Danny Diaz

What makes Danny unique is where he started and how far he’s come. Before the age of 1, Danny went deaf when an ear infection blocked the inner ear canal. After he turned 3, a simple surgery removed the issue but the road to recovery would be long and tough. For the next 6-8 years speech therapy, special education, patience and loving support would catch him up to his peers. The remarkable thing is his body reacted to his inability to hear by amplifying his other senses.

He was noted by his teachers for his ability to grasp dimensions and depth before he could even speak correctly. Oh, and as told by his loved ones, wouldn’t shut up! (Lol)

“Wouldn’t matter to him if you could understand him! He’d just talk! Kinda lol. The only thing he nailed was singing. Humming, whistling, or scatting, he loved carrying a tune!” -Danny’s mom.

Deciding to focus on acting, improv, and singing, he was immediately hooked. The two decades to follow would be a passion fueled adventure of performing arts ranging from your high school garage band, to kids on broadway, to spokenword poetry, radio, mc/announcer, public speaker, debater, and now….Vocal Coach!!!! On his own steam and ambition, he succeeded in many areas of performance he dared to venture and has been offered, many times, to start a career but…

“Making money doing what you love is nice and all, but I was always worried that if that became the goal, then it would no longer be something I love to do…it would be a job! In everything I did on stage or in front of a crowd, I always found a piece of myself to give to the audience. I would often be approached afterwards by someone thanking me. I eventually figured out that my passion wasn’t performing, but instead it was in inspiring others.” -Danny

The passion he discovered makes him an amazing vocal coach, as we found out after he met, and fell in love with, Audrey McDonald. Their coupling would eventually bring to life Forte Vocal Academy, a singing lesson business established in Santa Cruz California. The first of its kind in the area. One on one private voice lessons, group lessons, summer camps, you name it, he did it!

“You could see his love of performance and singing radiate to anyone that had the chance to learn from him. His ability to help people come out of their comfort zone was uncanny. And not surprising really, considering where he came from.” -Audrey McDonald

And now, with this next chapter, he is playing a pivotal role in the creation of Songs from a Suitcase and is key in ensuring that same passion comes through the screen to inspire you. Songs from a Suitcase allows us to balance our need for adventure with our need to make an impact on our students. We offer The Basics Course for folks who want to get a strong foundation for their singing skills.

We also do Just For You JFY custom tailored voice lessons as a follow-up for the program, or as a separate option for those who might be preparing for an audition or special event.

 One-On-One Lessons page to see if there are any openings, and don’t be surprised if they’re all booked before our next takeoff!