The Reeve & Møller Story

Klaus and Matthew first met at Mars Hill College, in the idyllic surroundings of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. They both had decided to go to the first ever Estill Licensure Workshop where they had to successfully create spectrograms for all of Jo Estill’s Compulsory Figure and Voice Quality exercises and be examined on vocal anatomy and physiology. The proceedings were invigilated by Julie Fortney, Kerrie Obert and Mary Klimek. The team was in constant contact with Jo Estill, who was checking to see that the procedures were being carried out correctly. Matthew and Klaus had in fact already attended a workshop together a year earlier at the Royal Academy of Music in London where Jo Estill had presented, but it was at Mars Hill where they found themselves discussing Estill Voice Training and every other aspect of voice and voice training.

Klaus and Matthew successfully passed the tests, both obtaining their Primary Licenses. It was during the post-testing celebrations that Klaus, together with Kerrie Obert, had the idea for holding an Estill Symposium to bring together Estill practitioners from around the world. Klaus and Matthew kept in contact with each other when they returned to Europe and soon after they were encouraged by Estill International to take their qualification further and become Master Licensees. So again they went to the United States, this time to Ohio State University, Columbus, where under the tutorage of Kerrie Obert they went through the very long process of passing the Master Licensee’s examination.

In Columbus they spent a lot of time discussing their mutual interest in all things voice and exchanged many ideas on how they wished to develop their work. Klaus and Matthew passed their examinations and became Master Licensees — the first Master Licensees to get qualified by going through the whole testing procedure.

In 2003 the First Estill World Symposium was held in Santa Rosa, California. During the Symposium Klaus and Matthew were officially presented with their Masters licenses by Jo Estill herself. It was a time of change for the Estill community, as at the end of the Symposium Jo announced that she wanted to retire from the day to day running of the Estill organisation. The next few years would see many changes to the structure and business of Estill.

In 2004 the title of Master Licensee was changed to Certified Course Instructor and at the same time Klaus and Matthew were awarded Testing Privileges, meaning that they could test future candidates who want to become Certified Master Teachers (CMT).

Klaus and Matthew began teaching courses in the UK and Denmark and their first course together was a Level One course in Copenhagen – Klaus presented in Danish and Matthew in English. This course was soon followed by two workshops in Glasgow: an Introduction Day and a Belting and Musical Theatre Day. From this their course programme began to formulate. By November 2005, at the Second Estill World Symposium in Florida, they were presented a prize for the most Estill courses taught that year! Later in 2005 they launched their Certification Pathway and in October 2006 their first successful candidates were granted their CMT certificate.

The growth continues and 2006 saw the formation of their mutual company, Reeve & Møller – Professional Voice Consultancy, with offices in both the UK and Denmark. With their shared passion for the voice and every aspect of voice training, Klaus and Matthew want to inspire and educate all voice users.