Studio Coffeehouse 2025

Thanks so much for supporting these singers! I’m incredibly proud of all of their hard work. I wish I could go one by one and tell you how much they’ve grown over the past semester. They’ve each faced their own challenges and goals, and it’s been fun watching them go after them and grow.

What we’ve accomplished

Collectively, Studio Members performed in 9 different musicals this spring. High School Musical, Grease, Hadestown, The Lion King, Big Fish, Into the Woods, Footloose, Matilda, and Rent.

This spring, I (Sarah) performed with the Chamber Choir and collaborated on a mini-concert with Kaitlyn Townsend at Bach Around the Clock in Staunton, VA. I also performed as the alto soloist at Trinity Episcopal’s performance of Handel’s Messiah, Movement 2.

This semester, the studio consisted of 33 Studio Members, including 16 Young Artists (elementary, middle, and high school), 10 Emerging Artists (high school), and 7 Adult Singers (college-age and up).

HVS Studio Members..

Worked on/learned 107 songs
Performed in 9 musicals
Got into 2 incredible summer intensives
- Lily - Interlochen Summer Musical Theatre Showcase
- Chloe - Broadway Evolved with Betsy Wolfe

Sarah..

Taught 498 Lessons
Worked with 36 singers
Performed in 2 professional performance in Spring 2025

what’s new

I’m excited as our Group Classes, which occur once a month, have grown over the past few years. In the past, we had two groups, Adult Singers (18+) and Young Artists (high school and younger). This past year, due to high attendance and questions from singers about diving into other topics, we expanded the groups to include a new group called the Emerging Artists.

The Emerging Artist group includes 10 high school Sophomore, Juniors, and Seniors who wanted to dive deeper in the the world of singing. Projects they took on this year included researching musical theatre decades and performing a select song from that decade in a masterclass with me, learning more about the audition process and what to expect which included a mock audition, studied classical repertoire in Italian and performed for a guest master clinician (Cynthia Vaughn), and other small topics scattered between projects. On May 17, they will be performing in a Jazz Masterclass with jazz performer Tina Hashemi. I’m so excited about what this group has accomplished and how it will continue to change shape in the future.

Young Artists continued to meet monthly for 30 minute group lessons (including breathing, vowels, acting masterclasses with Studio Member Cassidy Lam, and more) followed by 60 minutes of performing songs for each other. This gave them an opportunity to practice singing in front of their peers, as well as giving and receiving feedback.

What’s Next

Once again, due to high attendance and a change in learning needs from singers, we will be adding a new group starting Fall 2025 called the Developing/Rising Artists. The groups , excluding adults, will be divided into:

Young Artists
Elementary and Middle School
We will continue to explore foundations of singing and music as a group and practice performing for each other.
Developing/Rising Artists
High School
This is a new group for high schoolers. This group will dive deeper into topics and projects, which will include some masterclasses. I’ll be reaching out to my high schoolers soon to survey them on the types of things they want to start learning.
Emerging Artists
Highly Motivated High School Juniors and Seniors (Teacher Selected)
Attendance to Group Class is required for Emerging Artists as they have regular projects and masterclasses.

I will share more specific information about these groups and what to expect sometime during the summer. I would love to hear from Studio Members about what they would like to learn next year, so reach out with any ideas or requests!