara’s favorite music memory at IICS was her senior year, writing a song with her best friend and performing it for the Grade 12 Farewell Assembly.

We are happy to have Lara back as a visiting artist and look forward to more workshops from her!