Kara Kesselring is a professional singer, pianist, writer, arranger, and educator living in Chicago.
A native of Iowa, Kara graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in vocal performance and film & television production. She has been involved in Chicago’s vibrant music scene for more than 10 years.

She performs with an improvisational theater troupe, Wavelength, traveling the country providing educational keynotes to teachers and administrators. Recently, she wrote Musical Staff – a parody on educational issues- with her partner Brendan Kelly and they have performed throughout the U.S. and as well as internationally, for the Ministry of Education in Singapore.

Kara teaches private and group voice/piano classes to children and adults, and the vocal jazz combo class at The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. She also teaches at her own private studio in Berwyn. You can hear her on three CDs “If I Should Lose You�, “Sonho Meu�, and “The Grandma Project�. In addition to her freelance projects of pop and jazz, Kara performs in a society band, The Standing Room Only Orchestra which was just rated one of the top six bands in Illinois by Modern Bride Magazine for the second straight year. She enjoys playing with her own Kara Kesselring Jazz Trio and has started a new collaboration called Sugarcreek Road performing traditional country and gospel standards.

She has performed at notable venues: the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Symphony Center, Taste of Chicago, Pops for Champagne, The Coq d’Or-Drake, The Pump Room, Green Dolphin Street, Hotel Intercontinental, Philanders, Pete Millers Steakhouse, Chicago Improv Festival, Old Town School American Airlines Theater. Kara has also done jingle and voice over work for CLTV, XRT Radio, and WMS Gaming.

Originally influenced by her traditional country roots, Kara was trained in classical piano and voice, then introduced to jazz in college. A few years later, when working with guitarist Scott Anderson, Kara was introduced to Brazilian jazz and performed in the group, “Nova Bossa�. Kara’s musical influences include: Joni Mitchell, Lyle Lovett, Prince, Alison Krauss, Tom Waits, Jonatha Brooke, Bonnie Raitt, Abbey Lincoln, Grazyna Auguscik, and Holly Cole.

When Kara isn’t working on music projects, you can find her participating on the Berwyn Development Corporation (BDC) marketing committee. She is very excited about her involvement in Berwyn’s future and has enjoyed the past two years sharing ideas and working on multiple projects for the BDC. Kara is a founding member of The Berwyn Arts Council. She was proud to be a part of the annual Cartopia car-art event which is one of the many projects she’s working on with The Berwyn Arts Council.

In addition to her work on the BDC, Kara is very active in her church, Lake View Presbyterian. She, and her husband Patrick, have been members for more than seven years. An important part of Kara’s life, she’s spent the past year on the Brighter Face committee organizing a silent auction, a concert series, and a comedy night that successfully raised funds for the award-winning renovation and restoration of the church’s facade.

You can also find her traveling the world, meeting new people, teaching aerobics, knitting, reading, trying to teach her untrained pooch Sammy new tricks, and preparing for the birth of her first child in November.

Visit Kara's official site