Suzanne
Hillis Ackin, Kansas City-North, puts all her heart and energy
into music. It is her passion and her calling to teach. As a professional
soprano, Ackin has found herself on the stages of Fort Worth, Cincinnati,
St. Louis and Kansas City’s own Lyric, but for the past eight years
(five years full time), the smaller setting of a studio rehearsal
room has fit her just fine.
Ackin teaches
at her home studio and at Ibsen Dance Theatre in Gladstone, Mo. Initially,
her direction was to enter the classroom as a music teacher after gaining her
bachelor’s in music education from Emporia State University. She taught in
Kansas City, Kan. for a year and then returned for her master’s degree. In
1984, she got her first big break as a chorus member with the Lyric Opera.
“I never wanted to be a struggling artist in New York, waiting
tables,” she says. “I never needed a New York career. I wanted
to be a working singer, a regional singer and music teacher. I
kept a good pulse on the educational world, working with the education
department at the Lyric Opera. I realized I just needed to be near
an airport and I could find work all over.”
Ackin is a lover of musical theater, especially opera. She has
performed in musicals, operettas and concert work. “Opera takes
the best of the visual performing arts with singing, acting, dancing,
lighting, scenery – just about everything,” she says. “It is easy
to fall in love with this art form.”
Ackin says
she is the sort of singer with clear diction who can deliver the message. “Sometimes
I want to break the stereotypes,” she says. “I sing honestly and stay true
to myself.” She actively sang opera, operettas and concerts from 1984 to 1999.
Some of her roles have included playing Solo Star in the world premiere of
“Coyote Tales” at the Lyric Opera and Frasquita in both the Lyric’s and Fort
Worth’s productions of “Carmen.” Another substantial role came with the
Springfield Regional Opera where she played Despina in “Cosi Fan Tutte.”
With her
daughter Emily pursuing a degree in dance, Ackin is turning her attention back
to her own singing. She is also helping with this summer’s Gladstone Theatre
in the Park’s production of “The King and I.” She has aided some of the
local high schools when the drama departments needed some vocal music help
with the musicals. “I have met my personal challenges and I am up for what
comes my way.”
Some of her burgeoning vocal stars will stay in the area and she
expects others to head to New York. “I am helping nurture students
and I try to share some of the hard knocks of life. I take students
who have drive and desire. I want to be a good teacher and the
kids can tell a difference. My students understand that our voices
are connected to our souls so a lot of work is heart work.”
Ackin says she hopes Kansas City will continue to grow in all its
arts. “We will find our place. Some of the groups that will fall
under the roof at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will
find a renewed success. That will have a ripple effect on many
of us.”
Ackin also
performs with Lyric Arts Trio, which features a pianist and clarinetist.
www.lyricartstrio.com
