Vocal

Opera Scouts

Opera Scouts is a teen performing arts ensemble that meets on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6:30 near the SF Opera House for training, master classes, ensemble based projects, merit badge arts projects, rehearsal and performance. We also attend local performances at professional opera, theater, and musical venues around the Bay Area, perform at professional and community events, and travel Nationally and Internationally on arts related excursions. Program runs September through May.

Dina Mirkskaya

Mrs. Dina Mirkskaya is the owner of the music studio. Music has been a huge part of her entire life. She has a dream ever since she was a little girl to teach others the same love of music that she experienced herself. Mrs. Dina opened her doors to the music studio in Cupertino in 1994. Her love for music and amazing teaching skills made her one of the best music studios in the Bay Area

Music Lessons by Dina is one of the most recognized boutique music studios in Cupertino. We offer an unparalleled musical learning experience to all of our students.

Bay Area Vocal Academy

Bay Area Vocal Academy (BAVA) provides comprehensive vocal training for talented young singers, preparing them for college and a career in classical music. BAVA partners with world class solo artists and Bay Area arts organizations to offer professional performance experience and mentorships in all areas of the singing field. BAVA focuses on opera, oratorio, art song, contemporary and chamber music, and some musical theater.

BAVA Summer Workshop

The Bay Area Vocal Academy (BAVA) Summer Workshop is for young (advanced middle-schoolers and high schoolers) performers looking to immerse themselves in the art of singing. Artists will learn vocal technique, movement and stagecraft, score preparation/study, vocal repertoire, and some foreign language diction. Our classically based singing training covers Art Song, Opera, and Musical Theater. Our expert faculty will lead voice lessons, piano coachings, and seminars on all aspects of preparing a song or scene.

Thomas Clark

As an Estill Voice Certified Master Voice Teacher with over 40 years of singing and teaching experience, I offer lessons for all voice types and genres of music, everything from classical, opera, to musical theater, jazz/pop, and the Great American Songbook. Estill Voice will show you what is possible to do with the voice and how to shape your sound. Lessons are creative and musical and will be adjusted to your personal needs.

Cheryl Keller

Teaching people to sing is my passion! I have been a voice teacher and performer of classical music for over 30 years. I enjoy teaching a wide age range of students. My studio includes young teens ready to explore their voices, emerging professional singers preparing their careers, and amateur singers of all ages eager to enjoy the benefits of learning to sing and expressing themselves through music.

Sharmila G. Lash

Sharmila G. Lash has recorded and performed with some of the top classical and jazz musicians and ensembles in California, including the Los Angeles Master Chorale since 2006. As a session musician, she has sung on several film soundtracks for 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and Warner Bros. Pictures.

Ann Jones

Ann Elizabeth Jones, Soprano, has performed numerous opera roles throughout the United States and in Europe. Ms. Jones maintains an active recital schedule in addition to her teaching. She has a Master's Degree in Vocal Pedagogy and comes to teaching as a singer, reflecting both her technical knowledge and the insight gained from several gifted and wonderful teachers in her own career.

Emily Thebaut

Lyric Soprano, Emily Thebaut is currently living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Emily runs her own private voice and piano studio, is an avid performer in the Bay Area and is the artistic director of a pop-up opera troupe, Opera on the Spot. Emily's most recent performance engagements have included performing the role of Laetitia from Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief, Bianca, from Puccini's La Rondine at Oberlin in Italy, and the Governess from Britten's The Turn of the Screw at Bay Area Opera Theater.