Robin Idestrom, Voice Coach & Teacher

07/29/2025

“I think singing is one of the most natural things that human beings do, but it’s difficult.” — Renee Fleming

Singing is joyful, it is ethereal, it is cathartic, and it is hard. But you don't have to do it on your own, left to your own resources. Don't learn to sing (or improve) by using YouTube videos, or asking questions of the internet. Go to a living, human being, who is expert (myself) who has been trained by fantastic teachers, n professional, who has had to work and grow through the difficulty over the years to be able to reach a place of ease, freedom and wonder. Come take lessons with me! Sing for me each week - learn how to hone your craft, bring it to the next level, break through difficulties over time, and then share your work in progress with others! You'll love it.

Below is a clip after some of my hardest moments on the John Muir Trail, the amazing Sierra Nevada Mountain range in California. After climbing the Golden Staircase (about 4,000 ft / m), which I loved, we then climbed Mather Pass (12,068 ft/ 3,687 m) shortly after. It was HARD! But amazingly, God empowered me with his mighty strength! I felt it!

1 Video

07/22/2025

Man, there were so many ladders in the West Coast Trail. There were broken ladders, damaged ladders, and often there were a few ladders all on top of one another. Believe or not, I actually really enjoyed them! I think I found them easier (and quicker) than climbing mountain passes on the John Muir Trail. But there was no way to get through that trail without climbing up and down MANY ladders!

There are no shortcuts to learning how to sing with skill and freedom, but the act of singing is such a huge mood booster!

Come and take some lessons with me - and you will not only gain skills, confidence, strength, and tons of tools for your tool box. You can learn how to utilize your imagination when you sing and let your heart be filled with the joy of it all! I am teaching this summer, so please reach out for more information. I can even do online lessons if that's your only option. (pictured in the first photo is my friend, Candace. )

10/25/2024

There’s a new musician that has been singing and playing at the Calgary Farmer’s Market West lately. We have had a few of impressive musicians there, but no one for months. This guy is the best I have heard. Such a beautiful voice! I feel such peace when he is singing. Because I’m usually the one singing, I forget what an impact it can make on others. I often talk about how good singing makes you yourself (the singer) feel. But think about times that someone else’s voice has been a solace to you in a difficult time.

If you make the time, space, and commitment to consistent voice lessons or coaching, gaining new skills to free you, imagine your impact on others! One day you will be able to truly enter in and experience the music (free from self-cautiousness and self judgement). However, this takes much of practice!

I’d love to work with you so that hopefully, someday you can bring someone else solace with your voice.

10/22/2024

I’ve seen stunning Peyto Lake a few times from afar, but 9 days ago, my hiking friends and I hiked down and saw it up close and personal . We were blessed with a gorgeous, sunny, peaceful day, & we sat and rested by the lake for a while, just enjoying the beauty.
Singing is majorly therapeutic, people!
You really could use a voice teacher, you know that? And I’m not gonna lie, I really need voice students! Where is everybody??

09/17/2024

Hiking in the amazing outdoors, like singing, is a balm to the heart. Take every opportunity you can to get outside and move, and take every opportunity to sing from your soul. We can often be in our heads when we sing, even evaluating ourselves as we go. And while being a good musician takes tremendous work and commitment, if you stay in your head & ears, instead of descending that warm path to the heart, you will miss out on the best part! It’s like taking a dive into the unknown- you let go of control, and surrender to the moment, whatever it holds.

Please drop me a line if you want more opportunities to sing (for someone who has been teaching for over 30 years). I can help you develop skills and habits to make you better, but I can also give you tools that will only help you express yourself more authentically, and with practice, take you on the path to healing and joy.

06/26/2024

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
Aldous Huxley

In the late summer/fall of 2021, my family went through the most traumatic loss we had ever experienced - the sudden loss of my precious nephew Joshua Alexander, at Age 32. We lost a son, a brother, a nephew, a best friend, a vice president, a business partner, the most huge hearted person you will ever meet. My sister wanted me to sing at his celebration of life, and here is a clip one of the songs I shared (Make you Feel my Love by Bob Dylan w/some lyric adjustments).

I realize that I need to share more clips of my singing (and I will record some more current stuff later this summer). I happened to come across this clip last week, and thought I would share, in spite of the great sorrow that brought me to that moment in Fall of 2021.

06/13/2024

‘Singing is a miracle. It has been called the most complex coordinative act that a human being is ever called upon to perform.”Dan Marek

Here are a few example of the terrain we navigated on the West Coast Trail on the South coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia in August 2022. Hazard after hazard, tons of mud, mud PITS and swamps we had to carefully make our way across without falling in, ladders, ladders, ladders (sometimes 8 at a time, all piled up!), slippery logs and rocks. It was crazy, and reminded me of the game Mousetrap I played as a kid. This took utmost concentration, intentionality, and care! (but it was so dang fun!)

Being able to sing with all the complex parts working together; breath, tone, rhythms, language, interpretation, and so much more, plus making it seem effortless is NOT an easy task! The more you study, and learn, and incorporate into your singing, the less you realize you know, and the more far you realize you have to go.

I’m here to help you navigate all that difficult terrain, and in a fun and joyful manner where you will be encouraged! I’m accepting new & returning students this summer (and in the fall). Drop me a line!

06/13/2024

This photo is so astounding that I can hardly believe that I took it. This was Day 19 on the John Muir Trail, descended from Glen Pass & heading toward Kearsarge Pass (yes, a double pass day). It might sound cheesy, but learning to sing well, for example a soaring Duparc French chanson, can be so intoxicating, it feels like you are flying in moments! Come and be free of what holds you back, from what gets in your way, & keeps you from singing healthily & freely. I can help you!

06/11/2024

I love this quote by Ahmed Farrag & it is spot on!
“Singing from your heart is like fresh air that heals you again
from the pollution around you.”
This gorgeous day was one of my favorite of the whole trail. It was less than a week in on my JMT hike and most of the day I walked through a light, refreshing rain. It felt so purifying and peaceful. We can’t always get out into the wilderness for weeks on end and explore incredible terrain, but we CAN explore and enrich the terrain of our soul through making music with our voices. Come take some lessons with me and see what you are capable of, what ground you can cover! It is a lot of work, but it is some of the best work there is!

06/07/2024

I don’t know about ya’ll,
but I cannot get enough of the outdoors, the wilderness.
It makes my soul sing for joy!
Another thing I continuously seek after is singing.
It makes my soul come alive!

Why don’t you join me for some lessons this summer?
You can be completely inexperienced, someone who does if for the joy of it, or a professional, any age, experience, or ability,
and you will gain valuable tools in my studio.
I go beyond the technical, in order that you may discover
the freedom that enlivens your spirit.

Imagine the impact of a singer
who not only sings beautifully and uniquely,
but has learned how explore the depths of the text
and discovered how to be present to their music making!
It’s powerful stuff, people! Powerful stuff!
Send me a message: robinrenei@icloud.com for more information and to set up a discounted trial lesson.

06/06/2024

Ah yes, this day we ascended & descended the thousands of feet of Muir Pass, (named after John Muir), surrounded by dark clouds once again. But in the midst of this, once we finally got under tree line (at least one of the tree lines..), my friend and I were able to pay a visit to the Rock Monster and laugh and smile. (I had heard about that guy for years!) Music has this powerful ability, to dispel the clouds in our heart. Singing releases enormous stress and sadness. Whatever state you are in; despondent, fearful, vapid, goofy - you can bring that to your music and get what you need from it. When you gain skills and tools to help you do it healthily and freely, trust me, it makes a huge difference!

I have space in my studio over the summer, whether it is in person or online. Come and find some joy and release in the midst of whatever is going on in your life - you’ll be glad you did!

03/11/2024

Lessons, anyone?

I came across these stunning little flowers as I was descending Mt. Whitney (the highest mountain in the lower 48 states) on the morning of August 5, 2021. It is one of very few species of flowers that can survive at such a high altitude. The Sky Pilot flower is in full bloom for only a single day. Imagine how many millions of these beauties are never even seen by human eyes in the Sierra Nevada alone, and yet - they are glorious!

Most of the days that I sing (in my daily practice time), no one even hears me. As I’ve gotten older, it is with joy that my focus has shifted. How I sound doesn’t matter nearly as much to me. (though yes, this was preceeded by many years of discipline & working on my sound/technique) What now matters to me is how that sound was created. Did it come from trying to achieve a certain result that I deem “good enough”? Or was this sound the natural outflow that comes when I sing from the depths of my being? So - on a given day, my singing may not touch anyone else, but learning to create my art in this way most certainly changes me.