Cassandra McNally

Voice

Cassandra McNally received her Bachelor's (2008) and Master's (2012) degrees from the University of Northern Iowa in Vocal Performance under the study of pedagogue Dr. Jean McDonald.  During her time with the UNI Opera Ensemble, she performed the roles of Elizabeth Proctor (Ward's The Crucible), Mauyra (Vaughan Williams' Riders to the Sea) and Rosalinde (J. Strauss' Die Fledermaus).  In 2009, she participated in the Des Moines Metro Opera James Collier Young Artist program.  Throughout the Twin Cities, she has worked with the Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Concert Opera, Mill City Opera, Coro, Sonomento, Mixed Precipitation and Opera on Tap.  Cassandra's most recent role was Carmen (Peter Brook's La Tragedie de Carmen) as a guest artist at the University of Minnesota, fall 2014.

Cassandra's newest project has been co-founding the choral ensembles of Songbird Music (www.mnsongbirdmusic.com) and running her private voice studio at Mockingbird Studio of Voice (www.mockingbirdstudioofvoice.com) at Sarah Jane's Music School in Northeast Minneapolis.

Cassandra began teaching voice in 2007 while finishing her Bachelor's degree and she has gained extensive experience and expertise along the way.  Teaching both privately and in the classroom has given her the tools to build and sustain a successful voice studio.  Her teaching philosophy is built on the importance of education, experience and above all, a passion for music.  She believes that through a classical foundation, any genre can be achieved and enhanced.  She uses classical warm ups and exercises to increase tone production, intonation, breath support, and organic amplification.  In your lesson, we will work on diction, posture, artistry and overall performance composure.