Myra Vassian was brought up in the mountains of North Carolina where she learned to love opera and Appalachian folk music. Formally trained as an opera singer, (Bachelor of Music, Baylor University / Masters of Arts, Western Carolina University / Performing Artist Diploma, Bieler Opernstudio) she has been singing and performing since she was a small child. Favorite roles through the years include, “Susanna” from the opera Le Nozze di Figaro, “Kate Hardcastle” from the play She Stoops To Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, and “Ella” from the musical Bells Are Ringing. The recipient of an International Rotary Scholarship, Myra spent 5 years furthering her studies and singing professionally in Switzerland, including singing her European opera debut as “Lauretta” in Gianni Schicchi. Other engagements there included the world premiere of Der Zoobär, by Swiss composer Jost Meier, singing “Norina” from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, and “Zerlina” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni to name a few.
Before moving to Texas to teach voice at Texas State University in 2017, Myra was on the voice faculty for the Evening Division of The Juilliard School for 10 years and had a private voice studio in Manhattan for over 20 years. With over 30 years of experience teaching singers of all ages and experience levels, Ms. Vassian has come to specialize in helping her students to find their best voice through building on what is already working well and helping students to focus on what they want from their own singing. Myra continues to perform art song and cabaret as well as offering her workshop “From Breath to Sound” in wellness workshops for yoga studios and corporate groups primarily in the New York area. She is also the Director of the Congress Hall Festival Chorus in Cape May, New Jersey.