Maria Mikheyenko has been teaching and performing in the Bay Area since moving here from Michigan in 2000 to get her Masters Degree in Voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and classically trained, Maria is equally at home singing opera, musical theater, cabaret, jazz, rock, russian and world music, and loves to cross boundaries, defy genre expectations, and collaborate with artists from all walks of life.She has performed with Berkeley Playhouse, Hillbarn Theatre, Masquers Playhouse, Pocket Opera, San Francisco Cabaret Opera, The Bracebridge Dinner in Yosemite, San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Mozart Ensemble, and the SF Russian Festival, to name a few. She is a member of Her Rebel Highness, a song-and-dance troupe of 18th-century princesses, with bold costumes and original music and choreography, who write their own destinies. While singing with the Pacific Mozart Ensemble, Maria had the opportunity to collaborate with music legends Meredith Monk, Dave Brubeck, and Bobby McFerrin. She is also a long-time artist in residence with PuppetART, Detroit Puppet Theatre, as a puppeteer, voice-over artist, and composer.Maria recently received her certification in Commedia dell’Arte, after studying with Maestro Antonio Fava in Italy.When not on the stage, Maria enjoys teaching voice and piano to kids and adults of all ages, in private and group settings, and is a faculty member at the Albany Music School, Berkeley Playhouse, and Musically Minded Academy in Rockridge.www.MariaMikheyenko.com