Singing with Kaila F.

Hello! I'm Kaila - a classically trained vocal coach and musician specializing in classical and musical theatre voice instruction for individuals across the gender spectrum, ages 15+. I have a BM in Vocal Performance, over 12 years of professional performance and teaching experience, and I have received advanced training in Estill Voice techniques and Wesley-Balk's methods for the Complete Singer-Actor. Outside of my work as a singing-voice instructor, I am a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in singing and speaking-voice rehabilitation and gender-affirming voice modification. My teaching approach is informed by voice science and my own experience as a vocalist and teacher. I teach students the skills they need to identify and engage in energized singing that is grounded in healthy technique. I strive to motivate my students to be unique musicians with the confidence to pursue their artistic passions! Professional Background: Kaila (Frymire) Harris is a versatile musician who enjoys performing classical, jazz, and musical theatre repertoire. As a singer, she has appeared in classical and popular concerts at Carnegie Hall with the BSO, James Taylor, Sting, and Steve Martin, and in opera and musical theatre productions with The Opposite of People, New York Music Theatre Festival, Odyssey Opera, New England Cabaret Theatre, Boston Metro Opera, Boston Community Music Center, Boston Opera Collaborative, MIT’s Gilbert & Sullivan Players (Boston), Theatre de la Jeune Lune (Mpls), Illusion Theatre (Mpls), and the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company of Minnesota. For 9 years, she performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as a Soprano member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus at Boston's Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Tanglewood Music Center. In 2007, Kaila participated in a six-week music performance workshop in Vienna, Austria where she studied classical repertoire with renowned soprano Donna Robin. She also participated in Nautilus Music-Theater’s Wesley Balk Opera / Music-Theater Institute in Minneapolis, Cambridge Summer Opera, and several workshops with Tony-Award Winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune (Mpls). Kaila is an experienced teacher of voice and piano and has directed three full-length musical theatre productions. In 2013, she founded Minted Music-Theatre, a non-profit performance company aimed at supporting new music and the work of living composers. In 2016, she helped to establish the Refugee Orchestra Project (refugeeorchestraproject.org) as the organization's first Executive Director, working alongside Artistic Director and conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya to produce national and international performances supporting and celebrating refugee artists and musicians. She has studied under soprano Kathleen Flynn since 2009. Kaila received her B.M. in Vocal Performance from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. She received her MS in Speech-Language Pathology from Emerson College in Boston. My promise to my students: I will strive to provide musical instruction of the highest quality to the student. I will consistently search for new, evidence-based ways to challenge, enrich, and support my students – providing them with the tools they need to engage in expressive, energized singing that is free from tension. My teaching style: I have a passion for performing and teaching. I believe that music is an essential part of life, and that those who are involved in music find success in other areas of life as well. Music gives us energy and confidence! It requires a lot of work and practice to become proficient on any instrument, but the work should be enjoyable – we make music because we love it! The majority of musical practice is done at home, when the teacher is not there to assist the student. Therefore, it is important that students gather skills during lesson times that empower them to address difficult issues on their own.