MEET THE SAVOA TEAM
CRAIG ROSS
Founder | CEO | Head Coach
Craig Ross is a man of many talents and his passion is to teach, empower and inspire his generation and those younger to develop their confidence through the art of voice. In this day and age with so many narratives swirling around, Craig is avid about helping artists find their own voice. His teachings embrace the slogan: ‘Don’t be an echo, be a voice!’
As a teacher and business owner of the South African Voice Artist Academy (SAVOA), Craig brings the experience of the many different roles and hats he has worn in his industry, namely Sound Engineer, Music Producer, Voice Artist and Actor, which gives the artists and students at the Voice Over Training workshops a versatile approach to the industry. Craig Ross embodies the art of voice-over and he is literally a born voice-over coach – voice over runs in his veins – having learnt the art of voice from his father. And on top of the training he received in his childhood, Craig has the experience too, with over 15 years’ of experience behind both the mixing desk and the mic for many big brands, this multi-faceted, multi-layered human vocal instrument is a breath of fresh air in the voice over world. Craig will encourage, inspire, motivate and sculpt every student to see the potential they have, by being heard through the art of voice-over.
From the desk of Craig Ross:
After several years in the voice-over business I began to notice the apparent 'disconnect' between the artist and the creative team, including the engineer, as the ability to communicate a desired result wasn't being achieved.
My experience as a voice artist, combined with my engineering and directing, enabled me to recognise these communication obstacles. I would often wonder during a recording session "Where can one learn to become a voice over artist - to understand mic technique, studio etiquette? Where can one learn how to communicate effectively with the people on the other side of the glass?" There is so much more that came to mind during these sessions - the importance of understanding vocal components that make up an individual's vocal range and how they can be manipulated to achieve various results, the understanding of scripts and how to deliver it vocally, according to its demographic platform and audience. I noticed there was also a need for artists to understand breath control, inflection, and how to take and understand direction. Most importantly is the learning of one's own authentic self, that special niche, our 'USP' (unique selling point) - the unique element of one's voice that keeps the client coming back for more. I recognised a need for voice artists to be trained in all of the above to hone their USP, to find and keep those clients and to ensure that their agents market their voice to the maximum. This is what the workshops I designed are all above and I’d like to welcome you to come and find out more about this exciting industry. I hope to see you there and I can guarantee it will add value to your life. You are so valuable and so worth it – make the investment and you will see a great return on it. Don’t delay – get trained today!
As a teacher and business owner of the South African Voice Artist Academy (SAVOA), Craig brings the experience of the many different roles and hats he has worn in his industry, namely Sound Engineer, Music Producer, Voice Artist and Actor, which gives the artists and students at the Voice Over Training workshops a versatile approach to the industry. Craig Ross embodies the art of voice-over and he is literally a born voice-over coach – voice over runs in his veins – having learnt the art of voice from his father. And on top of the training he received in his childhood, Craig has the experience too, with over 15 years’ of experience behind both the mixing desk and the mic for many big brands, this multi-faceted, multi-layered human vocal instrument is a breath of fresh air in the voice over world. Craig will encourage, inspire, motivate and sculpt every student to see the potential they have, by being heard through the art of voice-over.
From the desk of Craig Ross:
After several years in the voice-over business I began to notice the apparent 'disconnect' between the artist and the creative team, including the engineer, as the ability to communicate a desired result wasn't being achieved.
My experience as a voice artist, combined with my engineering and directing, enabled me to recognise these communication obstacles. I would often wonder during a recording session "Where can one learn to become a voice over artist - to understand mic technique, studio etiquette? Where can one learn how to communicate effectively with the people on the other side of the glass?" There is so much more that came to mind during these sessions - the importance of understanding vocal components that make up an individual's vocal range and how they can be manipulated to achieve various results, the understanding of scripts and how to deliver it vocally, according to its demographic platform and audience. I noticed there was also a need for artists to understand breath control, inflection, and how to take and understand direction. Most importantly is the learning of one's own authentic self, that special niche, our 'USP' (unique selling point) - the unique element of one's voice that keeps the client coming back for more. I recognised a need for voice artists to be trained in all of the above to hone their USP, to find and keep those clients and to ensure that their agents market their voice to the maximum. This is what the workshops I designed are all above and I’d like to welcome you to come and find out more about this exciting industry. I hope to see you there and I can guarantee it will add value to your life. You are so valuable and so worth it – make the investment and you will see a great return on it. Don’t delay – get trained today!
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SELWYN SHANDEL
MANAGING DIRECTOR | PRODUCER | COACH
Selwyn is a recognised music industry expert with over 30 years of experience as a composer, producer and vocal expert. He has composed and produced numerous multi-platinum and gold-selling albums for legendary artists such as the late Brenda Fassie, Steve Kekana, Hugh Masekela, Penny Penny, Doctor Malinga, Neville Diedericks and many others.
He has also composed and produced a variety of award-winning soundtracks for commercials, both locally and internationally for brands such as Kodak, Coca-Cola, Schweppes, Shoprite, Checkers, British Airways and Vodacom.
Selwyn has also conceptualised, implemented and procured a 25 million-rand sponsorship deal for the successful launch of the radio/tv show and vocal talent competition Voice of Choice to discover hidden singing talent. The project attracted over 100,000 auditions captured over the phone utilizing IVR technology. One of the great discoveries from this project was Doctor Malinga, now one of South Africa’s top recording artists and a renowned television personality and live performer.
The success that Selwyn has achieved as one of SA’s most successful music producers has largely been due to his passion, knowledge and expertise of singing and how he has managed to extract the best performances from the singers/artists that he has produced over the years. Selwyn himself is a trained classical singer who underwent years of coaching by world renowned opera singer Magariet Stemmert.
For the past number of years Selwyn has been applying his incredible knowledge and understanding of vocal singing to the exciting world of voice-over for the advertising and corporate markets and has become a leading producer and director of many successful radio and tv ads.
Selwyn is excited to have joined forces with good friend and colleague Craig Ross, two powerhouses in the media, production and voice over industry.
Taking their wealth of industry knowledge and expertise they have identified a niche in the market to offer SAVOA’s unique voice-over coaching academy by drawing on talent from the entire country and continent and offering SAVOA corporate clients with a professionally run voice and production agency which will be headed up by Selwyn Shandel who is based in the SAVOA Cape Town studios whilst Craig is based in the SAVOA Johannesburg studios.
He has also composed and produced a variety of award-winning soundtracks for commercials, both locally and internationally for brands such as Kodak, Coca-Cola, Schweppes, Shoprite, Checkers, British Airways and Vodacom.
Selwyn has also conceptualised, implemented and procured a 25 million-rand sponsorship deal for the successful launch of the radio/tv show and vocal talent competition Voice of Choice to discover hidden singing talent. The project attracted over 100,000 auditions captured over the phone utilizing IVR technology. One of the great discoveries from this project was Doctor Malinga, now one of South Africa’s top recording artists and a renowned television personality and live performer.
The success that Selwyn has achieved as one of SA’s most successful music producers has largely been due to his passion, knowledge and expertise of singing and how he has managed to extract the best performances from the singers/artists that he has produced over the years. Selwyn himself is a trained classical singer who underwent years of coaching by world renowned opera singer Magariet Stemmert.
For the past number of years Selwyn has been applying his incredible knowledge and understanding of vocal singing to the exciting world of voice-over for the advertising and corporate markets and has become a leading producer and director of many successful radio and tv ads.
Selwyn is excited to have joined forces with good friend and colleague Craig Ross, two powerhouses in the media, production and voice over industry.
Taking their wealth of industry knowledge and expertise they have identified a niche in the market to offer SAVOA’s unique voice-over coaching academy by drawing on talent from the entire country and continent and offering SAVOA corporate clients with a professionally run voice and production agency which will be headed up by Selwyn Shandel who is based in the SAVOA Cape Town studios whilst Craig is based in the SAVOA Johannesburg studios.
