Opera Singing Northbrook Teacher Performs In Evanston

NORTHBROOK, IL — Ms. Loren Myers has been singing and dancing practically since she was the age of her first-grade students at Westmoor School. Now they can see her on stage as a member of the chorus in a local production of “Pirates of Penzance.” And, just maybe she will inspire one of her students the way she was inspired at their age. Growing up in San Diego, she’s been in too many productions to count, she says, but one thing she does remember is the first time she went to the theater.

“Some kids, it takes just one show for them to watch and to be in love with the arts. I saw my friend in a community theater production, and I told my mom I really, really wanted to do it and asked if I could do the next one,” Ms. Myers said in a soft-spoken voice that masks her classically trained opera talent.

Her first trip to the theater ignited a lifelong passion -- performing in as many as six productions a year and training in classical piano and voice. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Classical Voice performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, specializing in opera.

It was after college that she discovered her second love: teaching. She taught music at a charter school for two years and went back to college for a master’s degree in elementary education. Ms. Myers has been teaching first grade at Westmoor School for two years.

“I love Northbrook. I wanted to work here because music is so important to this community,” she said. She helps with the fifth-grade musical and teaches music classes in summer school.

Her love of Gilbert and Sullivan attracted her to the Savoyaires, an Evanston-based community theater that’s dedicated to bringing Gilbert & Sullivan to North Shore audiences.

Returning to the stage has meant some long hours, with rehearsals running until 10 p.m., and working weekends and holidays in the classroom to meet the needs of her students, she says.

“I like that I can talk about (the production) with my kids. They are really interested. If it helps kids appreciate the arts more, that’s great,” she said.

You can see Loren Myers at the Savoyaires’ production of “Pirates of Penzance” at Chute Middle School in Evanston on Oct. 13, 14 and 15. Visit Savoyaires.com for details and tickets.

» via Northbrook District 28

_{Top photo: Loren Myers plays a chorus part of the daughter of the Major General in the Savoyaires’ production of "Pirates of Penzance” at Chute Middle School in Evanston Oct. 13-15, courtesy District 28}