Stefania Milazzo: Singing Lessons and Jazz in Malta

In short

• Stefania Milazzo is a Sicilian jazz singer and vocal coach who runs Vocal Power Training, a one-woman singing school in Malta.
• She decided to sing for a living during a winter in Sweden, while working as cabin crew.
• She spent ten years in Dublin, earned a jazz degree there and moved to Malta in July 2022.
• Her view on who can sing: the voice is a muscle, so with good technique and guidance everyone can improve.

Stefania Milazzo took the long way to a career in singing, and that is exactly why her answer to the question every beginner asks is worth hearing. Sitting down with Nina at CastMe, our podcast studio in Malta, for the show On The Rock, she traced a route through Palermo, Piacenza, London, Sweden and Dublin to her own vocal school on the island.

When did Stefania Milazzo decide to become a professional singer?

Stefania had been studying singing since she was 15 in Palermo, but for years it stayed something she did alongside work. The change came far from any stage. Her airline based her in a small town in Sweden, where long winters meant fewer flights and plenty of hours alone with her voice.

She remembers a day out with a close friend, surrounded by snow, everything still and frozen. “And then I said, singing is what I want to do as a profession,” she recalls in the episode. She knew it meant taking a risk, because, as she puts it, art is not always considered a real job.

What does it take to train as a jazz singer?

Her education was anything but a straight line. After the music academy in Piacenza and competitions abroad, she moved to London in 2007, then to Dublin, working as a barista and waitress to fund her studies. Back in Dublin after Sweden, she searched online for a teacher within days of arriving and found an Irish jazz artist who pushed her to go professional.

Jazz was what she had been missing. Before it she sang mostly pop and some classical Italian songs. Then came Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. “For me music is about emotions,” she says.

The degree did not come easily either. Her first application was turned down because the singing class was being kept small, and a place opened months later when it grew. She went on to complete the BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance at Dublin City University, and began teaching while still a student.

Why open a singing school in Malta?

After ten years of Irish rain, Malta had been on her mind for a while. She knew the island from visits to her best friend, and when a spell back in Italy during Covid left her missing an international crowd and speaking English, the decision was made. She moved in July 2022 and opened her business straight away, sensing that a place with people from everywhere would have students and stages for her.

What is it like to run a one-woman vocal school?

There are no employees at Vocal Power Training. Stefania handles the promotion, the marketing, the appointments, every lesson and the bureaucracy herself. Finding clients is the hardest part, she says, and most reach her through her website.

Teaching also has seasons. Summer is quiet for lessons, so she performs more and saves in the months before. Her plans for the school include group classes, a course on vocal technique and more of the workshops she has created for pregnant women, built around vibration, connection and community.

Can everyone learn to sing?

Her honest answer is yes, within limits. Everybody starts with different abilities, but the vocal folds are muscles and respond to training. “If you train with a good technique and guidance, we can all improve,” she says. Anyone aiming to go professional needs daily practice, patience and real love for it.

She can usually hear within seconds whether a new student has been trained. The giveaway is the break, the passage between vocal registers, where beginners tend to struggle and trained singers stay smooth. It is also why she insists on warming up: you would not run without warming up your legs.

How does the voice change with age?

According to Stefania, untrained voices tend to drop lower and lose flexibility as the muscles lose tone, and progress with older students is slower, though still real. Her own voice, she says, keeps improving because she sings every day. Weill Cornell Medicine’s Sean Parker Institute for the Voice also describes vocal folds losing tone and elasticity over time, and points to fitness and voice therapy as ways to help.

What is it like singing to restaurant audiences in Malta?

Much of a working singer’s life happens in restaurants and bars, where people did not necessarily come for the music. Stefania tries to connect with the room anyway. She has noticed that even when nobody claps, people are listening, and that often it takes just one person to start the applause. Her favourite recent memory is a bossa nova night at Teatru Salesjan in Sliema, dedicated to the music of Tom Jobim.

About the guest

Stefania Milazzo is a singer, songwriter and vocal coach based in Malta. She teaches in person and online through Vocal Power Training and shares her music on Instagram and YouTube. She was interviewed by Nina, co-owner of CastMe, for On The Rock.

Key moments from the interview

• 01:22 How Stefania knew singing was her calling
• 03:16 Palermo, Piacenza, London: the journey begins
• 05:49 From cabin crew back to music
• 06:11 Finding her jazz teacher in Dublin
• 08:25 Why jazz
• 08:50 Ten years in Dublin, then the move to Malta
• 10:44 Running a one-woman vocal school
• 12:15 Future plans: group classes
• 13:56 Can you hear if someone is trained?
• 16:35 How the voice changes with age
• 18:47 Performing for restaurant audiences
• 20:52 Can everyone sing?

FAQ about Stefania Milazzo and singing lessons in Malta

Who is Stefania Milazzo?

She is a Sicilian born jazz singer and vocal coach who runs the singing school Vocal Power Training in Malta.

Does she teach beginners?

Yes. She says she prefers teaching beginners, because she can start from the very beginning and often learns from them too.

Can you take singing lessons with her online?

Yes. According to her website, she offers one-to-one lessons online as well as in person in Malta.

Can anyone learn to sing?

Stefania believes so. Abilities differ, she says, but the voice is a muscle and can improve with good technique and guidance.

Have a story worth telling?

This episode was recorded and edited at CastMe in Sliema. Discover podcasts and videos recorded in our studio, read where to record your next episode in Malta, then book a recording session by the hour or choose our full production service.