Alonna Younger-Naughton grew up with a strong relationship with music, and has been singing and playing the cello for 15 years, teaching private lessons for the past 5 years. She received her bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from Adams State University and her master’s in Vocal Performance from University of Nevada Las Vegas. She has been cross trained in both Classical as well as Contemporary commercial music vocal technique (which includes musical theatre), and can teach these techniques as well. While getting her undergradate degree in voice, she also studied piano and began teaching piano soon after. Alonna has performed in several operatic roles, including but not limited to: La Comtessa in Le Comte Ory with UNLV, Chorus member in the premiere of Behold the Man with Opera Las Vegas, and Miss Jessel in Turn of the Screw with UNLV. She has been part of over a dozen choirs and orchestras throughout her time in music, and was even in an acid funk band for a few years.

Alonna’s teaching style in both classroom and private settings is student-centered, with her lessons being heavily tailored around the students’ goals and needs. Being trained in various techniques and instruments allows for flexibility in what can be taught, and she believes in using various modalities of teaching (audio, visual, and tactile) as well as focusing on the kinesthetic experience of music. This means her lessons involve a fair amount of physical movement, and creating strange sounds before making beautiful ones. Her goal is always to treat the student as a whole person and not just teach at the discipline. Skill can be gained while perception stays the same, this can negatively affect a student’s mental wellness and she aims to make sure students can recognize their growth. She loves to watch her students grow and always looks forward to helping them build up their relationship with music and confidence in themselves.