The Story

I wasn’t your typical musical theatre student. I didn’t grow up belting Defying Gravity in my bedroom (well… not at first). I started voice lessons at the age of seven only because my older sister did, and like any little sister, I wanted in. All I knew was that I loved making sound and performing.

When I was ten, I saw my first Broadway show with my mom and sisters: the original production of Beauty and the Beast at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. I leaned over and whispered, “I want to be Belle.” That little girl’s dream ended up carrying me farther than I could’ve ever imagined.

I ventured into theatre early, appearing in The Wizard of Oz as both a Munchkin and a flying monkey (range!), and like most kids, I also got my orphan badge in Annie. At that Wizard of Oz dance callback, I accidentally turned the wrong way while everyone else turned the right way—mortifying—but hey, I still made it into the show. Little did I know that tiny toe-dip into local theatre was just the beginning.

My sisters and I later formed a singing group that somehow became the “hot ticket” in our hometown of Redlands. Our dad was so proud he named a line of toilet paper after us at his paper company. Yep, Harmony Soft. (So technically, if you ever wiped your butt with Harmony Soft… you were thinking of me. Sorry about that.) We even recorded a country album called Coast to Country. But we were California girls trying to fake twang, so… let’s just say the group didn’t last. My sisters went into the family business, while I stubbornly clung to my dream of becoming a “ridiculously famous singer.” (Dear Lord.)

Then came American Idol. I got my Golden Ticket to Hollywood from Simon Cowell himself, who told me (in his British accent), “If there were birds in the room, they’d be on your shoulder.” A little Disney foreshadowing, perhaps?

Pop stardom didn’t pan out (shocker), so I refocused on studying music. I literally Googled “music degrees” and ended up at the one school I applied to: San Diego State University. There I dove into classical training, piano, conducting, theory, aural skills, you name it—graduating with a B.A. in Music. That’s also where I got my first taste of teaching at a small studio in San Diego. Hooked, I went on to Bowling Green State University for my M.M. in Vocal Performance. I geeked out hard on vocal pedagogy, rep classes, and learning to sing in Italian, German, and French. I loved every second of it.

But here’s the thing: I wasn’t meant to be an opera singer. While teaching undergrad musical theatre students at BGSU, I realized two things: I LOVED teaching, and musical theatre was my one true love. By the time I graduated, I was fully pursuing both: performing and teaching.

Then came the audition. I was home, doing a production of Little Women, when I saw a Backstage posting for Belle in the Beauty and the Beast national tour—the role I had dreamed of since I was ten. I submitted a tape of me singing “Astonishing” (the world’s most overdone audition song, oops), and a few weeks later, there it was in my inbox: “Callback for Belle in Beauty and the Beast.”

Off I flew to New York City for my very first big audition at Pearl Studios. I walked in calm, almost eerily so, as if I knew it was mine. I sang, I read, I lived that role. Later that night, while inhaling McDonald’s fries in a cab, I got the call for the final callback. The next morning, I walked back in, the panel had doubled, and I still knew. Weeks later, I got the call: “Hilary, we’d like you to be our Belle.” Sitting next to my mom, I burst into tears. Dream achieved.

I went on to play Belle over 750 times across the U.S. and internationally, making me one of the longest-running Belles in the show’s history. Since then, I’ve performed everything from Jerusha in Daddy Long Legs (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, TBA Award) to Clara in The Light in the Piazza (Theatre Raleigh), Eliza in My Fair Lady, Nellie in South Pacific, Jo in Little Women, Jasmine in Aladdin: The Musical Spectacular, and more. I even originated the role of Margaret Dirmith in Tambora: The Lost Kingdom (NYU).

But even while performing, my obsession with the voice itself kept growing. I wanted to know not just how to sing, but how voices work, how they heal, and how to help others unlock their full potential. That passion led me to Somatic Voicework™—The LoVetri Method. After completing Jeanie LoVetri’s elite two-year teacher training program, I became a certified Somatic Voicework™ teacher. That training completely transformed how I teach: evidence-based, functional, and tailored to each singer’s unique instrument.

Now, I live in Southern California where I run my own voice studio. I think of myself as a kind of voice concierge: part teacher, part coach, part cheerleader, part science geek. My students know they don’t just get me for their lesson slot—they get ongoing guidance, tools, and support so they can sing (and speak) with freedom, strength, and joy.

Photography Credit: Hilary Peters, Issac James, Shani Hadjian