Opera Voice with Sophia Z.

I am a professional opera coach and have subbed as a coach at the Kansas City Lyric Opera House. I have my Master's in Vocal Performance from the Conservatory at UMKC, and my Bachelor's of Music from Luther College. I have performed under the baton of Maestro Lorin Maazel and sung on stage with The Rolling Stones and Barry Manilow in addition to serving on faculty at summer opera programs after my fellowship as an opera coach at Aspen Opera Theatre. Voice students can expect to improve their tone from week to week by learning healthy vocal technique. I have taught all ages and skill levels, and specialize in teaching younger children to sing in a vocally healthy way. Students learn about releasing tension, good breath support, placement, head/chest voice and mix, as well as solfege and ear training. I have also been playing piano for over 20 years and did competitive piano as a child, and won statewide and midwest regional competitions. Because of my piano background, I can record helpful tracks for each student, such as warm up tracks, as well as practice tracks. My passion is teaching kids to sing in a vocally healthy way by building on basic foundational techniques such as good posture, good breath support, ear training and release of tension. As a child, I was told often that singers were born, not taught, and I am here to tell you that I learned how to sing well during my college and grad school years, and was not a "born" singer! I learned so much about healthy singing in school that I wish I had known when I was younger, so my personal goal is to install good vocally healthy habits in all of my students. I have limited openings - if you are trying to signup and do not see any openings, please send me a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can about when new spots will be available.