The path from the opera stage to the sound bath is rarely traveled, but for former San Francisco Opera mezzo-soprano Sally Porter Munro, it has become the defining act of her later career. Her story, featured in the international bestseller The Moment We Rise, demonstrates how a lifetime of vocal mastery can be reborn as a tool for healing others.
Former San Francisco Opera singer shares how her career, guided by spirituality, evolved into sound healing and helping others discover their purpose.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Sally Porter Munro, who spent years as a member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus, is one of 15 contributing authors in “The Moment We Rise: Stories of Healing, Purpose, and the Courage to Choose a New Beginning.” Released September 9, 2026, the anthology climbed bestseller charts in multiple categories — including Biography Reference & Collections and Mental & Spiritual Healing — across the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
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In her chapter, “You Got to Have a Dream,” Munro traces a lifelong relationship with music that began when she attended the theatre as a four-year-old in England and decided she wanted to be onstage. Born in London’s East End, within the sound of Bow Bells, she later studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, performed with organizations including English National Opera and the BBC Singers, continued her training in New York, and went on to an international career performing in Europe, South Africa, Russia, and the United States.
Munro eventually became a full-time member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus, but her journey was not without setbacks. Her chapter recounts vocal difficulties early in her career, years of physical pain and injury, depression, and periods when she felt disconnected from the joy and purpose that had originally drawn her to music. Throughout these experiences, she says her spirituality, including her belief in the guidance of angels and spiritual guides, helped her navigate challenges and remain connected to her purpose.
A new direction began after Munro attended her first sound bath. When the COVID shutdown later closed the Opera House and a 200-hour sound healing certification became available, she decided to retire from San Francisco Opera. She took her final bow in December 2022, began her training in January 2023, and completed her certification that July.
“My age was not the age when people usually start building a new career,” Munro writes. “They are expected to slow down and ‘smell the roses.’ During the past three years, those roses have been smelling sweeter than ever.”
Since retiring from San Francisco Opera, Munro has focused on sound healing and energy work while continuing to perform, teach voice, and incorporate singing into her work with crystal singing bowls. Her approach integrates mind, body, and spirit, combining classical vocal training with meditation, energy work, and what she describes as spiritually guided healing to help others explore their own expression and purpose. She considers this spiritual connection equally important in her singing and teaching, where she encourages others to discover their authentic voices and connect with their inner guidance.
After attending one of Munro’s Mount Shasta sound baths, one of her clients, Dawn, wrote that while she had experienced many sound baths before, Munro’s use of her own voice made the experience stand apart, calling it “the most exquisite and profound.”
Munro’s decades of voice teaching continue alongside her sound work. Albert M. Eng, Ph.D., a retired clinical psychologist who began private lessons with Munro at age 74, said her teaching helped him discover “a singing voice that I never knew I had” and increased his awareness of the connections between breathing, the body, emotions, and communication.
Writing her chapter also introduced an unexpected new interest. Although Munro had spent decades performing and teaching, she had never considered herself a writer.
“Who knew that once I opened the door to the possibility, I would discover a joy I could not have previously imagined,” Munro said.
In a review of her chapter, a reader identified as Gil described it as “a powerful story of personal evolution,” noting how Munro shares both her accomplishments and personal challenges. Munro now hopes to continue writing, using words to reach others as she has through music and sound.
For Munro, the transition from opera to sound healing has not meant leaving her first career behind. Instead, she sees performance, teaching, spirituality, and energy work as connected parts of a lifelong pursuit of purpose.
“I have always been a dreamer with a purpose,” Munro writes. “I am living my dream every day and helping others live theirs.”
The Moment We Rise features 15 authors sharing personal stories of illness and healing, grief and loss, trauma, relationships, changing identities, spiritual experiences, self-discovery, reimagined dreams, career changes, and unexpected paths to purpose. The anthology was compiled by Vickie Gould, founder of Life Changing Energy, and published by Morning Oak Publishing.
The book follows the international bestselling anthologies The Call Within: Finding Purpose and Sparking Transformation and Whispers of the Soul: Stories of Resilience, Awakening, and the Power of Healing from Within. All proceeds from The Moment We Rise benefit Brighter Healing Foundation, supporting its work to expand access to holistic healing tools, education, resources, and support.
About Sally Porter Munro
Sally Porter Munro is a certified sound healer, trained Pranic Healer, spiritual guide, voice teacher, and former international mezzo-soprano. Originally from London’s East End, she studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and enjoyed an international performing career before becoming a longtime member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus. She holds a 200-hour certification in therapeutic sound healing, is certified in Primordial Sound Meditation, and is a qualified teacher of the F.M. Alexander Technique. She continues to perform, teach voice, and incorporate singing with Alchemy Crystal Singing Bowls in her sound work.
For more information or media inquiries, visit www.spiritandsoundhealingwithsally.com.
Vickie Gould
Vickie Gould International, LLC DBA Life Changing Energy
+1 517-798-6299
Why it matters: Munro’s story challenges the assumption that a performing career ends when the curtain falls. Her pivot to sound healing — at an age when many are told to slow down — offers a model for how creative professionals can repurpose their skills and find renewed purpose later in life, and it shows how the anthology’s message of reinvention is resonating with readers across multiple countries.
