PRIVATE LESSON INSTRUCTOR

Ms. Pace is a Native American soprano with a passion for performing and teaching both classical and musical theatre repertoire. She was born and raised in Carrollton, TX. Since her move to Austin in October 2023, she has enjoyed teaching voice at Vandegrift High School and Round Rock High School! Ms. Pace is also an active performer in the Austin area. Recent credits include Speedrun Studios, Entr'acte, Gilbert & Sullivan Austin Society, Da Capo, Inversion Ensemble, LOLA, One Ounce Opera, and Georgetown Palace Theatre. She has also performed with Red River Lyric Opera, Matador Opera Workshop, Music in the Marche, Baylor Opera Theatre, Texas Tech Opera Theatre, Waco Civic Theatre, Wild Imaginings, Lubbock Moonlight Musicals, Lubbock Community Theatre, and more. Ms. Pace has participated in multiple voice competitions. In 2023, she participated with Baylor Opera Theatre in the Robert Hansen Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition and placed 1st in Opera Division II.  In 2022, she was a semi-finalist in the American Pops Orchestra Next Gen Competition. In the 2021 season of the John Alexander Vocal Competition, she was a finalist in both the Opera Student Artist and Musical Theatre Student Artist Categories. Ms. Pace is also the 2nd recipient of the Melody Claire Hall Voice Scholarship (2018) where she had the gracious opportunity to open the second act in the SoCo Women's Chorus concert at Martin Luther Cathedral in Austin, TX.  Ms. Pace received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance (2023) at Baylor University in Waco, TX and her Bachelor of Music Performance - Voice degree (2021) at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. To learn more about Ms. Pace and her upcoming engagements, feel free to visit her website at www.mikaelapace.com.

PRIVATE LESSON INSTRUCTOR

Rebekah Smeltzer Staley holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. In addition to being the Soprano section leader for Chorus Austin, Dr. Staley has performed operatic and concert works with groups such as the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Opera in the Ozarks, Austin Opera, the Broward Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Opera, Density512, and is a founding member of One Ounce Opera. She specializes in contemporary classical music, and has premiered over a dozen works. Notable roles & performances include Beth (Little Women - Adamo), Nuria (Ainadamar), Voice 2 in Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians with FastFoward Austin, and Knoxville: Summer of 1915. A native of Knoxville, TN, Dr. Staley holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and a Masters in Voice from Texas State University. A self- professed “voice nerd”, she also has a Certificate in Vocology from the National Center for Voice & Speech. Dr. Staley’s students have been members of the TMEA All-State and Region choirs, and have received high scores at both state and local Solo and Ensemble competitions.

PRIVATE LESSON INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Irida Herri is an accomplished soprano known for her exceptional musicality and impeccable vocal abilities. She has had a successful career as a soloist and chamber musician, performing in the United States, Germany, and Japan. Her repertoire includes a wide range of operatic roles and as a soloist in choral works, cantatas, oratorios, and masses. Dr. Herri has collaborated with orchestras and choirs worldwide, including the Baltimore Symphony, Columbia Pro Cantare, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Heidelberg Bachchor, Theater of Heidelberg, United States Army Europe Band and Chorus, United States Army Japan Band, Central Texas Philharmonic, and the Metropolitan Opera. 

Originally from Albania, Dr. Herri's international journey has shaped her into the versatile artist and educator she is today. She holds a Doctoral Degree in Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Texas at Austin, where she also served as a graduate Teaching Assistant. Prior to her time in Austin, she was an ensemble member of the Theater of Heidelberg in Germany for over a decade and ran a private studio in Germany and Japan, teaching for more than 15 years. She also holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music in New York and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Augusta State University in Georgia. 

Dr. Herri is dedicated to imparting her expertise to the younger generation, emphasizing the promotion of healthy singing practices, artistic interpretation, tone quality, and effective learning and practice methods. Her teaching spans a diverse range of musical styles, including classical, musical theater, jazz, gospel, and contemporary commercial music, all tailored to individual student preferences and needs. Moreover, her fluency in languages such as Italian, French, and German enables her to offer expert guidance in diction. 

In Austin, Dr. Herri is deeply involved in a variety of collaborative projects with local artists, churches, choral groups, and music organizations, aiming to foster creative partnerships and nurture ongoing collaborations within the community.