Info For

Faculty

Jeanai La Vita

Precollege Faculty:
Voice, Youth Chorus

Jeanai La Vita is a dedicated, highly sought after voice instructor and first-class performer who has appeared with leading companies such as New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and the Ravinia Festival. Jeanai specializes in classical, musical theatre, and CCM (contemporary, commercial music) and she is a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), and American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). Jeanai has performed professionally alongside Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Michael Cerveris, and earned the direct praise of Stephen Sondheim for her performance in his musical, Anyone Can Whistle.

Jeanai La Vita has over two decades of teaching and directing experience. She is a Singing Voice Specialist vocologist who is fully committed to evidence-based voice instruction and cutting-edge voice science. Her doctoral work is centered around merging performing arts with social advocacy. Jeanai is a true mentor and takes great interest in guiding and supporting her students, while building their strengths and abilities to their fullest potential. Jeanai’s teaching style is positive, energetic and engaging, instilling technique that is specific and focused on precision and fluidity. She is an expert at teaching solid vocal technique capable of serving diverse musical styles. Jeanai prides herself on working with students of all ages and voice types, helping them all rise to their highest potential. She is very goal driven in her approach to the progress of students, ensuring solid preparation and building confidence every step of the way. Jeanai will encourage and help you find appropriate performance and audition opportunities throughout your course of study. In addition to building excellent singers, she is also committed to helping students become competent musicians and incorporates practical music theory and sight-singing education into lessons. Jeanai’s students consistently win 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in major national competitions in Classical and Musical Theatre divisions including YoungArts, the CS Competition, Hal Leonard Competition, NATS National, Eastern Region, and local NY and NJ chapters. Her students are regularly admitted into ACDA Honor Choirs and All-State Choirs across the country. Jeanai’s students include professional performers around the world in CCM, Musical Theatre, and Classical genres. Her students are admitted to and received large scholarships to the most competitive programs, universities, music conservatories, and music schools around the world.

Jeanai is a professor of voice and musicianship at Stony Brook University, and she has been teaching voice, serving as a classroom professor, and directing choirs and musical theatre productions at Manhattan School of Music in the Precollege and summer programs since 2001. Jeanai La Vita has partnered with Jennifer LaRoche to create Triple Threats, their workshop to train performers intensively in the simultaneous delivery of voice, dance, acting performance. At the Music Conservatory of Westchester, she was a member of the voice faculty, served on the Faculty Council as the voice department representative, taught music theory, acting, and directed the Musical Theatre Program and Youth Chorus during the school year and during the summer Music and Arts Program since 2012. Jeanai served on voice faculty at Mercy College and directed youth programs in Florida at American Stage and the Children’s Home of Tampa Bay. Jeanai La Vita currently maintains a thriving private voice studio in New York and New Jersey. A winner and finalist in major international competitions, Jeanai La Vita is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy, and her vast expertise and mastery of foreign languages includes fluency in French, German, Italian, and proficiency in Spanish and Mandarin. She is also an Emergency First Responder, dancer, athlete, kitesurfer, professional level certified scuba diver and rescue diver, in voluntary service on the New York Aquarium Dive Team.