“Deborah is a gifted voice and piano teacher with a passion for developing young talent. My daughter has been under Deborah’s instruction for several years now and continues to grow as a vocalist and performer. Deborah is encouraging and motivating, while continuing to challenge my daughter. Deborah is well versed in the technical aspects of voice and piano as well as teaching performance techniques, which has been extremely helpful to my daughter with auditions and landing roles in musical theater productions.”
DEBORAH IVEY, SOPRANO, M.M.
With a voice described by critics as a “delicate yet polished soprano,” Deborah Ivey has enjoyed an accomplished and diverse performing career. She has sung under the baton of such esteemed conductors as Anshel Brusilow and Lawrence Golan, in performances ranging from opera to pops. She has performed leading roles in opera, musical theater, and theater and has also directed in all three genres. Deborah has appeared in a wide variety of venues, including the Meyerson Symphony Center, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, the Broadmoor Resort, Vive Les Arts Theater, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Deborah has been on the roster of the Fort Worth Opera and has been a soloist with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, the Lamont Symphony, the University of North Texas Symphony, the Fort Hood Community Symphony, and for the Riverside Opera Guild.
Deborah is an experienced director and arts educator, having taught private lessons in voice, piano, acting, and music theory for over 20 years. While a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Denver, she taught Vocal Pedagogy, Music Theory and directed Opera Programs. She trained as a stage director under Michael Gorman from the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line. Recently she served as Fine Arts Director for the new Harvest Christian Academy, Lantana campus, establishing their theater, elementary music, and worship band programs, as well as overseeing all arts programming. She has also taught and directed at Christian Youth Theater Dallas, Lewisville Arts Conservatory, Denton Calvary Academy, Lakeland Christian Academy, and Park Cities School of Music.
Deborah's broad singing background, including opera, oratorio, musical theater, madrigal, hymns, and contemporary styles gives her the ability to teach a wide variety of styles. She can coach six languages for those students pursuing a classical vocal career. For students in musical theater and pop genres, she can teach healthy technique while still achieving their desired sound. Her piano students learn both the classical methods as well as how to read chord charts as is expected in most contemporary music settings, such as studio work and contemporary worship. Her extensive knowledge of music theory ensures that all her students are given a strong foundation in the fundamentals of music.
Deborah holds a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance/Opera from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver and a B.A. in Music/Vocal Performance from Pepperdine University. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Classical Singers' Association, music-academic honor society Pi Kappa Lambda and was named Outstanding Fine Arts Graduate by Pepperdine University. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Award, MTAC’s VOCE competition, the Hollywood Celebrity Awards, and second place at the Los Angeles Liszt Festival.
