Amy Jeffers
Amy Stout-Jeffers, mezzo-soprano, is excited to be joining the voice faculty of MAI. Amy graduated from Graceland University in 1997 with Bachelor Degrees in Music and Music Education. While at Graceland, Amy studied with Martha Hart. She was a four time winner of the Anthony-Hyde Scholarship Competition and a winner of the Concerto-Aria Competition. She was also a featured soloist in a number of concerts including Handel's "Messiah" and Copland's "In The Beginning."
Upon graduating, Amy worked as an Elementary Music Teacher for five years in the Grain Valley and Raytown school districts. While teaching, Amy attended the University of Kansas where she studied with Wendy Zaro-Mullins, Un-Chuong Yi Christopher, and Pamela Hinchman. During her time at KU, Amy received a Teaching Assistantship in Voice and recorded a demo CD for the up and coming opera "Three Fat Women of Antibes" which had been commissioned by Minnesota Opera. She received her Master of Music in Vocal Performance with honors from KU in 2002.
Amy has extensive experience teaching voice at all age levels. She has run a private voice studio for over 25 years and has prepared students of all ages and ability levels for contests, recitals, church solos, operas, musicals, recovery from vocal trauma and nodules, and self-enhancement. Amy taught private voice at Graceland University for 10 years. Her teaching responsibilities included beginning group voice class, beginning and advanced private voice lessons, Vocal Pedagogy and Techniques Class, Elementary Music Methods Class, Performance Practices class, and diction. Many of her former students work professionally across the midwestern United States, New York, Los Angelos, and Australia as successful music teachers, actors in television and stage, and musicians of the highest caliber.
Amy is a sought after clinician and adjudicator known for her insights into the vocal instrument and psyche. She believes that singing and teaching are not just about the voice, but about the whole person. She is a strong advocate for healthy vocal production and the longevity of the voice.
Amy is also an accomplished choral singer. She has sung with the Grammy-winning Kansas City Chorale and is a founding member of the Spire Chamber Ensemble. She is also a founding and current member of the Independence-based Ancora Chorale and performs weekly with the Schola Cantorum at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Most recently Amy was heard as the alto soloist for the Independence Messiah Choir's 100th Anniversary performance of Handel's "Messiah" under direction of Jack Ergo. She can also be heard on the Ancora Chorale's CD, "Blessed Assurance," and is a featured soloist on the KC Metro Men's Chorus soon-to-be-released Christmas CD under the direction of Noel Fulkerson.
