Equally at home in vocal and instrumental repertoire, pianist Cara Chowning is in demand as a coach and collaborative artist.  She has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, with such ensembles as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Kunst in der Stadt, Graz, Storioni Ensemble, and Festpelen Pitea.  Ms. Chowning is a frequent guest on recital series throughout the Midwest and Northeast Ohio and has been broadcast on WFMT, WCLV and Iowa Public Radio.  Recent engagements include performances with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Bar Harbor Music Festival, and the Festival Internacional de Flautistas en el Centro del Mundo in Quito, Ecuador.

Ms. Chowning has served as Assistant Chorus Master and Staff Pianist for Cleveland Opera, as the Musical Director and Pianist of Lyric Opera Cleveland’s Apprentice Showcase and Spaces Art Gallery Concert, and on the accompanying faculty at the American Institute of Music Studies in Graz, Austria.  As Music Director of Opera Cleveland’s Great Works outreach programs, she created several new educational programs for performance in schools across Northeast Ohio.

Ms. Chowning holds degrees in piano performance and collaborative piano from Northwestern University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2003 she joined the Cleveland Institute of Music’s accompanying faculty and has also served on the faculties of Simpson College, Cleveland State University and the Cleveland Music School Settlement.  Currently, she is Music Director for the vocal series of the Bar Harbor Music Festival and the Principal Coach/Assistant Conductor of the Opera Division at the University of Illinois.