Dr. Hassler’s 1000 Bows
Dr. Desirée Hassler with music students at MBI
Moody Voice Professor, Dr. Desirée Hasler, grew up in Los Angeles as a theatre kid, and decided to study music in college at the very last minute. She met her husband, Dan, when he was her undergrad music theory tutor. Now, they’ve been married for 26 years, are the parents of four wonderful children, and live in a cool old house in Oak Park, IL.
When Dr. Hassler isn’t teaching music history or her voice students at Moody, she can often be found down the road at the Lyric Opera of Chicago where she has been singing in the chorus for fifteen seasons. In her time there, she has appeared nation-wide on PBS Great Performances in a world premiere opera, won an Emmy for a short-form opera during Covid (now, that’s a story!), sung back up to Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, and this season—Smashing Pumpkins!
By God’s grace, Dr. Hassler has taken more than 1,000 bows on that stage, in performances of everything from Mozart to West Side Story. In addition to singing in the chorus, occasionally she will sing small roles or understudy larger ones. One of the craziest memories of her life was finishing teaching a voice lesson at Moody at 4 o’clock and being called to come to Lyric early because she was to be in role in a very difficult show and with very little rehearsal. It was a “pinch me” moment for her because she was able to share the stage with one of her favorite singers of all time. Working at Lyric is Dr. Hassler’s everyday “continuing education” because she is up-close-and-personal with some phenomenal singers and vocal technicians. She also has a fair amount of blooper stories from over the years, but you’ll have to ask her about those in person!
“Learn to enjoy the process of learning.”
Teaching at Moody is one of the great joys of Dr. Hassler’s life. She doesn’t just teach voices; she strives to light a fire of curiosity and exploration with each student. While she and her students work hard, they also discover hard. There is a lot of play in her studio. Teaching and learning singing is vulnerable, personal, and exhilarating! When she sits back at her students’ senior recitals and capstones, she can’t help but be so proud of how far they’ve come over the years. Many of her students have gone on to be worship leaders, pursue grad degree in music, or become music teachers themselves. For Dr. Hassler, taking part in training them for these endeavors is a cherished gift from God.
Dr. Hassler encourages students to “learn to enjoy the process of learning”—particularly students who are developing a craft like singing or playing an instrument. Growth will never be linear, she explained, but the process can absolutely be joyful. Nothing is more fun for her than seeing students surprise themselves when they take a risk…and it WORKS!
Read more about Dr. Hassler and our other incredible Music faculty HERE.
