Corinne Ness

Professor Corinne Ness is a dean and director of the graduate program in music theatre vocal pedagogy at Carthage College, where she mentors the research and performance skills of the future generation of music theatre educators.

Equally at home in classical and contemporary repertoire, Prof. Ness has performed in venues across the country. Her students have gone on to professional careers in opera and music theatre, with careers in performance, directing, teaching, and arts administration. Her students can be seen on stages in New York and Chicago, on national tours, on cruise ships, and in regional houses.

Prof. Ness frequently serves as music director and vocal coach for music theatre productions. She was the vocal coach for Binghamton University’s production of In Pieces. At Carthage, she was the music director and coordinator for the world premiere of A Seat At The Table, which earned a national Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Citizen Artist Award. She also music directed Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, earning a KCACTF Region III Outstanding Ensemble honor.

Prof. Ness has presented workshops on music theatre techniques across China, including multiple visits to Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’An, and Nanjing. She has been the music director and vocal coach for productions at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the Beijing Dance Academy, and the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts (SIVA). She was appointed a Distinguished Visiting Professor for the Beijing Dance Academy in 2017 and 2018, and has been a featured presenter on contemporary vocal techniques for conferences across China.

Prof. Ness recently completed a series of music theatre anthology and teaching books, working with the Chinese Music Theatre Association. She has also published journal articles and book chapters here in the United States, including an article for the Opera Journal on teaching music theatre (2014) and chapters on voice pedagogy in The Voice Teacher’s Cookbook (2018) and Action Pedagogies for Popular Music (2021).

Prof. Ness is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the Music Theatre Educator’s Alliance International (MTEA). She serves as a mentor and co-chair of the NATS International Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the MTEA Voice Advisory Board and serves as a mentor for early-career faculty. She has presented original research on music theatre vocal techniques, integrated learning techniques, assessment, and voice pedagogy in the choral rehearsal. Prof. Ness has been a conference speaker for the Music Theatre Educator’s Alliance International, the International Congress of Voice Teachers, the International Symposium on the Phenomenon of the Voice in Newfoundland, the Estill World Voice Symposium at Harvard University, the National Opera Association, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She has been frequently featured regionally as an expert in music theatre training, working with teachers at the Wisconsin Music Educators Association Conference, and the Iowa Music Educators Conference.

Prof. Ness is also a respected choral conductor, having spent the early part of her career as a choral music educator. She maintains an interest in arts education and arts advocacy. Prof. Ness has presented workshops at the Arts Education Summit in Chicago, as well as for Urban Needs in Teacher Education (UNITE). She is the past chair of the Kenosha Commission on the Arts and served on the Arts Advocacy panel for Ingenuity Incorporated, the lead arts advocacy and research organization for Chicago arts.

Prof. Ness earned a B.M. in choral music education from Northern Illinois University and a M.M. with honors in vocal performance from Roosevelt University. Prof. Ness earned her Ph.D. with honors in cultural and educational policy study from Loyola University Chicago. Her dissertation research focused on the pedagogy of singing as it relates to culture and representation.