About

I’m known for my grounded, deep-listening approach to helping people of any level sing, speak, and move through the world with more skill, more truth, and more joy.

My perspective is grounded in the Libero Canto© Approach. I have studied singing and singing pedagogy on this path for over fifteen years (under Deborah Carmichael) in Vienna and New York City. The Libero Canto Approach was first developed by Lajos Szamosi in Budapest before World War II. This holistic, process-oriented approach rooted in the Western Classical Tradition is my primary pedagogical lineage. 

I’m the founding director of the embodied vocal-performance ensemble, Constellation Chor. We seek wild embodiment through voice and body. Want to know more about us? Click here.

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I am also an accomplished and award-winning composer working at the nexus of theatre, experimental music, opera, new music, and improvisation. Want to know more about this part of my work? Go here!

In addition to working privately with professional and avocational singers,  I’ve worked as a vocal coach for a number of musicals (Octet at Signature Theater; Moby Dick at American Repertory Theatre).  I’ve taught workshops at the American Theater Wing, The Performing Arts Project (TPAP), Prospect Theater Company, Signature Theatre, Millikin University,  the University of Puget Sound, and at the Goetheanum in Switzerland. 

What else? I was trained classically as a pianist. I got my B.F.A from NYU (Tisch) in Musical Theatre. I’m a former yoga instructor. I studied  Hindustani singing in India. I’ve deep-dived into Anthroposophy for many years. I’m studied Tibetan Buddhism. I consistently practice Circling, Tantra, and Tibetan Buddhist meditation. My ancestors are Jewish, Irish, and Scottish. Being in intimate relationship with singing is my life’s passion, encompassing all. I believe process is product, that we are vessels for beauty and spirit, and that all black lives matter.

"Marisa Michelson is a genius. I come from an opera background later pulled into musical theater and jazz, and this is my first time working with someone who is more interested in authenticity than anything else. She is somehow able to capture the purest form of music that erupts from an experience within our bodies and is never interested in imposing any sort of ideal sound on to the people with whom she collaborates. Her philosophy of music is unique and it is a privilege to be in the same room with her."

SEPIDEH MOAFI