Taking a chance to learn something new paid off for Fithian native Debra Myers.
The Oakwood High School graduate followed her passion for music to Western Illinois University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music education. She then received her masters degree in vocal performance from the University of Illinois.
But it wasn’t until she took a chance on opera that the world opened up for her.
“I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t been told my voice was perfect for opera,” Myers said. “I wanted to sing Barry Manilow. But that wasn’t what I was suited for.
“I’m just a little girl from a farm; I didn’t know anything about (opera).”
Myers spent much of the 1980s in New York, studying and challenging herself to perform opera on stage.
At the age of 25, Myers had a hard lesson to learn.
“An instructor asked me, ‘Do you even know what opera is supposed to sound like?’ “
“I said, ‘I don’t know.’”
“He said, ‘You don’t listen to it, do you?’”
“So I started listening to it, and it did make a huge difference because I didn’t even know what I was supposed to be sounding like,” Myers said.
Through her work in New York, Myers was able to perform in front of crowds while also engaging with classic stories such as Othello and Romeo and Juliet.
Her work also took her to Israel, where she helped set up an opera program for young artists.
“I got to see all these wonderful things I would have never got to see if I wasn’t a singer,” she said. “It enriched my life a ton.”
Then, the mother of two children knew that she and her husband needed to relocate back to East Central Illinois where they were close to family.
While raising her children, Myers worked as the music director at several churches, was a Voice Teacher at Parkland College and Vocal Director at the Champaign-Urbana Theater Company.
Through teaching, Myers found her passion lies in helping students discover music in a way that’s unexpected.
For 25 years now, Myers has taught voice and piano lessons in her home to students of all ages.
“I’ve had students from age 5 to 72,” she said.
“It’s nice to have adults who have always wanted to play the piano or sing, but never got to. Then they retire and that’s what they do.”
One of Myers favorite students, Ramona Simpson, came to lessons as an adult wanting to learn how to sing Patsy Cline songs.
“We sang country for a long time, but then I started introducing other things,” Myers said. “She said yes, she wanted to do something else, so we did some sacred songs. And then she sang in Italian.”
Myers connected with Ramona through Ramona’s daughter Kathy, who was Myers’ first student 25 years ago.
Kathy, now married to Kyle Lyons, owns Geschenk Boutique and Coffee and Tea Haus where Myers is now a barista.
While Myers enjoys having quaint conversations with customers while preparing their drinks and sandwiches, her love of teaching music to children is something she is still passionate about.
Her studio is open in the afternoons and early evenings from 3 to 7 or 8 p.m. during the weekdays, with Saturdays and Sundays, upon request.
While students, both young and old, come to Myers with a goal in mind, she tries to teach them a little something more.
“I hope they learn something about music,” she said. “I also try to teach them history of music. I try really hard to expose my students to every different kind of music that they will tolerate.”
She loves teaching students about big band music, cabaret work and jazz. And, of course, opera.
“I always tell my students, if you strive to do the most difficult thing, which in my opinion is opera, you can do everything else,” she said.
And her tactics work.
She currently has approximately 13 former students who perform in New York. She also loves to think about the work she did with Sasha Steinberg, a former Urbana resident who won the ninth season (2017) of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
“I just love it that I had something to do with (her) early development in music,” she said.
“For me, okay I can die now. That’s my goal to get people to the point where they can choose, if they want to make that their livelihood or their passion.”
That lifelong gift of music is something that Myers strives to give every student.
“It certainly is something that feeds your soul,” she said.
Myers also enjoys spending time as the Music Director of the Champaign-Urbana Theater Company’s Penguin Project.
In its third year in East Central Illinois, the Penguin Project provides children with developmental disabilities experiences in theater.
“We are thrilled that these kids are getting this opportunity,” she said.
Myers has seen how the program has helped children, who may not get a chance in their school environment, gain confidence through the Penguin Project.
“The thing that I’m seeing is that these kids are going to their schools and they are able to be included,” she said. “For me that’s more important than having them do a little show together. It’s wonderful that they get to do that, but to be included, that’s more important to them.”
Myers believes that connecting through music is where the real magic happens.
“I’ve had kids that are like my own children; I’ve seen them for once a week, if not more, for 10 years of their life,” she said. “It’s a one-on-one very personal connection.
“It’s more than just teaching at that point. It’s being involved in their lives.”
To learn more about Debra’s work, visit the Sounds of Music Studio Facebook page. To schedule a lesson, call 217.493.2938 or email soundsofmusicstudio1@gmail.com.
