ABOUT
I’m a pianist, coach, performer, yoga instructor, breathwork facilitator, and musicians’ career adjuster who empowers musicians to connect the dots in their careers.
I’m on a mission to help musicians (and really, any human!) improve their body movement, breath and mindset so that they can embrace their own unique voice and fulfill their dreams.
Visible. Financially secure. Genuinely fulfilled.
I started playing the piano when I was five years old and have been on the stage in some capacity since I was 12.
I certainly have had my share of many natural highs but also a fair amount of lows. From never being happy with my weight, or never feeling good enough, to suffering from performance anxiety and perfectionism, it has taken me almost 40 years to step into my best self and love my own artistry. The journey continues, but I'm finally comfortable in my own skin.
Equally at home in vocal and instrumental repertoire, Cara Chowning is in demand as a coach, music director and collaborative artist. She has performed extensively throughout the United States, South America, and Europe as a duo partner, chamber musician and orchestral pianist. A frequent guest coach and conductor, Chowning is the music director for the vocal series of the Bar Harbor Music Festival, and regularly performs at conventions of the National Flute Association, NASA and the International Double Reed Society. Chowning’s piano and wind trio, the Trio Village, is dedicated to bringing works by women and other lesser-known composers to national and international audiences. In 2018, Chowning was appointed Assistant Professor of Teaching in Vocal Coaching at Ball State University.
Chowning has served on the faculties of the Cleveland Institute, Simpson College, Oklahoma City University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the American Institute of Music Studies in Graz, Austria. She has been a guest artist at the ABRAF festival in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the Teatro Bicentenario in San Juan, Argentina, and the Mitad al Mundo Flute Festival in Quito, Ecuador. Her discography is available on all paid musical platforms.
An accomplished coach and music director, Chowning has prepared opera and musical theater productions at the professional, young artist, and collegiate level. She has served on the music staff of Cleveland Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Opera Cleveland, Finger Lakes Opera, and Kansas Lyric Opera. Her students appear in opera houses worldwide.
Chowning holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Northwestern University, a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Accompanying and Vocal Coaching from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and diplomaed Breath Coach.
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“Cara is a unique find in the musical world—seamlessly blending her many strengths into one singular vision: approaching music, and fellow musicians, in a holistic philosophy.
In the last decade, I have had the great pleasure of working with Cara in a wide variety of settings: under her baton, with her in chamber groups, alongside her for recitals with just the two of us on stage, and observing her as a coach and teacher. Cara comes to every situation prepared to give her best artistic performance and self. She provides coaching and musical ideas with a breadth of knowledge but also a full heart.
Every chance to make music with Cara brings me joy and musical fulfillment.”