Upon completing her postgraduate qualifications, Ms. Collingwood moved to Paris as an au pair. Here she worked with private teachers and coaches and began to establish herself as a singer, performing as a soloist in oratorio and recital performances. She moved to London in 2018, where she continued to sing alongside her work as a professional nanny, studying privately with Della Jones and Alexander Ingram. She returned to France in 2020, where she re-lanced her professional singing career and founded Sound Garden (www.soundgardenclassical.com) - a classical music immersion business, combining her skills and passion for education and classical music. Kayla is also a writer, having published two collections of poetry, with a third in progress. Her attraction to opera and the world of classical singing was sparked on a school music trip at the age of 16, during which she saw New Zealand Opera’s 2008 production of Janáček's Jenůfa. She was a member of the Freemasons NZ Opera Chorus since 2014, also performing the role of the Third Boy in the company's 2016 mainstage production of Mozart's The Magic Flute. She has performed with many organisations as a soloist in operatic productions, oratorio, and other events. Kayla was a 2015 finalist in the NZ Aria competition and the 2016 Napier Aria, and has been successful in a number of competitions around New Zealand.