WORK, PASSION AND BUSINESS. Voice coach, Leonyl Navarro, finds pleasure in teaching children how to harness their talents in singing in his voice coaching studio called Music in Motion in Mandaue City.
CDN PHOTO/JOSE SANTINO BUNACHITA
There has always been a different satisfaction in helping kids to bring out their talents in singing for 35-year-old Leonyl Navarro.
He had tried other jobs, but Navarro decided to open up his own voice coaching business named Music in Motion Cebu in June 2014.
“Whenever a student is improving, money can’t really buy those kinds of emotions. It inspired me to help more students who want to develop their skills and reach their dreams also to become known someday,” he shared to Cebu Daily News.
A graduate of Computer Science at the University of San Jose-Recoletos, Navarro had experienced working as a financial advisor, call center agent, dance choreographer, and head vocal coach of a different company.
In his previous lines of work, he said he never really felt that happy. For him, he knew he was made to do something more and for other people.
Even his friends and relatives egged him to pursue a career in voice coaching as they saw how passionate he was with it.
“I realize that it was my calling to be one. My purpose of what God has called me to do. To develop not only their skills but their personality to become humble and kind as an artist,” he added.
For a cause
Following Super Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013, Navarro and the Ikthus Community Pathway Church started a mall show for a cause at the J Centre Mall to help the victims of the calamity.
With the show’s success, the marketing team of the mall asked Navarro if it was possible for them to hold a summer voice workshop inside J Centre Mall for students who wanted to develop their talent in singing.
After their first summer workshop, Navarro decided to formally open his voice coaching business at the upper ground floor of the mall in June 2014.
Navarro set aside a starting capital of P50,000 in setting up Music in Motion. He used the money to buy a good sound mixer, microphone, and laptop. But more than the monetary requirement, it was the vocal coaching skill that helped Navarro set up his business.
When the business opened, Navarro admitted that he did not have a lot of students yet as he said he was not that popular of a coach at that time.
But over the following months and years, more and more students had started enrolling in their classes.
Most of their students are kids and teenagers whose parents wanted to help them improve their skills in singing and mastering the basics of the skill.
“It is the parents who shared us to their friends and relatives about how they were satisfied with their kids’ training and some students of mine who are known because of national competitions they had in TV networks (that helped us grow the business so far),” Navarro said.
Music in Motion is proud to have so produced students who have made names in national singing competitions on television.
These include Akisah Sianson and Paul Abellana of The Voice Kids Season 2; Kedebon Colim, (Top 6 semifinalist of X Factor Philippines); Macy de los Reyes (Top 9 semifinalist of X Factor Philippines, and Sor Apao (grand finalist of Talentadong Pinoy Worldwide).
They have also produced talents who joined other competitions like ABS-CBN’s Tawag ng Tanghalan sa Showtime. Sheenna Belarmino, is also a grand finalist of the show and a five-time weekly winner record holder for having the most wins across all seasons of Your Face Sounds Familiar.
Right now, Music in Motion has six employees who are mostly part-timers since they also do other day jobs.
With many other vocal coaching businesses in Cebu, Navarro said that their strength lies in their curriculum that goes beyond the basics and skills.
“We want our students to be not only performers but individuals who can be humble enough to learn anything to grow both in skills and personality,” he added.
In the future, Navarro said they want to be able to expand the business and have more branches for Music in Motion not just in Cebu but to also have other branches in other cities in the Visayas.