Maura O'Halloran

Maura O’Halloran is a member of both the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) and the European Suzuki Association (ESA).  Ms. O’Halloran studied Suzuki Violin for ten years with Suzuki pioneer Brenda Wurman. She Suzuki Voice in Finland with Suzuki Voice founder Dr. Päivi Kukkamäki (ESA/PPSA/SSA) and Teacher Trainer Mette Heikkinen (ESA). Ms. O’Halloran has completed three levels of vocal training. 

Ms. O’Halloran teaches online to international students, in-person at her home studio and to students at the Wilton Conservatory and the Wooster School in Southwestern Connecticut. She performs with the ensemble “Camerata D’Amici” and is currently pursuing a MA in Vocal Pedagogy at the Voice Workshop (UK) under the guidance of Debbie Winter. With this degree, she hopes to elucidate how the act of singing can spark trauma-healing connections in the brain. She hopes to develop and use techniques to help heal traumatized children around the world.

General Background and Vocal Training

Maura O’Halloran grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, and studied Violin with Brenda Wurman. While attending St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Ms. O’Halloran studied Voice under with Dr. Lawrence Cave, innovative composer and a choral director at the Santa Fe Opera. She had the honor of premiering several of Lawrence Cave’s original vocal works at the College. While there, Ms. O’Halloran also studied Voice with Candace Magner. She went on to study with Elsa Charlston, Patricia Martinez, and finally with Norman Gulbrandsen at DePaul University School of Music in Chicago. 

After moving to New York City, Ms. O’Halloran developed an interest in the psychology of performance when she studied Peak Performance techniques with Jean Kopperud at Juilliard. This particular interest in helping performers overcome stage fright and anxiety in order to attain their best performances—whether it is for an audition or for an audience in a concert hall — has continued and evolved into enabling her students to use singing to overcome past traumatic experiences. Performing, she believes, should be about joy! Ms. O’Halloran uses fun games and techniques to enable each of her students obtain the confidence they need in order to perform with joy.