Shanti Lleone

I am a classically trained voice teacher with over thirty years of studio experience and a working performance career across opera, musical theatre, rock, pop, R&B, and recording. I trained in the Italian bel canto tradition with Virginia Zeani at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, hold a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University Conservatory, and completed a two-year Meisner Acting Conservatory program in Los Angeles.

I currently serve as Voice Faculty at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and as guest faculty at the Globe Institute of Healing Arts and Sciences. Earlier in my career I founded a fine arts academy, directed the voice and piano department at School of Rock Las Vegas, and worked as a recording artist with Interscope Records and as lead vocalist for major cruise lines including Norwegian, Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean.

I work with students from beginners to working professionals across classical, contemporary, and musical theatre repertoire. My students come to me wanting to find their range, build technique they can rely on, prepare for auditions, sing the music they love without strain, or extend a voice they thought had limits. I believe every person can sing, and that the work of a good teacher is to listen carefully to the specific voice in front of them and build from there.

My teaching is student-centered. I begin by asking what brought you to singing, what music you love, and what you want to be able to do. Then I have you sing something that matters to you before any technical exercises, because I want to hear your voice as it actually is, not in a warmup pattern.

From there I build technique that serves the music you actually want to sing. Bel canto principles anchor classical and art song work. Speech Level Singing and mix-based vocal production bridge into contemporary, pop, and musical theatre repertoire. I work with breath management, placement, vowel modification, registration, diction, and stylistic interpretation, all integrated rather than treated as separate exercises.

Voice does not end at technique. I also teach performance: microphone technique, emotional connection that does not sacrifice vocal precision, acting while singing, and the craft of being present in front of an audience. My Meisner training shapes how I work with text and character.

A significant part of the work is helping you build your own internal map of what your voice is doing, so that you can self-correct and continue to grow when I am not in the room. Technical independence is what I want every student to leave with.