From a very young age, music was a huge part of Alyssa's life. Both of her parents were amateur musicians and music lovers. Doing household activities or driving in the car, music could always be heard, on the radio or from the record player, from Frank Sinatra and the Glenn Miller Band to Tchaikovsky Symphonies and Puccini Operas. Movie Musicals were the favorite thing to watch on t.v. and when possible, they'd all go in to Boston to catch a touring production of a Broadway musical. Evenings at home would often end with her mom playing piano, dad playing organ, and the whole family singing.
When Alyssa began sounding out melodies from "The Sound of Music" on the piano at age 4, her mom enrolled her in piano lessons. She learned to read music before she learned to read, and has literally grown up with music being a second language. She sang for many years in a children's choir in Massachusetts and performed with a local children's theater company. In high school at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, she continued her musical pursuits, singing in three choral groups on campus as well as student-run a cappella groups and appearing in many musicals (Joseph, A... My Name is Alice, The Fantasticks). She had two transformative experiences while still in high school: the first was spending the summer between her junior and senior years at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where she truly began to explore the possibility of a life in classical music. The second was performing the role of the Countess in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" in the spring of her senior year in high school. These two opportunities opened the door to her decision to pursue music in college.
At Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, Alyssa earned the Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance and Music Education, and was certified to teach public school music from grades kindergarten through 12th grade. While a student at Ithaca, Alyssa appeared in fully-staged operas and opera workshops, and student-run musicals. Although she was formally a student of the classical/operatic repertoire, she never lost her love of musical theater.
Following college graduation, she traveled to Urbana-Champaign, Illinois to attend the University of Illinois, where she earned the Master of Music in Vocal Performance. It was at the U of I that she began to teach private voice lessons to undergraduate students, and quickly developed a passion for working one-on-one to develop a singer's natural voice.
Shortly after graduation from her Master's program, Alyssa married Mark Volker and moved to Chicago where he was working to attain his PhD in Music Composition. In Chicago, Alyssa sang with the Rockefeller Chapel Choir and premiered works by many Chicago-area composers. She also worked full-time at the Court Theatre, the professional theater company in residence at the University of Chicago. During her years in Chicago, although she never stopped singing, music became more of a hobby as she pursued a career in arts administration, eventually becoming the General Manager at Court in 2001.
In 2003, Alyssa and Mark relocated to upstate NY and Colgate University, where they both taught in the music department. Alyssa also worked on several productions with Hamilton Central School as musical director of shows such as Kiss Me, Kate and Grease. She taught voice lessons from her home studio, and formed a small but active local children's choir at the Earlville Opera House.
In 2009, Alyssa and Mark (with their two young children) moved to Franklin, TN, so that Mark could begin his position as Coordinator of Music Composition at Belmont University. Alyssa was hired to teach Classical Voice and Aural Skills (Ear Training) as an Adjunct Instructor, and spent seven years teaching classical vocal technique and repertoire to the talented students in Belmont's renowned commercial voice program, and an additional 4 years on the theory faculty. For the last 12 years, she has served as Musical Director on many productions with the Bravo Creative Arts Center. Through this experience, she has met and worked with literally hundreds of local youth and developing relationships with many of the wonderful kids and their families.
Alyssa operates her private studio out of her new home in East Nashville, inviting singers and beginning piano students to experience the joy of music making in a comfortable and secure environment. Alyssa believes that anyone with a desire to learn can make music. Please look around the website for information on teaching philosophy, logistics of lessons, rates and extras (like recitals and master classes). You may use the contact link to make an initial inquiry about lessons.