Nyela Basney
Nyela Basney
Artist Faculty Music
Vocal Coaching
Chicago College of Performing Arts
» Office of Music Conservatory

About Me

“The orchestra, which lately can do no wrong, sounded great. Basney led them on a brilliant rendition of Gershwin’s bravura “An American in Paris” with dexterity, nicely capturing its bon vivant attitude.”  (Shreveport, LA Times)

Miss Basney has led performances by the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, the Toledo Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Rochester (NY) Philharmonic, the Sarajevo Philharmonic, over 120 performances with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, for 10 years with the Operafestival di Roma orchestra, Lyric Stage in Dallas, and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She also served as cover conductor for Andrew Litton with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and for John Nelson with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

As an opera conductor she has conducted over 25 full productions, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Rossini’s La Cenerentola among them, and also served as Associate Conductor with El Paso Opera and as Assistant Conductor and Chorusmaster for nineteen productions with the New York Grand Opera under the tutelage of Vincent LaSelva. She has collaborated with Renée Fleming (as pianist and as conductor), and with guest concertmaster of the La Scala Orchestra Alessandro Cervo (as pianist and as conductor).

Maestro Basney established Trusted Alliance Masterclass (The Synergy of Singer and Conductor) in 2017 for which she has given live and virtual master classes in New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Capetown, South Africa and Chicago, and at universities and young artist programs across the United States.

She attended the Eastman School of Music, receiving her undergraduate and graduate degrees with highest distinction.