Institute for Healthy Singing
Voice specialists committed to quality music education, scholarship, and performance — including a collaboration with Ascentist Laryngology.
“The Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research Fellows are thrilled to welcome voice specialists from Ascentist Laryngology joining together to advance vocal health and expertise.”
Executive Associate Director, Choral Foundation; Director, Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research
Leads Foundation operations and the Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research.
Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research
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Education Director, Institute for Healthy Singing; Associate Director, Lee’s Summit Summer Singers
Niccole Williams is a graduate of Kennesaw State University, earning a Bachelor of Vocal Music Education with a minor in Linguistic Studies. At Kennesaw State she studied voice, organ, piano, and conducting, and sang in the Kennesaw State Chorale and Women’s Choir.
Kansas City
Lee’s Summit Summer Singers · Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research
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Associate Music Director & Senior Vocal Coach, Kansas City; Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing
Christine Freeman was appointed Associate Music Director of Kansas City ensembles and Senior Vocal Coach for the William Baker Choral Foundation in August 2011. A native of Topeka, Kansas, she holds a Bachelor of Music Education, emphasis Voice, and a Master of Music in Choral Pedagogy from the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
Kansas City
William Baker Festival Singers
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Music Director, Northland Summer Singers; Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing
Music Director of the Northland Summer Singers and IHS&VR Fellow. MME, church musician in Liberty, Missouri, and tenor with the William Baker Festival Singers.
Kansas City
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing; Music Director, Summer Singers of Lee’s Summit
Jennifer Lahasky has been involved with the Choral Foundation since 2013 and became a member of the William Baker Festival Singers at the beginning of the 2013–14 season. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education (Voice) from Washburn University in Topeka and the Master of Music Education in Choral Pedagogy from the University of Kansas.
Olathe, Kansas
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing; Otolaryngologist–Head & Neck Surgeon
Dr. Jeffery Straub joined the Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research in 2023.
Kansas City area
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing
Christy Elsner joined the Institute for Healthy Singing as a fellow in 2020. A native Kansan, she is Founder and Artistic Director of the Allegro Choirs of Kansas City.
Shawnee, Kansas
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing
Emily Fish graduated from Kansas State University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Music Education and a minor in English literature, summa cum laude. In 2024 she completed the Master of Music Education with Vocal Emphasis at the University of Kansas.
Olathe, Kansas
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing
Jody Kershner joined the Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research as a Fellow in 2025. She is a board-certified and state-licensed music therapist based in Georgia, with a lifelong love of singing.
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing
Zachary K. Devin joined the Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research as a Fellow in 2021.
Lawrence, Kansas
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing
Dr. Priscilla Benge Zimmermann joined the Institute for Healthy Singing as a fellow in 2021.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing; Speech-Language Pathologist
Margaret Massey joined the Fellows of the Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research in October 2023. She completed her training in speech-language pathology at The University of Queensland, Australia, and moved to the United States in 2018 to advance her work in voice science.
Kansas City area
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing
Rebekah Ankrom-Baker has performed throughout the United States and Europe on opera and musical theater stages. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from North Central College and the Master of Music in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory.
Texas
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Fellow, Institute for Healthy Singing; Speech-Language Pathologist
Teri Burns joined the Fellows of the Institute for Healthy Singing & Voice Research in November 2023. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Kansas City area
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Founder & Music Director, Iowa Festival Singers
Melissa Shallberg is originally from Mason City, Iowa — the town on which Meredith Willson based River City for The Music Man. After brief study at Luther College she graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Music Education, continuing voice and conducting study at St.
Iowa
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