Private Voice Lessons in Bellingham, WA

Training: Voice, Conducting

Masters Degree: Choral Conducting - Yale School of Music, Program Certificate from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music

Bachelors Degree: Vocal Performance, Cornish College of the Arts

ABOUT OCTAVIA:

Octavia McAloon is a classically-trained soprano and conductor based in Bellingham, WA. After an upbringing scattered across the Pacific Northwest, she returned to Seattle and earned her bachelors degree in Vocal Performance from Cornish College of the Arts. As a freelance artist, she began working as a music educator, church musician, conductor, and specialist in contemporary music for vocal ensembles.  Her passion for conducting led to a masters degree in Choral Conducting from the Yale School of Music and program certificate from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.  While living in Connecticut, she worked with numerous ensembles as a soprano, soloist, conductor, and recording artist. Her work at this time included international tours, awards for achievement in church music, and performances.  Octavia studied with acclaimed conductors such as Masaaki Suzuki, Marin Alsop, Grete Pedersen, David Hill, and her primary study with Marguerite Brooks and Jeffrey Douma.

Outside of the classical field, Octavia works as a folk singer-songwriter, with a growing recorded output.  Her debut album, With Breath of Wind, was released in April 2020 and her sophomore album Skybound was released in January 2023.  Skybound is a folk-opera concept album that tells a tale of  dark forests, old magic, and celestial storylines.  Both are available on all streaming platforms. Additionally, she records choral vocals from her home studio, is a developing producer of ambient music, and composes and arranges vocal music.

You can hear Octavia playing folk music around Bellingham,  singing as section leader and soloist with the Bellingham Chamber Chorale, and streaming live music three times a week on Twitch as 8via. Octavia teaches private voice lessons in Bellingham, WA

Learn more about Octavia and her music  www.octaviamcaloon.com

 TRAINING: Voice, Piano

Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the State University College at Potsdam, New York and a Master of Music in Music and Liturgy from the University of Notre Dame

​ABOUT EILEEN:

Eileen Brody's career as an elementary and secondary music teacher spanned over thirty years, and she's taught private music lessons in piano and voice even longer. Eileen has directed numerous children's and adult church choirs and community chorales in four states, as well as having been Director of Music for the Catholic Student Center at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. She has been a vocal performer in stage productions and an accompanist for numerous groups. She is currently Director of Music for a Mount Vernon area church community and is Artistic Director for the Bellingham Community Chorus. She enjoys spending time with her extended family, walking with friends and working on her own compositions and other various writing projects.  Eileen teaches voice lessons in Bellingham, WA and online. 

 TRAINING: Cello, Voice

Bachelor of music cello performance from Western Washington University

ABOUT BEN:

 Ben’s musical background is extensive and diverse. Half of his life has been spent in the concert hall with the cello and voice, and the other half has been spent in cultural contexts including Powwow, the Lummi Blackhawk Singers, Ecclesiastical settings, and a lengthy stint with the Bellingham chapter of the Pacific Coast Norwegian Singers. As a cellist and vocalist, Ben has taken several tours to Europe as a principal cellist in orchestral settings, has sat principal cello appointments in the Western Washington University Symphony Orchestra, and has directed vocal ensembles ranging from 10 voices to 80-piece full choirs. Even as a child, Ben showed devotion to enhancing every scene he played music in one way or another. As a result, Ben has shown disciplined collaborative musicianship and staunch commitment to proper cultural celebration. These were primary motivators through his Performance Degree work at WWU, continuing Graduate Study in Music Education, and a planned Doctorate study in Ethnomusicology. These are also primary motivators in Ben’s teaching philosophy. Ben sees choral, orchestral, solo, chamber, folk, and beginning playing/singing all as skill sets worthy of their proper attention. Every student who learns from Ben will be treated where their skill set is at. They will also be pushed with joy and enthusiasm into the disciplined path to their dreams.   Ben teaches voice in Bellingham, WA and online.