Champaign, Illinois
Dr. Lara Brooks is Clinical Assistant Professor of Voice and Lyric Theatre at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she teaches applied voice across CCM, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Classical repertoire. Her pedagogy emphasizes developing expressive, flexible voices capable of adapting to multiple genres, grounded in healthy technique and stylistic awareness. She is an Estill Master Teacher and integrates evidence based approaches to voice, providing students with practical tools to achieve technical and artistic goals.
An accomplished performer and director, Dr. Brooks bridges classical, musical theatre, and jazz styles. She has performed internationally, including a jazz tour in Madrid, Spain, and at the Mozarthaus in Vienna, Austria, as well as in the United States at past Jazz Education Network conferences and at The Ohio State University. Notable performances include roles such as Rosalie Mullins in School of Rock the Musical, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, Tytania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lilli Vanessi Kate in Kiss Me, Kate, and Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. She has also appeared as soprano soloist in Bach's Cantata 147, Vivaldi's Gloria, and Fauré's Requiem.
Dr. Brooks frequently collaborates with saxophonist Dr. Robert Brooks as part of Sax and Serenade Duo, exploring jazz inspired voice and saxophone interplay, and is preparing an upcoming album of new works commissioned for the Duo, including world and North American premieres by Dr. Griffin Candey.
As a director, she has led numerous mainstage productions with Lyric Theatre at Illinois. Noteable directing credits include Anastasia, Carnaval, Mean Girls, and Sweets by Kate. Her music direction and orchestration for CCT's Newsies and The Happy Elf earned multiple BroadwayWorld Regional Awards in 2022 and 2023. She has extensive credits in stage and music directing for opera and musical theatre, including Pirates of Penzance, Ruddigore, War Paint, Hansel and Gretel, Frog and Toad, H M S Pinafore, Patience, and Disney's Newsies.
An active pedagogue and clinician, Dr. Brooks has presented at national and international conferences such as ICVT, JEN, NATS, ILMEA, KMEA, World Saxophone Congress, and the Estill World Voice Symposium. She was a 2023 NATS Intern, mentored under Nathan Gunn, and serves as the President of the National Society of Arts and Letters for the Illinois Chapter.
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Utilizing the Estill Voice Method for Healthy Vocal Jazz Pedagogy
Saturday, January 10, 2026
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM CST
