Eileen Jefferson Moss, MA has become one of America’s leading authorities on the art of voice training. She began her studies in Cleveland, Ohio at the age of 12 where she studied with the Grand Dame of vocal teachers, Gladys Tiff. Under her instruction Ms. Moss became a rising star winning many national competitions. When Jan Popper, Conductor and Metropolitan Opera adjudicator, heard Ms. Moss, he selected her for personal grooming at The Metropolitan Opera Studio of New York City. There she studied with Madame Marinka Gurevich and coached with Sam Morgenstern. By the age of 24, Ms. Moss was an established concert artist touring and performing in concerts throughout the country, receiving the key to the City of St. Louis where she was crowned Miss National Shrine Queen. In New York Ms. Moss began her opera career at the Met where she prepared and performed the role of Magdalena from the opera Rigoletto.
Ms. Moss began training voice students over thirty years ago and has become a leading authority on voice training methods, quickly identifying those that work best as opposed to those that are least effective. She took a fledgling vocal program at a local high school to international and national championships in the short span of four years. Having great success with training each and every member of her choir, acknowledged through adjudication by her peers with such remarks as “Beautiful” “Astronomical” “Unbelievable” as they listened in awe to the glorious sound emanating from her high school choir, many of those students received full scholarships to colleges and universities.
Upon leaving the classroom, The San Diego Unified School District hired Ms. Moss as Consultant who authored a proposal and implemented a district-wide program that would provide professional training in vocal arts to students in grades 4 through 12. That program “The San Diego Youth Master Chorale” became the model for after-school programs that followed. Her expertise as a voice teacher is reflected by hundreds of young people who went on to careers in opera and musical theater. Many of her private voice students are flourishing in the music industry having placed as finalists in national competitions and first place winners in local and regional competitions. Still others went on to become established artists in a wide variety of venues, from the intimate setting of a nightclub to the stages of rock, R&B, pop, hip hop, gospel, musical theater and opera.
Ms. Moss is recognized for her expertise in developing voices that can cross classical and contemporary (pop, rock, country, hip-hop, rhythm&blues) styles of music and keep the integrity and authenticity of the vocal characteristics ascribed to those different musical styles. The classical style is not suitable for pop music and the pop, country, rock, etc. vocal styles are not suitable for classical music.
Teaching was such a rewarding experience for Ms. Moss, students began seeking her out for training, taking her farther and farther from the stage. But the stage did not forget Ms. Moss and she receive frequent requests to perform. She has appeared as guest artist with the San Diego Symphony in the premiere of “Jesus Before Herod,” in addition to performances with the San Diego Opera, the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Starlight Theater, and as guest artist with the Master Chorale’s performance of “African Sanctus.” Ms. Moss has sung many operatic roles including Amneris, Suzuki, Azucena, Carmen and Clothilde. In addition she has produced and conducted (with orchestra) masterworks, operas and musical theater exposing her students to what it means to be a professional and demanding such excellence from them.
Ms. Moss founded and became Music/Artistic Director of the San Diego Civic Chorale whose mission was to perform music by underserved composers of distinction, whose works are often missing from mainstream programming. Among those performances were The Ordering of Moses by R. Nathaniel Dett, and Bayou Legend by William Grant Still
Eileen has served as clinician and adjudicator in vocal and choral competitions. Music Director of the San Diego Civic Chorale, and the intermediate division of the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp, Voice Professor at San Diego State University, San Diego Community College District and Christian Heritage College. Ms. Moss has prepared ancillary choruses on behalf of the San Diego Opera in their two productions of Aida and The Passion of Jonathan Wade receiving critical acclaim for her work. She is the recipient of many awards including Educator of The Year nominee Regional 9, California League of High Schools, Congressional Resolution, Musician of The Year by the San Diego Chapter of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Local Hero of The Year award from KPBS.