Although she has been performing publicly since she was ten years old, Maria McNeil will be the first to say she prefers teaching and creating programs that enhance her students’ abilities to perform.
Having studied voice privately since she was a child, McNeil understands what it takes to be a good teacher and encourages a life of education. At 16, she auditioned for and won admission to the Chicago Academy for the Arts, where she graduated and was awarded the outstanding leadership award.
She then attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and graduated with a professional music degree. While working for the Boston Symphony, McNeil performed with her own band on the east coast and co ran a small production company. It was also while she was in Boston, McNeil began teaching private and group voice lessons at several locations including Club Passim (best known for booking artists like Joan Baez, Shawn Colvin, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell early in their careers).
Maria would later open McNeil Voice Studio in her home and discovered how much she enjoyed teaching others how to discover their own, unique voice. In 2014, McNeil moved to Somerset, Kentucky and brought McNeil Voice Studio with her. Joining her father, violinist William McNeil, she began teaching voice lessons in the basement of the Carnegie Community Arts Center. She was immediately impressed with the musical talent that was in the Lake Cumberland Region.
McNeil Voice Studio has had many looks over the past 7 years. Currently MVS is located inside the Flashback Theater education area at 400 East Mount Vernon Street in Somerset Kentucky. Also with the changes in online education Maria serves students now all over the United States.
Today, McNeil Voice Studio continues to grow and offers performance experience to its students both in solo and ensemble opportunities.
