IVA Voice

04/23/2026

Marseille! My honey took me on an adventure. First a bike 🏍️ (comme toujours) and then a hike to a waterside restaurant hidden in the Calanques for bouillabaisse. (Restaurant La Baie des Singes) Were heavily shushed 🤫 in the Basilica, had a walk around the old city (Le Panier) to take in some of the street art and found beautiful Abbey Vielle Charity which has a lovely terrace for lunch and an incredible collection of Egyptian artifacts including painted wooden sarcophagi. Our last night included a visit to .marseille for vinyl thru vintage speakers - great concept, great music, sexy vibes 🍑🐯. Had some choice beach time for fleeting moments. Loved this edgy city in the sun. 👻☀️

04/18/2026

Scenes from France thusfar - including visits to the beautiful with friends and to to see Satyagraha by Phillip Glass. The opera’s message of non-violence and spiritual endurance really spoke to me. Meanwhile
Moxie is transitioning to France as if she’s always lived here.

04/12/2026

Made it to France 🇫🇷 🐾 it’s Moxie’s first trip here and she’s already making friends at beautiful with our gracious hosts. She’s already had French dog food and there’s no going back 😋🤤
We head to Paris tomorrow 🥐❤️💙🤍

04/09/2026

One of the silver linings of chemo was having more time to play the piano. This piece is a Lizst transcription of a Schubert piece for voice and piano combined into one. It’s taken me a while just to get the right hand as it’s got a lot of 2 against 3. (Eight notes and triplets played together) I’m going to post progress on this piece as I add the left hand and learn more of the piece. It’s one of Juan’s favorites and we heard it in a gorgeous French film called Lost Illusions (Illusions Perdues), a period piece based on the Balzac Novel. Good thing we don’t get tired of it cause I’ve played it hundreds of times now, soon to be thousands I’m sure …

Have you heard this piece before?

04/07/2026

While I was sick I didn’t make an official announcement. Now that I seem to be out of the woods with cancer I want to share that I am engaged! Juan Carlos has stood by me through my health struggles since last January. Quite a first year of an engagement. We made it, we’re here, and I’m going back to his home in Paris after not being able to travel for more than a year. Haven’t looked forward to a trip like this since I can remember. Moxie is also coming with. Life is good ❤️🐾

04/02/2026

More about my mental health care journey. In order to catch up on years without proper therapeutic treatment for depression I was a patient at McLean Hospital in Boston for five months in 2025. It was a long time away from family, friends, music, and teaching that scared me and my loved ones. Residential psychiatric treatment is one of the most empowering things I’ve ever done in my life and I hope that my sharing my journey, I can de-stigmatize mental health issues and their treatment so more people get the care the need.

🎶 “Made Out of Memory” Nilüfer Yanya

03/29/2026

It was an honor to sing to celebrate the 1638 arrival of Swedish and Finnish settlers, my ancestors, on the Kalmar Nyckel. I have been ill and in hospital care since June, right after I sang at Old Swedes Church in Philadelphia. My mental and physical health is so very much improved since then. It was a meaningful moment to sing our National Anthem during a time when we need to remember and honor our national history more than ever. I wasn’t sure with my chemo treatment this week if I’d be able to sing, and I was. (A good practice routine make a difference.) This time last year due to my mental health my voice was brittle and I couldn’t feel the magic inside. Now it is coming back as a new, deeper feeling. I am proud of my days as a Fulbright Scholar, working towards international understanding and friendship. I am proud of my brave ancestors for traveling to the colonies. I am proud to have been recognized by the Vasa Order for my work on cultural exchange between our two countries. 🇺🇸🇸🇪

Thank you New Sweden Alliance for giving me this opportunity. It boosted my morale during the most challenging time in my life thusfar. And you can hear my father singing along in the background.

I also sang the Swedish National Anthem - footage coming soon 🇸🇪

If you would like to support me on this journey as I start working again performing and releasing new music again, please join me on Patreon or make a one time tax deductible donation via Fractured Atlas via the link below.

https://linktr.ee/TheRealIVA 🙏💙

🎥🙏❤️

Embassy of Sweden in USA
The Fulbright Program Mayor John Carney
New Sweden Alliance Incorporated National Park Service The Swedish Colonial Society

12/02/2025

Dear Music Lovers,

Due to health challenges, you haven't heard from me for a number of months. Checking in to let you know I am feeling much better, and I am beyond grateful for the help of my fellow teachers in my voice studio and my bandmate Geoff for holding down the fort while I've been undergoing treatment.

Seeing as it's Giving Tuesday, I wanted to tell you more about an important initiative to which I am even more dedicated as changes in our economy and school funding have caused less students to be able to afford music lessons. My teaching studio has been able to fund scholarship students these past years thanks to private donations through our fiscal sponsor, who makes it possible for IVA Voice and Music to accept tax free donations.

I'd like to open up this opportunity to the entire IVA community as it is so important for our continued ability to meaningfully connect through music.

You can make a tax free donations by visiting our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas via https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/iva-voice-music/

The IVA Voice and Music Studio Scholarship Fund makes musical instruction and mentoring available to students based on their talent and desire and not their ability to pay. As many schools have defunded their music programs - access to music lessons is more important than ever. We offer voice, piano, guitar, acting, songwriting, and artistic development from multiple teaching artists, giving students a wholistic, enriching experience, helping them find their authentic voice.
Having studied at music conservatories I know that weekly private lessons are a vital part of a performer’s development. It can make the difference between getting the schooling or the work a musician needs to thrive. I’m striving to make this vital training more accessible through the IVA Voice Scholarship Fund.

For example, Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington, DE does not offer voice lessons as part of its curriculum. If students have the means they can look outside of the school for private vocal coaching. I have provided lessons for these students over the years and would like to offer the opportunity for lessons to more students at the school who haven't had the means to fund private voice lessons.

To learn more about our lesson offerings and teachers, visit http://www.ivavoicestudio.com

If you care to donate, you can donate as you wish. You can also support specific students if you have someone in mind, or can discuss with me students in need. Or, if you know of a student who would benefit from music lessons, please send them our way.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

**AN UPDATE ON SWEETEATERS NEW RECORD! While I've been ill I've not been able to be in the studio for the mixing process, and my bandmate Geoff has continued mixing until I could return this past month. The record is sounding awesome and we can't wait to share it with you.

**AN UPDATE ON THE OPERA - I continue to work on the libretto with excellent artistic support, and have begun composing more music for the opera. I've had to take a break due to my health, and am looking forward to composing again as I continue to feel better.

Sending love to you all! Thank you for your support!
IVA/Emily/Emsy/MZT

05/09/2025

My student and colleague Cynthia Lin and I recorded her learning mixed belt technique on the song “Defying Gravity”. We worked on the magic key 🔑 to belting - the baby cry sound 👶 as well as other tips.

Warning ‼️ annoying baby noises in the video ‼️🤣😂

Cindy is a ukulele virtuoso and YouTube star and is exploring how she can incorporate the mixed belt technique into her singing to expand her repertoire. Cindy learns quickly and had good success making belting work for her. She wondered if it would upset her jazz technique, but it has just strengthened her voice and given her more options.

We did this lesson online from Honolulu and New York. Virtual voice lessons work!

To watch the full lesson, visit my YouTube.com/ and try the technique for yourself. Or follow the link below. Remember to like and subscribe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYEH-Q6qtkc&t=59s
Cynthia Lin

Hello all! My friend and colleague Cynthia Lin wanted to learn mixed belt technique, so we focused on the "Defying Gravity" from Wicked to apply the techniqu...

05/02/2025

SAVE THE DATE!
On Sunday, June 1st at 2pm I'll be performing at Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia in honor of their 325th year dedications. Tickets are available here: https://preserveoldswedes.org/event/iva/

SWEETEATERS EP
Last week we finished tracking our Sweeteaters EP. Now we go into the mixing phase. Thanks again to all who donated. We can't wait to share the record with you.

VOICE STUDENTS RECORDINGS
I've also been busy with my fabulous voice students. Three of them have released music this past month:
YouTube Star and Ukulele Virtuoso https://www.youtube.com/cynthialinmusic released "Microscope" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l87As43umf4

Shelli Vogt of Shelli and the Husbands released the "Haunted Heart" EP and this single "Let Me Go" https://soundcloud.com/shelliandthehusbands/f94631c0-9a66-4052-ae41-510f905a9d5f?in=shelliandthehusbands/sets/haunted-heart-1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing.

Ayaka Matsui released the instrumental track "Reverie" https://open.spotify.com/track/6PX0gxDD6sNMzMB59KJIb9?si=95cff142f8014bb1&nd=1&dlsi=4cf9293186ec495d.
She and I have been working on her voice so she can incorporate vocals into her future performances.

If you or someone you know is interested in voice lessons, either in person in New York or Delaware or virtually from anywhere, please visit http://www.ivavoicestudio.com or write to [email protected] for more information.

Spring is here! I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather.
Emily/Emsy/IVA

04/30/2025

Making a move to spend more time in the country. I love teaching in New York, but I need a change from living there full time. Part of me is a country mouse and I love my home state Delaware. Time to make good use of the house there and be closer to family.

New York loves, I’ll still be coming to teach, and Delaware loves, we can sing in person now. And thanks to the possibilities for online teaching, I can also reach my virtual students while living in more than one room.

These changes always come with a lot of emotion and I’m definitely feeling it. What a process. Last Tuesday and I finished tracking our EP just in time, and cried. On Sunday I finished packing in Brooklyn, and cried saying goodbye to my beautiful studio apartment. On Monday and Tuesday I moved into our family house in Delaware and breathed a sigh of relief for the beautiful spring flowers and sounds of birds, and friends close by. It’s Wednesday now and I’m on the train back to my New York students. I seem to like moving cause I am doing a lot of it ;)

Thank you to the amazing , my partner, who helped me make this major move. Is it his skill as a director that makes him good at logistics? Or does he just love disassembling IKEA furniture? Whichever it is, he was by my side the whole time. These are his beautiful photos.

Delaware friends, let’s hang. Dani , thank you for the drill!! And New York friends and students, I love you and am still around thanks to Amtrak and kindred spirits in the City. Thanks for reading, dear ones 🙏💙💫


🌸 ❤️