Biography
Emily Siar, D.M.A., is a nationally recognized soprano and voice teacher based in Boston, MA. An active performer of opera, early music, art song, chamber music, contemporary music, musical theater, and cabaret, Emily has performed on the stages of Jordan Hall (Boston), Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Kodak Hall (Rochester), The Huntington Theatre (Boston), the Paramount Theatre (Boston), and the Granada Theatre (Santa Barbara), among others. She has recently been engaged as an artist with Boston Early Music Festival, Boston Baroque, the Henry Purcell Society of Boston, Emmanuel Music, Boston Opera Collaborative, and Mass Opera. In 2024, Emily took first place in the prestigious National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards.
A pedagogue to watch, Emily has served on faculty of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Alongside her institutional work, she maintains a thriving private studio, serving professional, pre-professional, and avocational singers. An advocate for the benefit of vocal cross-training, Emily teaches classical, musical theater, and contemporary voice with equal skill and enthusiasm. She has been a guest clinician at the New England Conservatory and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a regular presenter at Boston Conservatory’s Vocal Pedagogy Professional Workshop. Emily is passionate about classroom teaching and research and regularly teaches vocal pedagogy and repertoire courses. Her one-of-a-kind course, “Cabaret and Culture,” developed with the assistance of a Presser graduate research grant in Paris, has been offered at both New England Conservatory and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Emily is an alumna of the competitive NATS Intern Program.
Emily holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music (Doctorate of Musical Arts), the Eastman School of Music (Masters of Music), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Bachelors of Music, Kenan Music Scholar, summa cum laude). She is a proud member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Musical Theater Educators’ Alliance, and The Association for Body Mapping Education. Emily currently serves as Director of Membership for NATS Boston.
Teaching Philosophy
In my studio, I work to create a safe, nurturing space for voice students to explore their strengths and weaknesses, make mistakes, and grow as artists and human beings.
I titrate my approach to the student in front of me, identifying and remediating muscular weaknesses, tensions, and imbalances through tailored, ever evolving vocalizes and repertoire exploration. I believe strongly in the value of vocal cross-training to build flexible, strong instruments. Bolstering and maintaining the vocal health of my students is my number one priority, and I am a fierce advocate for addressing stigma and misinformation around voice injury in the singing community.
Utilizing both the wisdom of historical models and the advances in understanding enabled by modern voice science, I guide each student toward a sustainable, functional, and flexible vocal technique that will aid them in unleashing their unique artistic potential into the world. Ultimately, I empower students with the requisite knowledge to become their own best teachers and advocates as they embark on a professional life in music.