opera singers and musicians to achieve their career goals. With this in mind, Sheila and Werner founded the International Opera Studio of Dallas (IOSD) in 1984. Many of her students are now performing in major opera houses in the United States and Europe, both as leading soloists and as chorus members, including Dallas Opera, and have won awards such as the Metropolitan Opera Regional Competition and the MacAllister and William Matheus Sullivan awards. Over the years, more than 30 of her students have sung as chorus members with Dallas Opera. For many years, the Harms organized and performed in many concerts in the Dallas area, including frequent performances for the Wagner Society of Dallas, the Dallas Goethe Center, the Musical Arts Society of Dallas, and Dallas Pro Musica. In a letter to Sheila, Maestro Nicola Rescigno, former artistic director of the Dallas Opera, wrote: "It was so nice to hear you on this side of the piano Saturday. You brought great musicality and sensitivity to everything you sang. I feel sure that if you can impart even a small amount of what you showed to your students, they are in very capable hands. I know how conscientious you are with your pupils in their preparation, and all I can say is that I wish there were more like you.” Sheila Jones Harms often performed and taught at university and music schools in the area, where she explained her theories about vocal interpretation and accompanying, and provided teaching demonstrations. At the time of her death, she was involved in a project to write a memoir and book on voice training, entitled “Remember the Eye Smile or The Secrets of a Good Vocal Technique.” References Edward P. Flaspoehler, Jr.: The Cold War Soprano. Memoirs of a Singer-Spy. Dallas TX: Prestige Services, 2006 External links Find additional information on Sheila Harms 1931 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the Royal College of Music English operatic sopranos Texas classical music 20th-century British women opera singers People from Carlisle, Cumbria