He has one of the most recognizable voices in Canadian music. But after 11 years away from performing regularly, Geddy Lee, of Rush, had to rediscover that voice. “I found out, and it was a shock that I was his first vocal coach,” exclaimed Ilderton, Ont. based vocal coach Mitch Seekins. “He never studied voice before. So, everything that he’s done has been completely natural up to that point, which is incredibly rare.” A vocal coach for more than 35 years, Seekins was contacted in spring 2025 to help Lee prepare for Rush’s Fifty Something Tour. With Lee now in his 70s, Seekins knew the work would be demanding. “The Rush repertoire in my mind has got to be the most difficult rock gig to sing because it’s so high, and it stays so high, the whole show. He rarely gets a break. So, does he have that in him anymore? What has the aging process done,” wondered the long-time voice expert. Seekins worked with Lee nearly every day for four months, helping to build his voice to withstand the rigors of touring. The rock icon proved to be a highly disciplined student,” said Seekins. “And he started to see the progress starting to happen, and things were coming back. And it was a lot of work. But thank goodness he’s focused, very focused,” he explained. While Geddy Lee is his most notable, a who’s who of great talents can be found among Seekins’ roster of students, including Luke Bentham of Canadian rock band, The Dirty Nil. “My imagination is kind of pushed to its limits kind of imagining what the rebuilding process would be like after taking such a sustained break as Geddy has. And it makes it all the more impressive when I watch the footage of them playing this tour that they’re on,” Bentham said. Seekins has also taken on Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson as a student. Lifeson’s vocal role in Rush performances has historically been relatively minimal, but he wanted to expand his involvement for the current tour.
