Piano & Voice Faculty

Nyla is a teacher and performer with a deep love of singing and piano, and an aurally-inclined mind.

Nyla received their Bachelor of music with a concentration in voice performance from the University of California, Santa Cruz. During their undergraduate work, Nyla studied under the instruction of Dr. Emily Sinclair, with advisement from Dr. Bruce Kiesling. Nyla has also received an Associate of Art in music from West Valley College, studying under Professor Jacque Scharlach, with coaching from Esther Archer-Lakhani.

Nyla’s favorite part of UCSC was performing in the operas, playing principal roles as the Water and The Vain Man in Portman’s The Little Prince, Prince Charming in Viardot’s Cendrillon, and the title character, Titania, in  Henry Purcell’s The Faerie Queene. Nyla has also sung in scenes from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, playing the Countess Almaviva in such scenes as Susanna, or via sortite! and Voi, che Sapete. At West Valley College, Nyla fondly remembers leading the Soprano section in performance of Faure’s and Durufle’s requiems.

Nyla has been performing since age six, beginning with private lessons in voice and piano, and attending choir before or after school. Nyla first competed as a featured soloist with Castillero Middle School choirs at Disney’s Music in the Parks under the direction of David Finch. These solos earned Nyla the outstanding vocalist award three years consecutively. In addition to working as a featured classical soloist, this was also Nyla’s first time singing jazz.

At Lincoln High School, Nyla worked hard at voice, acting, and dance. They were the only freshman in the 14-person jazz choir, later joining Chamber Singers, the concurrent classical ensemble. Nyla took on various roles in these ensembles, including president, section leader, and even occasionally getting behind the sound board. This work earned her departmental awards such as the Louis Armstrong award, and the MVP award. Nyla performed in Barnum, in which they learned various circus arts and more about theatre etiquette. Later they performed in Singin’ in the Rain, tapping in the dance ensemble and leading the soprano section in large ensemble numbers.

Outside of school, Nyla worked on and achieved their RCM Level 5 in Voice, scoring high marks and earning best in California in 2015. Nyla recently competed at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) at CSU East Bay, earning high marks from adjudicators and having a great time watching colleagues perform

Nyla has experience working as a music teacher with Millennial Music Schools, teaching voice and piano to students from age 4 to age 21. Nyla also loves working with kids, having extensive experience as an infant, toddler, and child caregiver for families. Nyla has knowledge on early childhood development and behavioral and emotional regulation, and is equipped to work with students of all levels of ability or disability, in addition to all identities and backgrounds.