Our Teachers
Veronica Kokas, Founder & Voice Teacher
Teaches Online & In-Person (Richmond, VA metro area)
Veronica is a singer and holistic voice teacher with experience performing and teaching a variety of styles, including classical, musical theatre, pop, rock, and country. Originally from Austin, Texas, she has performed in operatic productions as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, the Sandman and Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel, Luci Johnson in the world premiere of Sheldon Harnick’s Lady Bird, and Celia in Iolanthe. Veronica studied voice from world-renowned mezzo-soprano Patricia Miller and accomplished baritone Oliver Worthington.
A voice teacher for over ten years, her students have been named finalists and semi-finalists for the National Hal Leonard Vocal Competition in both the Art Song and Musical Theatre categories; have been admitted for collegiate study at institutions such as AMDA College of Performing Arts, Baylor University and Texas Tech University; have participated in the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts; have been selected to the Virginia All-State Chorus and All-Virginia Senior Honors Chorus; have been named to Virginia All-County and All-District Choruses, and have performed at Dolly Parton’s Dollywood, Busch Gardens (Williamsburg, VA), and Richmond Music Hall. Her students perform regularly and have held lead roles with the Winchester Little Theatre (Winchester, VA), SPARC Richmond, Riverside Center for the Performing Arts (Fredericksburg, VA) and with CharacterWorks (Richmond, VA). Veronica is also a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing).
Passionate about healing modalities, Veronica is a certified mindfulness practitioner and is currently working towards her yoga teacher certification through My Vinyasa Practice.
Outside of music, she enjoys yoga, reading, running, and hiking. Veronica holds a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from George Mason University and a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from Texas State University.
Rosemary Wright, Associate Voice Teacher
Teaches Online & In-Person (Northern Virginia metro area)
Rosemary (Rosie) is an experienced singer and teacher of many genres and styles of music. Currently, she teaches voice, piano, guitar, and ukulele at Music and Arts (Herndon, VA), and she gigs around the DMV area as a freelance musician. Rosie, a classically trained mezzo-soprano, has performed in Operatic roles such as Cherubino in W.A. Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Nerone in Monteverdi’s l’Incoronazione di Poppea, and the title role in Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini. She was a national semi finalist in the 2021 National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) national competition, and in the same year won 1st place in the Friday Morning Music Club’s Sue Goetz Ross competition for voice. Rosie has studied voice with critically acclaimed soprano, Jessica Spafford, and world renowned mezzo-soprano, Patricia Miller.
Born in Columbia, MD and raised in Harrisonburg, VA, Rosie’s musical roots extend anywhere from bluegrass, to classic rock, to choral music. Her eclectic taste has led her to perform in many ensembles including the Mennonite Schools Council (MSC) choir festival, several Mason Opera productions, Maryland Lyric Opera productions, GMU Green Machine’s Funk Band, Bloom contemporary vocal quartet, and her current funk-fusion band, Everyday People. She has been teaching voice, piano, and ukulele for the past 5 years, and guitar for the last 6. Many of Rosie’s students have won top placements at All-District and All-State choirs (VA), performed at local theaters such as NextStop Theater Company (Herndon, VA), Creative Cauldron (Falls Church, VA), Lopez Studio Inc. Performing Arts School (Reston, VA), The Theater Lab (Washington, DC) and more.
While singing is her main area of expertise, Rosie is experienced in teaching music theory, sight-singing, composition, and songwriting. She sees every musical genre as a challenge, so she prides herself on being versatile in her singing and an overall musicianship. As each lesson is very personalized, Rosie believes every singer should be as well-equipped as possible with the musical tools that most suit their preferred genre.
Rosie considers music a job and a hobby (there is a detailed Venn diagram) but outside of work, she enjoys thrifting, playing Mario Kart, and cuddling with her cats. Rosie holds a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from George Mason University.