Our Wylie East Vertical Team works with several outstanding affiliate faculty that provide individualized vocal instruction to students during their choral class, as well as provide availability before and after school.  Students in voice lessons work vocal technique, sight-reading literacy, performance skills, and further prepare them for individual pursuits such as recital performances and contests such as All-Region/All-State Choir and Solo & Ensemble.  We invite you to learn about our voice faculty by reading more in their biographies.

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Raider Choir Voice Faculty

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Ms. Neylan Loffredo, Wylie East

Neylan Loffredo, soprano, is a voice instructor at Dallas College. She earned her Bachelors of Music Education from University of Arlington. She also holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, where she was a finalist in the Eastman FEO Aria Competition. Her operatic experience includes Esther in Paola Prestini’s Silent Light, chorus in Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Margarita Xirgu in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar with Eastman Opera Theatre. She also served as chorus master for Amahl and the Night Visitors. As an educator, Neylan works with young singers to develop healthy vocal technique and confident musicianship. She prepares students for Solo & Ensemble competitions as well as All-Region and All-State choir auditions. She has previously taught voice through the Eastman Community Music School and the Dallas Music Academy.

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Mrs. Toni Richardson, Burnett

Mrs. Toni Richardson is a singer and voice teacher based in Dallas, TX. She holds a dual Master of Music degree in Vocal Pedagogy and Vocal Performance from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. During her time at Belmont, she studied vocal health and contemporary commercial singing (CCM) techniques with specialists from the world-renowned Vanderbilt Voice Center. Mrs. Richardson is passionate about healthy singing and cross-training the voice in multiple genres—her specialties are classical and musical theatre. Professionally, Mrs. Richardson is a lyric soprano and has performed in various opera productions. Some of her favorite roles include Rusalka in Dvorak’s Rusalka, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. 

 

As a voice teacher, Mrs. Richardson uses student-focused vocal training techniques to foster a safe and supportive learning environment. She loves working with students of all ages, and she is especially skilled at helping students overcome performance anxiety. Mrs. Richardson is always ready to help with musical theatre auditions, All-State and All-Region Choir auditions, Solo and Ensemble competitions, as well as preparation for various other singing opportunities such as choir solos, voice recitals, and church performances. 

 

Mrs. Richardson lives in Plano with her wife and two sons—a large black cat named Poe and a free-roam rabbit named Pumpkin. When she’s not singing or teaching, Mrs. Richardson loves traveling, trying new restaurants, and seeing local theatre productions. Most importantly, Mrs. Richardson is thrilled to continue teaching voice lessons at Wylie ISD and can’t wait to help your students achieve all their singing goals!

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Mrs. Sandy Shelley, Wylie East

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Sandy Shelley taught middle school choirs for over 30 years. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree at Texas State University in San Marcos and her Master of Music Education at the University of North Texas in Denton. Sandy’s choirs won many awards at UIL Contest, Hurricane Harbor Choral Competition, and Hawaiian Falls Choral Competition. Her groups were invited to perform at the Texas Music Educators Association convention in 2002 and 2006. Sandy retired from public school teaching in 2017.

 

Since retiring, Sandy works most days tutoring choir students. She teaches voice lessons at Wylie East High School in Wylie ISD, where she has helped to guide multiple students in the Texas All-State process and choirs. She also coaches and accompanies singers at several other schools in the area. She is active as a clinician, adjudicator, and accompanist, and is a member of TMEA and TMAA.  Sandy is busy at her church where she accompanies the adult choir, plays handbells, runs the cameras for online worship, and assists her husband, Don Shelley, who is the Director of Music.  They have two grown children and five grandchildren (who are the smartest, most talented, beautiful grandchildren in the world!).

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Mr. Ryan Wiśniewski, Wylie East

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Ryan Wisniewski hails from Oceanside, CA and comes from a non-musical family; despite this, music has remained a big fixture in his life. It wasn’t until his sixth grade choir class that he started singing, but it was this exposure that began to pave the way towards a lifelong obsession! Finding his call as a singer, he attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas after graduating high school to study vocal performance and choral music education. He has been a proud member of the Barbershop Harmony Society since 2011 and an active performer with many of its top groups from California, including the Westminster Chorus, Masters of Harmony, and The Newfangled Four.

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Supplementary music lessons are offered as a supplement to classroom instruction. Participation in these supplemental lessons is optional. All students will have access to supplemental music lessons. Students must be fully prepared for each lesson, follow guidelines for absences, provide documentation of any required practice time, supply method books and other materials, and meet the criteria for student participation.  Parents must turn in monthly payments to the program on time, encourage the student to practice daily and sign weekly time cards, and provide reassurance and encouragement to the student regarding recitals, auditions, etc.  Lessons will be scheduled during the student's choir class, lunch hour, or before/after school. No lessons will be scheduled during non-choir classes. It will be the responsibility of the student to notify his/her supplementary instructor at least twenty-four hours in advance if a lesson is to be cancelled - unless, of course, a serious emergency arises. This courtesy is also the responsibility of the supplementary instructor if he/she must cancel a lesson. Excused absences will either be made up, or the necessary adjustments will be made for the following month's pledge. The music directors will aid the student in advising the private instructor of concerts, programs, holidays, etc., which would result in any interruption of the regularly scheduled lesson. A payment of $25.00 per lesson should be pledged and a check for that amount made out to the lesson teacher. He/she will collect payment from student for services rendered each month and will track lesson attendance, payment, etc.

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To enroll in private voice lessons, please email your child's choir director:

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Wylie East High School

directors@wylieeastchoir.com​ 

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Burnett Junior High School

lindsay.barnes@wylieisd.net

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Parker Junior High School

brent.barnes@wylieisd.net

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Hampton Intermediate School

julianna.ake@wylieisd.net

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Harrison Intermediate School

TBD