Faculty & Staff |
Administration
Andy Anselmo – Founding Director
Don Rebic – Artistic Director
Angelique von Thun – School Administrator
Board of directors
Faculty
Robin Aleman - Private
Voice Technique; Fordham University
Jad Bernardo - Private Coaching, Accompanist; University of Tennessee, Florida State University, Carnegie Hall
John Capes - Private Voice Coaching; UCLA, Northwestern University, Vienna Conservatory, Broadway
Ron Cohn - Director, Manager, Producer; Mabel Mercer Foundation
Eric Comstock - Sing the Truth, Pianist,
Vocalist; Birdland, The Oak Room, Carnegie Hall; Co-Creator of Our Sinatra
Bradley Dean - Private Voice Technique; Actor,
Vocalist; Broadway: “Company,” “Man of La Mancha”
Michael DeVries - Private Voice Technique; Performer; Broadway: “Grand Hotel,” “Wicked”
David Epstein - Coaching, Arrangements, Pianist & Accompanist; New York University
Barbara Fasano -
Sing the Truth, Actress, Pop-Jazz Vocalist; Back Stage Bistro Award, MAC Award Winner
Pat Firth - Coaching, Pianist & Accompanist; William Paterson University
Dan Furman - Jazz Pianist, Accompanist and Composer; Oberlin College and Conservatory
Eric Michael Gillett - Private Voice Technique, Musical Theater & Audition
Technique Coaching, Audition & Vocal Performance, Discovering Monologues; “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Sweet Smell of Success,” “The Frogs”
David Gross - Private Coaching; Pianist, Arranger, Conductor, Musical Director For Many Top Names in Show Business
Mary Cleere Haran - Private Coaching; Singer,
Writer; Lincoln Center, Rainbow & Stars, Feinstein’s at the
Regency, Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey
Jerome Harmann-Hardeman - Developing the Artist; Broadway, off-Broadway, TV and Film
Rick Jensen - American Popular Song for Today's Singer; Pianist, Coach, Musical Director
Larry King - Pianist, Accompanist, Coach;
Julliard, The Oak Room, The Larry King Orchestra
Terri Klausner - Broadway Singer, Dancer, Actor; “A Chorus Line,” “Sophisticated Ladies,” “Evita”
Phillip Kirchmann - Accompanist, Private Coaching
Katya Kortny - Private Voice
Technique, Performance
Coach, Voice Technique; Singer; Star of the Moscow Operetta Theatre
Lina Koutrakos - American Popular Song for Today's Singer; Singer, Songwriter, Teacher, Director
Ralph Lane - Arrangements, Pianist; Pianist & Arranger, NBC Comedy Hour
Laurel Massé - Private Coaching; Grammy Winner, The Manhattan Transfer
Ted Muzio - Leadsheet Workshop; Singer/Pianist, Accompanist and Music Educator
Teri Ralston - Private Voice
Technique, Musical Theater Workshop; Company, A Little Night Music, The Baker's Wife
Erich Rausch - Pianist & Accompanist, Coaching, Arrangements; Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award
Wendy Russell - Private Voice
Technique; Singer, Songwriter, Arranger; Birdland
Elizabeth Russo - Private Voice
Technique, Voice Technique; Singer, Carnegie Hall, Sorg Opera, Pacific Opera
David Shenton - Pianist & Accompanist, Coaching, Arrangements, Orchestration; Back Stage Bistro Award
Mark Simon - Audition & Performance/Professional LevelCasting Director; Broadway, London, tours, and more; Paradise Found, Show Boat, Candide, 3hree, 13, The Last Five Years
Ellen Starr - Private Piano Lessons; Pianist, Singer, Coach and Arranger; New York Performing Jazz Artist
Vicki Stuart - The Art of the Cabaret Performer; Singer, Actor; Star of “Smiling Through”, “We’ll Meet Again”, and NBC’s “Days of Our Lives”
Christopher Temporelli - Private Voice
Technique;
University of Michigan, Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall
Eric Trudel - Classical Vocal Performance; Pianist, Coach, Conductor; Quebec Conservatory of Music, Yale University
Melanie Vaughan - Private Voice Technique, Associate Teacher; Ring of Fire, Parade, "As The World Turns"
Mark Wade - Music Theory & Ear
Training for Singers; Bassist; New York University
Steven Ray Watkins - The Arrangement Experience; Pianist, Arranger, Actor; MAC & Bistro Award Winner
Lennie Watts - The Arrangement Experience; Vocalist, Director, Producer; MAC, Bistro & Nightlife Award Winner
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ANDY ANSELMO
Founding Director, Private Voice Lessons
Mr. Anselmo holds a Master’s degree in voice from The New England Conservatory. He studied with the legendary William L. Whitney, and later developed the voice program at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute at the request of Lee Strasberg. His career spans Broadway to London. He received critical acclaim for his performances in THE GOLDEN APPLE, THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, and LEAVE IT TO JANE. His television credits include the JACKIE GLEASON SHOW, JOEY BISHOP SHOW, PHYLLIS DILLER SHOW and MERV GRIFFIN SHOW. Mr. Anselmo was presented the “Mayor’s Award” by Mayor Lindsay for exceptional service to the community for his work with The Everyman Street Theatre Company. His students include Mandy Patinkin, Tony Bennett, Liza Minnelli, Billy Stritch, Maryann Plunkett, Mary Tyler Moore, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brooke Shields, Joanne Woodward, Mariette Hartley, Regis Philbin and other stars.
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DON REBIC
Artistic Director
Don was trained as a classical pianist at Indiana University, where he studied with the internationally renowned concert pianist Abbey Simon. While at Indiana, Don became interested in Jazz and was taken under the wing of jazz pedagogue David Baker. Upon graduating with a degree in piano performance, he moved to New York City, and within a year was conducting his first show on Broadway, Jesus Christ Superstar. Since then, he has enjoyed a busy career as a conductor, pianist, and composer. Don has found success on Broadway, the national stage, and television, as an accompanist, musical director, performer and teacher, in classical music, jazz, popular music, and movie and television scoring. He has worked with such artists as Peggy Lee, Barbara Cook, Mary Cleere Harran, Karen Akers, Betty Buckley, Leslie Uggams, Chita Rivera, John Williams, Ricky Martin, and Jose Carreras.
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Angelique von Thun
School Administrator
Angelique von Thun holds a B.F.A. in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
As a singer and actress, Angelique has performed in New York and regionally throughout the U.S., as well as in England and throughout Europe. Her theatre credits include a variety of roles ranging from Shakespeare and Strindberg to Gilbert & Sullivan and Sondheim. She has studied voice with a variety of teachers throughout the years, including Singers Forum founder Andy Anselmo. Angelique found a new venue for her talents and experience when she turned her focus from performing to arts administration by joining the staff at Singers Forum in 2003.
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Robin Aleman
Private Voice Lessons; Fordham University
A native of New York, Robin Aleman’s smooth vocals have been engaging audiences for the past 5 years. She has been performing steadily in the tri-state area, filling houses wherever she plays with her original arrangements. After graduating from Fordham University, where she took elective classes in music theory and musical theater, Robin began studying voice with Phil Campanella. She has studied with a number of jazz artists, including Dena DeRose, and has been a participant at workshops held by Barry Harris and Tierney Sutton. Robin’s debut CD – entitled Tonight – was released August 8th, 2005 and features classic standards by a wide variety of songwriters: - Brubeck, Jobim, Monk and Ellington, to name a few. In addition to working with her own quartet, Robin performs with a Latin band, “Dos”, along with fellow singer Angelique von Thun. Their repertoire encompasses many Latin styles, including salsa, Brazilian jazz and classic boleros. She also enjoys work as a studio singer and voice over artist.
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Jad Bernardo
Private Coaching, Accompanist; University of Tennessee, Florida State University, Carnegie Hall
A versatile and accomplished pianist, Jad C. Bernardo, has appeared on stage as both concert pianist and accompanist. He holds an M.M. in piano accompanying from the University of Tennessee and a B.M. in Piano Performance from the Florida State University. Private teachers and coaches have included James Streem, Ruben Malan, David Northington, Christy Lee, George Darden, Ken Griffiths and Leonard Mastrogiacomo. As a pianist, Jad has received first place prizes and awards in numerous piano competitions and has performed many recitals as a soloist. Jad has been active as a recitalist for countless vocal and instrumental recitals and has accompanied faculty from both Florida State University and University of Tennessee on new music symposiums and concert tours. He has served as the principal coach for Puccini's Suor Angelica, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Menotti's The Telephone and accompanied New York City Opera baritone Scott Guinn in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and recital. Mr. Bernardo has also musically directed/conducted for Dinner Theatre at the Mansion (Stockbridge, MA), Northern Stage (White River Junction, VT), and The Bijou Theatre (Knoxville, TN) to name a few. Musical direction credits include, Ain't Misbehavin', Evita, Five Guys Named Moe, Dreamgirls, The Sound of Music, and Oklahoma! In 2004, he coached the Grammy Award Winner, Nathan Best. Jad recently musically directed Extraordinary, Winner – Best music and lyrics for 2005 International Fringe Festival. Currently, Jad is coaching and accompanying at NYU and accompanies Broadway performers for NY-OFFSTAGE. He will appear in concert at Weill Recital Hall with Soprano Denise Dyce in June 2006.
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John Capes
Private Voice Coaching; UCLA, Northwestern University, Vienna Conservatory, Broadway
Since receiving his training at UCLA, Northwestern University and the Vienna Conservatory, John Capes has been entertaining audiences throughout the US and Europe in the theater and on television. In the US, his roles have included Claquesous in Les Miserables on Broadway, Simeon in the National Tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Gabriel in the National Tour of Kiss of the Spider Woman with Chita Rivera, and Tony in Master Class in San Francisco.
European audiences have had the pleasure of seeing John’s performances in such roles as Bill Starbuck in 110 in the Shade in London, Gabriel in the Kiss of the Spider Woman in Vienna, The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera in London’s West End, Jim Townsend in Strike Up the Band in London – both in the theater and on BBC Radio 2, Nick Wedge in Scam in London, Reed in Murderous Instincts in London, and Herrmann in Candide at the Innsbruck Summer Festival.
His television credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm, Holby City on BBC, History File on BBC, Kennedy Center Honors, Great Performances on PBS, and Bernstein’s Mass on ORF.
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Ron Cohn
Director, Manager, Producer; Mabel Mercer Foundation
Ron Cohn’s multifaceted cabaret career encompasses the role of performer, manager, director, coach, teacher, producer and publicist. He managed Julie Wilson, Jane A. Johnston and Baby Jane Dexter. He recently wrote, directed and performed in several critically acclaimed shows in Chicago, New York, and Palm Beach including “An American Romance”, The Songs of Irving Berlin, and “Circle of Friends.” He directed “The Lady in Red” benefit for the Joffrey Ballet, “Across a Crowded Room”, a Richard Rodgers Celebration, “Turn on the Heat” with Jeanne Resua, Joanne Tatham in “Chester, The Music of Jimmy Van Heusen” and “Songs That Led Me Astray”, and “Undecided” starring Austin Pendleton and Barbara Blier. He also directs the cabaret acts of Joan Curto, Shelley MacArthur and Nadine Camden. Ron is a director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation and, in addition to producing the evenings honoring Margaret Whiting and Julie Wilson, has assisted Donald Smith in the production of the Foundation’s Cabaret Convention. He has produced over 60 shows, in venues ranging from the Triad and the Ballroom to the Russian Tea Room, to benefit many worthy organizations including Hearts and Voices, PWAC-NY and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. For seven years he was a master teacher at the O’Neill Cabaret Symposium.
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Eric Comstock
Sing the Truth, Private Coaching; Pianist, Vocalist; Birdland, The Oak Room, Carnegie Hall; Co-Creator of Our Sinatra
Eric Comstock, pianist, vocalist, arranger, writer, and raconteur, has starred since November 2004 at the legendary jazz club, Birdland, in Singing Astaire: A Fred Astaire Songbook (“superb” -- New York Times) which he co-wrote with Christopher Gines and Hilary Kole. Eric’s third and latest CD, No One Knows, is a refreshing mix of standards and rarities by Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, Stephen Sondheim and other masters of pop and jazz. Solo New York engagements include Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series at the Kaplan Penthouse, Birdland, Iridium, The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, Feinstein’s at The Regency and The Supper Club. Concert appearances include Carnegie Hall (2003 JVC Jazz Festival), Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Town Hall and the 92nd Street Y’s “Jazz in July” festival, directed by Dick Hyman. Eric is the co-creator of Our Sinatra, which has run over 1,300 performances Off-Broadway, and Made for the Movies: A Hollywood Songbook. He has been featured on CBS’s Early Show, CNN’s Showbiz Today, National Public Radio’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross and JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Public Radio International’s The Next Big Thing with Dean Olsher. In Rex Reed’s words, “Eric Comstock is keeping a cherished tradition alive for a new generation.”
Artist website: www.ericcomstock.net
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Bradley Dean
Private Voice Technique; Actor, Vocalist; Broadway: “Company,” “Man of La Mancha”
Bradley is currently appearing on Broadway in Spamalot and recently appeared in the Tony Award winning revival of Company. Other
Broadway/NYC credits include Man of La Mancha, Jane Eyre, The Big Time,
and Harmony. He has performed in the national tours of Evita (Che) directed by Hal Prince and Spamalot
(Sir Galahad) directed by Mike Nichols. Internationally, he starred as Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror
Show in over a dozen countries. Regional highlights include Falsettos, No Way to Treat a Lady, The Caretaker, Loot,
and the title roles in Phantom, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Macbeth at such theaters as Papermill
Playhouse, The Alliance, St. Louis Rep., Barrington Stage, and Pittsburgh CLO. Bradley is a graduate of Carnegie
Mellon and currently resides in New Jersey with his vastly better half, Eileen, and their children, Emma, Age 5, and Oliver, Age 2 months.
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Michael DeVries
Private Voice Technique; Performer; Broadway: “Grand Hotel,” “Wicked”
A student of the Cornelius Reid technique, Michael has been able to maintain his vocal health for over 26 years as a professional performer, first in Opera and then in Musical Theatre.
After a season at Santa Fe Opera, his work in Musical Theatre includes performing principal roles on Broadway (Grand Hotel, Secret Garden, CATS, Hello, Dolly! and Wicked), and National Tours (Mamma Mia, Phantom of the Opera, My Fair Lady, Carousel and Annie Get Your Gun). Add to these shows his work in regional productions across the country, and the result is a long, productive career.
Now, his aim is to help you build a healthy voice. He will provide you with a technique you can count on to maintain your vocal fitness and the quality of your performance in the years to come.
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David Epstein
Coaching, Arrangements, Pianist & Accompanist; New York University
After a two-year stint at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School Of The Arts acting program, David transferred his major to Jazz Performance, quickly rising in the ranks of NYU’s Jazz department and graduating with the Jazz Student Of The Year Award in 2000. It was also through NYU that he landed his first major gig – a weekly duo engagement before the main show at the world-famous Birdland jazz club. Not only did he learn vast amounts from constantly watching and absorbing all of that great music, week in and week out, but in March 2000, David led a trio that opened for a Lee Morgan tribute band, including Tom Harrell, Terell Stafford, Brian Lynch, David Hazeltine, Lonnie Plaxico, and Idris Muhammed. And on New Year’s Eve 2000, the David Epstein trio shared the Birdland stage with Little Jimmy Scott’s group.
The next year marked his European debut as a jazz musician, traveling to Vals, Switzerland with a trio of former NYU students. Since then, he has averaged at least two trips a year abroad, having also played in Italy, Greece, and Israel. Past opportunities have included playing with noted singers Carla White and Roseanna Vitro.
David went back to school for a Masters in Jazz Performance. He graduated from SUNY Purchase with highest honors in May 2004, along the way having studied and played with most of their top-notch faculty.
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Barbara Fasano
Sing the Truth, Private Coaching; Actress, Pop-Jazz Vocalist; Back Stage Bistro Award, MAC Award Winner
Barbara Fasano is an actress and pop-jazz vocalist, and “one of the coolest singers in town... a singer of restrained but deeply felt emotion” (Time Out New York). “Spellbinding... A beauty to hear and behold” (Daily News), she is regarded as “one of our most astute interpreters of song... hypnotic, superb...” (Cabaret Scenes). Appearing at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room in 2006, she was praised for her “smooth performances of 1940's ballads” (The New York Times).. Jazz writer Will Friedwald of The New York Sun calls Fasano, “a charistmatic stylist who effectively channels the living spirits of the great uber-divas Lena Horne and Barbra Streisand.”
Her new Harold Arlen CD, WRITTEN IN THE STARS has been awarded the 2007 BACK STAGE Bistro Award and the 2007 MAC Award for Outstanding Recording. “With this record, Barbara Fasano proves that she is not just a great Italian crooner, an heir to Sinatra for our time, but a jazz singer of the first rank,” writes David Hajdu, music critic, The New Republic. JazzTimes praises Fasano's “taste, built-in dramatic chops, the ability to manipulate time, and, above all, respect for lyrics." Steven Suskin of PLAYBILL raves, “The good news today is that we now have another Arlen collection that can be played alongside Harold's! Praise the band, and the singer, and thank them for a bluesy, jazzy, swinging album of Arlen.”
Her performances have taken her around the world, and she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2005, as part of the Harold Arlen Centennial Concert. Other New York engagements include Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, Allen Room and Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, Birdland, the Oak Room at The Algonquin Hotel, Sardi’s, The Town Hall, Symphony Space, The American Musicals Project at The New York Historical Society, Metropolitan Room, Danny’s, The FireBird Café, The Laurie Beechman Theater, The Duplex, and The Triad. Across the country, she has appeared at Royal Room at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, John Drew Theatre at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York, Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, Cinegrill in Los Angeles, Odette’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Downtown Theatre in Rochester, The Manor in New Jersey, and Prince Music Theatre in Philadelphia.
Ms. Fasano is a 2007 Night Life Award finalist, a three-time MAC Award winner, including wins for 2007's Outstanding Duo (with Eric Comstock) and Outstanding Female Vocalist, and a three-time BACK STAGE Bistro Award winner. Ms. Fasano is the recipient of the Anselmo Award for Special Achievement. And in 2003, she was honored with Hofstra University’s Estabrook Alumni Achievement Award, whose previous recipients include Francis Ford Coppola, Lainie Kazan and Madeline Kahn.
Artist website: www.humanchild.com
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Pat Firth
Coaching, Pianist & Accompanist; William Paterson University
Pat Firth was raised in Upstate New York in a musical family (both his parents and older brother are musicians). He began classically studying the piano at the age of 5 and by the age of 12 he was studying and giving recitals at the local college. At the end of high school he discovered the music of jazz and began apprenticing with local jazz piano legend Lee Shaw. At the age of 18, Pat moved to New Jersey to study jazz at the prestigous William Paterson University (earning a BM in Jazz Performance) where he studied with James Williams, Kevin Norton and Harold Mabern.
Since arriving in the New York City area, Pat has had countless performing opportunities including playing with Chuck Loeb, Jane Sheckter, Gordon James, Jim Malloy, Trudi Mann and Vicki Stuart while playing all across the U.S. and Europe. He has also had the pleasure of working on many original music projects. He currently performs, records and/or writes with the Josh Dion Band, The Bad Touch, Bob Parins and True Love Always, Aggregate, the Jim Saltzman Group and Kristen Maxfield. Recently, Pat produced and performed on singer/songwriter Laura Hull's debut CD "Hullabaloo" and is currently working on writing material for his own debut CD.
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Dan Furman
Jazz Pianist, Accompanist and Composer; Oberlin College and Conservatory
Since moving to New York in April of 2003, Dan Furman has been making a name for himself as a jazz pianist and composer. He performs regularly with his trio at Cleopatra's Needle, and leads his original band, the Primordial Jazz Funktet, at venues around the city including Detour, 55 Bar, and many others. Since 2005 he has been a composer in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. He also performs and arranges for New York Minute, a top dance and wedding band.
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Eric Michael Gillett
Private Voice Technique, Musical Theater & Audition
Technique Coaching, Audition & Vocal Performance, Discovering Monologues; “Kiss Me, Kate,” “Sweet Smell of Success,” “The Frogs”
An acclaimed performer in his own right, Eric Michael Gillett has directed a roster of concert and cabaret talent including the Grammy-Award winning vocalist, Lari White, in her Oak Room debut at the Algonquin Hotel. Current projects include international star Karen Akers’ return to the Oak Room with Simply Styne, which Stephen Holden of the New York Times has called “Extraordinary” and “The cabaret event of the season,” and Jana Robbins encore presentation of her show, One Hell of a Ride, and KT Sullivan’s critically acclaimed concert, Autumn in New York. Other artists include Aaron Lee Battle ("Step Right Up" and "Simple Joys"), Olivia Stevens ("Pleasure and Peril: Songs of Zarah Leander"), Ron Ramsay ("Go With Me"), Culver Casson ("Island Magic"), Rita Harvey ("Letting Go") and Annette Hunt ("The Grace Moore Songbook"), as well as the cabaret debut of Gilligan’s Island reality show star, Melissa Mason Jones. At Town Hall, Eric directed Broadway Musicals of 1943 (featuring Sally Mayes and Heather MacRae) and Broadway Musicals of 1957 (featuring Alix Korey and Tony-Award winner Adriane Lenox), the premiere performances of Scott Siegel’s Broadway by the Year series. A champion of new theater composers, Eric directed The Ben Moore Songbook at The Triad, starring Kerry Butler and Richard Todd Adams, and the Beaux Arts Society has named him a recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Award for Excellence for his direction of the Pat Rasile Songbook, Gift From the Heart. Eric is also represented as writer and director of A Song in My Heart: The Jane Froman Songbook for cabaret artist Valerie Lemon and, in November, 2007, made his Weill Recital Hall directing and performing debut with the concert, 1907-It Was a Very Good Year. Eric also directed and produced the Brownville Concert Series Christmas Show, At Home for the Holidays, with Melanie Vaughan, Leslie Anderson (MAC and Bistro Award Winner), and Nancy McGraw (Broadway’s original cast Nine) in December, 2005. Most recent theatrical credits include the 2006 Carnegie Mellon School of Music production of A Little Night Music. For the 07/08 season, Eric Michael’s direction will be represented on the New York cabaret scene by Maureen Kelly Stewart (Heart’s Desire at the Laurie Beechman) and Anna Bergman (Wherever Love Takes Me at both Feinstein’s and the Prince Theater in Philadelphia), as well as new shows for Lari White, KT Sullivan, Karen Akers, and Sheera Ben-David. He will also appear as a performing artist in his own right with his new show Best of My Love, at the Metropolitan in 2008.
As an acting coach, Eric has worked privately and in the classroom with students in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York City. His students and clients have appeared in all media, including film and television, as well as Broadway, national tours, and regional theater. Current workshops in acting technique for the musical theater are ongoing, with new classes forming regularly. As a staff teacher and member of the artistic council at HB Studio, Eric teaches his popular Acting for the Musical Theater class, and has also collaborated with KT Sullivan to teach the studio’s only cabaret performance class. He is also a private coach for vocal and acting technique at Singers Forum, where his class Audition and Performance Technique is ongoing.
A MAC and Bistro Award winning vocalist, Eric’s own cabaret shows have included Cast of Thousands-The Songs of Craig Carnelia, It Takes Two-The Duets of Stephen Sondheim (with Melanie Vaughan), and his critically lauded collection of radio songs of the past forty years, Hook, Line & Singer. Eric has been seen on Broadway in the original casts of Kiss Me, Kate, Sweet Smell of Success, and The Frogs. New York audiences have seen him in the the role of ‘Papa” Denny in Dream a Little Dream at the Village Theatre, as ‘Richard’ in the York Theater's workshop of the new musical, The Tutor and in the New York City Opera productions of Cinderella, The Pirates of Penzance, and Candide. Other off-Broadway credits include Silent Laughter (Lambs), Good Companions (York), Of Thee I Sing (Encores), and Time and Again (MTC). Most recently, Eric received rave reviews for his performances as “Jacquot” in the Paper Mill production of Carnival and for his work as “Andrew Wyke” in the Hangar Theatre production of Sleuth. This past summer, he starred as ‘Peron’ in the Oklahoma Lyric production of Evita, followed by the new off-Broadway production, Frankenstein, playing the father of Victor Frankenstein, ‘Alphonse.’ He is currently working on the Bridge Theater Company production of Warning: Adult Content and will soon return to the stage of the New York City Opera to reprise his role in Candide. Concert and cabaret appearances include the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Zankel Hall, Town Hall, Russian Tea Room, the Gardenia, and many others.
For twelve years, he appeared as the Ringmaster of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, touring the continental United States and appearing on countless television and radio programs, including the CBS television special, The Return of Gunther Gebel-Williams and the Walt Disney Sing-A-Long video, Let’s Go to the Circus. Television appearances include Law & Order, Ed, and Law & Order: SVU, and he was also seen in the feature films Maid in Manhattan and The Producers (on-screen + soundtrack legit choir). Eric’s current projects include the new feature film My Brother, starring Vanessa Williams, Jairaj Wallia’s debut short, In the Foxhole, and an appearance as ‘Moses’ in Comedy Central’s new internet series, Good God.
Eric’s solo CD recordings include Cast of Thousands-The Songs of Craig Carnelia (named best solo CD of 1998 by In Theatre Magazine) and Sing a Rainbow. He also appears on the original cast albums of Kiss Me, Kate, Sweet Smell of Success, The Frogs, The Confidence Man, and Big City Rhythm: The Songs of Barry Kleinbort. Compilation albums include Broadway Romances Manhattan and Jamie De Roy & Friends: The Child in Me, s well as Jamie’s 2005 release, When I Grow Up. Visit Eric Michael Gillett at www.ericmichaelgillett.com
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David Gross
Pianist, Arranger, Conductor, Musical Director For Many Top Names in Show Business
Studied music at Juilliard and later received his Bachelor’s degree from New York University. For the past twenty-five years he has worked as a conductor, pianist, arranger and composer for many of the top stars in show business. He has been or is still working as the personal conductor for Suzanne Sommers, Englebert Humperdinck, Rod McKuen (just recently at Carnegie Hall, April ‘03), Eddie Fisher, Sandler and Young, Bobby Vinton, Theodore Bikel, Claire Barry (of the Barry Sisters), Jerry Vale, Suzette Charles, Andy Kaufman, Leslie Uggams and the late Billy Daniels to name just a few. Along with being the Musical Director for “City Lights”, “Singing in the Rain”, “Bye, Bye Birdie” and “Applause” in Atlantic City, in Reno, Nevada, he was the Musical Director for “Razzle Dazzle” and audiences in Los Angeles saw him conduct the L.A. production of the Broadway classic, “Oliver” with Dick Shawn, Shani Wallis and Stubby Kay. As pianist, David has performed with Shirley Bassey (including her acclaimed Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall and Lincoln Center appearances), Pavarotti, Andreas Bocelli, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Leah Salonga, Michael Crawford, Tony Orlando, Milton Berle, Red Buttons, Sid Caesar, Fyvush Finkel (including his acclaimed “From Second Avenue To Broadway” revue), Vic Damone, Al Martino, Phylis Diller, Donald O’Connor, Lainie Kazan, Clint Holmes, Smokey Robinson, Phylis McGuire, Charo, Frank Gorshin and Vicki Carr among others. David especially enjoys guest conducting “POPS” which he has done with the Toledo Symphony, Worcester Symphony, Boca Raton Pops, Sacramento Symphony, Nassau County Pops, Ocean City Pops, Nevada Pops, Nelson Riddles’ Orchestra, and most recently performing as the opening act for Josh Groban.
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Mary Cleere Haran
Private Coaching; Singer: Lincoln Center, Rainbow & Stars, Feinstein’s at the Regency; Writer, researcher: PBS Specials including Remembering Bing, Irving Berlin’s America, and Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey.
Mary Cleere Haran, one of the most renowned singers of “The Great American Songbook”, has garnered rave reviews from audiences and critics alike for her witty, sophisticated performances. She has performed at some if the most prominent venues in the country, including Lincoln Center, Rainbow & Stars, The Russian Tea Room, The Cinegrill in Los Angeles, The Plush Room in San Francisco and the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia. She also boasts an impressive list of theater credits, making her Broadway debut in “The 1940’s Radio Hour” and appearing Off-Broadway in “Manhattan Music”, “Swingtime Canteen” and “Heebie Jeebies”. On TV, she had a recurring role on Sidney Lumet’s drama “100 Centre Street” on A&E.
In addition to her illustrious performing career, Ms. Haran is a respected writer and researcher who has brought her talents to numerous PBS specials, including “Remembering Bing”, “Irving Berlin’s America”, “When We Were Young: The Lives of Child Movie Stars”, “Satchmo”, a documentary about Louis Armstrong and “Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey.” She was one of a select group asked to write on Frank Sinatra’s death in The New York Times.
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Jerome Harmann-Hardeman
"Developing the Artist" Performance Workshop; Broadway, off-Broadway, TV and Film
Jerome has directed and choreographed many productions including "Salute to Gershwin", "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", "The Long Dance", "Artists for a Cure" for Children’s Cancers, "A Little Help From My Friends" Aids Hilfe Germany, and for "Caritas International." He was an Anselmo Achievement Award winner in 2004. As an actor/singer some of his favorite productions were "Swing", with Ann Hampton-Callaway, "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" with Chita Rivera, "Dreamgirls", where he played Curtis Taylor with Aisha De Haas, as well as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in "Ragtime", Horse in "The Full Monty", Paul in "Kiss Me Kate", AGWE in "Once on this Island", Simeon in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", Macavity and Alonzo in "Cats", Adrian in "Smokey Joe’s Café", Simon Zealots in "Jesus Christ Superstar", and Nomax and Four Eyed Moe in "Five Guys Named Moe." He's also appeared on film, television and commercials.
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Rick Jensen
American Popular Song for Today's Singer; Pianist, Coach, Musical Director
As an educator, Rick has taught vocal performance and musical direction at the Cabaret Symposium at the Eugene O’Neil Theater Center, The Yale Cabaret Conference at Yale University, and also at New York University. Along with Lina Koutrakos, Rick has traveled and taught a comprehensive performance workshop in St. Louis, Chicago, Santa Fe, and Boston. Plans to expand the workshop to other cities such as Minneapolis, Seattle and Palm Springs are in the works. The workshop focuses on a small number of students in an intensive weekend workshop, where performers are immersed in one-on-one instruction and performance sessions to improve their singing and acting skills.
Rick and Lina have also taught and musical directed one of the longest running weekly performance workshops in the New York City. Starting at New York’s legendary “Eighty Eights" in the early 90s, Jensen and Koutrakos have worked with and coached some of today’s most prominent performers in the New York City nightclub and cabaret scenes.
www.rickjensen.com
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Larry King
Pianist, Accompanist, Coach
Larry King is an accomplished singer/pianist, bandleader and musical director who has performed over four decades at top music venues including Danny’s Skylight Room, The Rainbow Room, The Oak Room, The Supper Club, The Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria and many others. His booking agency, Larry King Productions, provides bands, orchestras, DJs and a variety of entertainment for private parties and special events and is associated with leading hotels, restaurants and clubs such as The Algonquin, The Metropolitan Club, Twenty Four Fifth, The Lotus Club, Le Parker Meridien, The Hudson, The Regency and many others. The Larry King Orchestra has performed for a variety of significant events like the 50th Anniversary of CBS News, the 100th Anniversary of the Jewish Home and Hospital, The Cable and Broadcasting Hall of Fame, and parties for Tim and Nina Zagat of the Zagat Survey. Corporate clients include Calvin Klein Cosmetics, JP Morgan Chase, Wachovia Securities, New York University, and The Real Estate Board of New York. He studied piano with John Mehegan, voice with Phil Campanella and John Mace and holds a B.A. in French, and an M.B.A. in Marketing with a concentration in arts management from the Stern School of Business at NYU. He also studied piano at the Juilliard School.
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Phillip Kirchmann
Accompanist, Private Coaching
Phillip Kirchmann is a native of Texas where he began his accompanying pursuits accompanying for the opera program at the University of North Texas where operas he worked on included Cosi fan tutte, The Turn of the Screw, L’Amour des Trois Oranges, and Ariadne auf Naxos. After a lengthy hiatus from academia, Phillip returned to music and enrolled at the University of Notre Dame in Belmont, California where he studied with Thomas LaRatta, receiving his BM in piano performance in 2003. While at Notre Dame, Phillip was Musical Director and performer for Sondheim’s Into the Woods, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Offenbach’s Orpheus. Mr. Kirchmann attended the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California in the summers of 2002 and 2003, working with such notables as Warren Jones, Marilyn Horne, and Lotfi Monsouri. In addition to master classes and scenes programs, Phillip accompanied the productions of Albert Herring and Le Nozze di Figaro. Phillip is currently attending the Manhattan School of Music where he studies with Warren Jones. He has music directed the NYC premier of Milton Grainger’s The Proposal and accompanied Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief. Phillip has performed in master classes with Warren Jones, Marilyn Horne, Lotfi Monsouri, Bo Skhovus, and Martin Katz. Phillip accompanied Ms. Deborah Domanski in recital in November of 2004 in Brownville, Nebraska for the Brownville Concert Series and the Aemes Town and Gown Chamber Music Association in Aemes, Iowa in conjunction with the Marilyn Horne Foundation. In the 2004 Summer season, Phillip was Music Director at the New London Barn Playhouse in New London, New Hampshire where he directed I Love you, You’re Perfect, now Change, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Annie, The Sound of Music, A Chorus Line, and The Music Man. Summer 2005, Phillip was Musical Director at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, NY where he directed Nuncrackers, The Student Prince, Carousel, 42nd Street, Copacabana, La Cage aux Folles, and Brigadoon. He will be returning to Chatham and the Mac-Haydn theatre this summer as Music Director for the 2006 Summer season. Phillip was assistant conductor for Connecticut Grand Opera’s recent production of La Boheme and accompanist for Gotham Chamber Opera’s production of Albert Herring. Phillip continues his career pursuits in NYC as recitalist, opera coach and music director in the Musical Theater venue.
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Terri Klausner
Broadway Singer, Dancer, Actor; “A Chorus Line,” “Sophisticated Ladies,” “Evita”
Terri Klausner has been seen by audiences across America in such dazzling productions as A CHORUS LINE, SOPHISTICATED LADIES, and EVITA. While appearing in A CHORUS LINE, she was chosen to play Eva Peron in EVITA and did so in the musical’s premiere performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles. She continued in that role in all the matinees for the Broadway Company. She co-starred in both the Broadway and Los Angeles productions of SOPHISTICATED LADIES. Ms. Klausner has entertained in London, Rio, Las Vegas and on American Television. She has sung at the White House, Carnegie Hall and as a headliner in New York’s top nightclubs. Royalty of Europe applauded her talent at the Grande Prix gala at the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo. For her concert and nightclub word, she received two nominations for the National Academy of Concert and Cabaret Arts. New York audiences saw her in Sheffer & Poul’s NEW TUNES, and Cryer & Ford’s HANG ON TO THE GOOD TIMES, both at the Manhattan theatre Club; after which she appeared at the Village Gate in Harry Chapin’s LIES AND LEGENDS. Terri was seen in WHAT A SWELL PARTY! THE COLE PORTER REVUE at the prestigious Rainbow and Stars. Terri established a relationship at the Vineyard Theatre in Polly Pen’s productions of GOBLIN MARKET and BED AND SOFA (Drama Desk Award Nomination, New York Drama League Award, Obie Award). Her work in THIS LIFE: THE SONGS OF PORTIA NELSON garnered a Bistro Award. She has made numerous appearances at the 92nd St. Y in the LYRICS AND LYRICIST Series and her voice is heard in numerous recordings and cast albums. She celebrated the songs of Stephen Sondheim with Rob Kapilow in the Celebrity Series “WHAT MAKES IT GREAT?” She is collaborating with Diane Coupe’ Frankel and Bill Hastings in developing Coupe’ Theatre Studio’s Musical Theatre Program and Performance Ensemble. Most recently, she has presented her solo act under the direction of Steve Marzullo at The Duplex and this Fall at the Metropolitan Room in New York.
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Katya Kortny
Voice Technique; Private Voice Lessons, Performance Coach; Singer, Star of the Moscow Operetta Theatre
Ms. Kortny studied at the Moscow Academy of Theatrical Arts, and was the star pupil of M.B. Mordvinoff and T. Yanko. She was invited to work in many Soviet musical venues, but chose to perform at the Moscow Musical and Operetta Theatre. There, she spent twenty years developing her talent and became one of the theatre's favorite stars. Katya starred in operetta classics such as FLEDERMOUSE, COUNTESS MARITSA, FRASKITA, MERRY WIDOW, SILVA, A TRIP TO THE MOON, and BLUE BEARD, as well as the musicals HELLO, DOLLY! and MY FAIR LADY. Katya has performed at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall (1992) and with Russian musical tours in New York, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C, and other cities. While still in Russia, she taught acting skills for several years in the Moscow Drama Studio. Katya also acted as the Russian Song Vocal Coach for Fordham University's well-received production of THE THREE SISTERS in 2001. Recipient of the award "Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation" and a member of the All Russian Theatre Society, Katya joined Singers Forum in 1999 to teach voice technique and performance skills.
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Lina Koutrakos
American Popular Song for Today's Singer; Singer, Songwriter, Teacher, Director
Lina Koutrakos’s credits as singer songwriter are vast at this point, from off-Broadway in NYC and regionally to fronting her own pop band in clubs such as BB King's in NY and Opus Café in Paris, France, and everything cabaret in between. She has received Best Female Vocalist Awards from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, The Back Stage Bistro Awards, The Village Voice, The Petit Piaf (France), The Daily News, and more. Lina has also garnered rave reviews and features from The New York Times to Billboard Magazine.
As songwriter she is a two-time award winning ASCAP grant recipient and her music has been performed by various solo performers, on T.V. and her favorites to date: a children’s chorus of 400 at the Olympic Center in Tokyo and the New York City’s Gay Men’s Chorus.
As a director and teacher, Lina has taught her own Advanced Performance Workshop weekly for over eight years in New York City. Her workshops are waiting-list-only and her "students" are now award-winning performers themselves! Lina has been on the staff at the Eugene O’Neill Cabaret Symposium and the Cabaret Conference at Yale for six years as one of their Master Teachers. She is the co-founder of a bi-annual performance intensive in New York City called Summer in the City and she was the “Guest Clinician in Residence” in Japan in 2004.
As a Director, Lina has received the MAC and the Bistro Award for Best Director, and along with cabaret and pop newcomers has had the privilege of directing many of her peers: Sally Mayes, Johnny Rodgers, Eric Michael Gillett, Jay Bradley, Patrick DeGennaro, Jim Caruso, and her teaching partner in crime for many years: Rick Jensen.
Lina also spent years as the booking manager for New York City cabaret club Don’t Tell Mama and was the assistant booking manager at one of New York’s best cabaret rooms, Eighty Eights. Being privy to the shows of her now peers over the years has absolutely given Lina (the teacher) a very exciting advantage.
www.koutrakos.com
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Ralph Lane
Arrangements, Pianist; Pianist & Arranger, NBC Comedy Hour
Mr. Lane is an accomplished conductor, pianist and arranger and has performed with a variety of orchestras, on TV and Radio, at the Colony, Metropolitan and Cosmopolitan clubs and at industrial shows. His television appearances include THE ARTHUR MURRAY SHOW, NBC COMEDY HOUR, and WINDOWS OF THE WORLD. Mr. Lane has performed with the Lester Lanin, Bill Harrington, Emil Coleman and Peter Duchin Orchestras. Mr. Lane recorded “THE LONESOME GAL ALBUM” with King Records.
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Laurel Massé
Private Coaching; Grammy Winner, The Manhattan Transfer
Laurel Massé, founding member of Grammy award-winning vocal group Manhattan Transfer, toured internationally for seven years with the group and recorded five albums. In 1979, a serious automobile accident forced her departure. After two years of convalescence, she began touring again both in the United States and in Europe. She has released four solo CDs. The first two, Alone Together and Easy Living, both hit the Billboard Jazz charts; the third, Again, was a People magazine pick. Feather and Bone, her 2000 release, was picked by audiophile magazine The Absolute Sound as "a recording of extraordinary musical and sonic value".
In the course of her career, Laurel Massé has performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the London Palladium, Salle Pleyel de Paris, the Hollywood Bowl, The Smithsonian Institution; jazz festivals in Montreal, Chicago, Woodstock, Syracuse, Detroit and Saratoga Springs; the clubs Birdland and the Blue Note in New York City, The Roxy Nightclub and The Cinegrill in Los Angeles, Chicago's Green Mill, and Harrah's, Caesar's Palace, MGM Grand, and the Hilton in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. She has also appeared numerous times on television and radio.
Since 2002 she has been host and resident artist of The Laurel Massé Jazz Show, a monthly live concert performance program broadcast by WAMC Northeast Public Radio to a listening audience of 500,000.
Ms. Massé also teaches master classes in song interpretation and improvisation for both professionals and amateurs in jazz and cabaret. In 2004 she joined the faculty of The Cabaret Conference at Yale.
In 2004 she was recognized for her contribution to music when she, along with the four current members of the Manhattan Transfer, received the prized "MAC" (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) Lifetime Achievement Award.
"One of the two or three best female jazz singers this side of Ella" - Lloyd Sachs, Chicago Sun Times
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Ted Muzio
Leadsheet Workshop; Singer/Pianist, Accompanist, and Music Educator
Ted Muzio, B.S., M.A., Ph.D., is a well-known and highly respected New York area singer/pianist, accompanist and music educator. He has a wide range and depth of experience in the performance and teaching of Classic pop singing. He taught voice classes in the Adult Continuing Education Department at St. John’s University from 1990 to 1995 and has an extensive private teaching practice. He has performed in many restaurants, cabarets, and concert venues in the tri-state area, including regular stints at Danny’s Skylight Room, The Firebird and the Gramercy Park Hotel. He is a member of the New York Singing Teachers’ Association and The National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). His CDs, Ted Muzio Plays and Sings 3 A.M., and Dance have been well received and acclaimed.
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Teri Ralston
Private Voice Technique, Cabaret & Musical Performance Workshop; Company, A Little Night Music, The Baker's Wife
Teri Ralston spent her formative years creating roles in the original casts of Company, A Little Night Music, The Baker's Wife and Home Again (a little known Cy Coleman musical). Teri's association with Sondheim has continued over the years, having performed or directed 11 of his works. She directed and performed in Side-By-Side-By-Sondheim with Peggy Lee and has performed Sally in three productions of Follies - one that she also directed featuring Harvey Evans, Kurt Peterson, Julie Wilson, Betty Garrett and John Raitt. She played Mama Rose in Gypsy, Yvonne in Sunday In The Park With George and has appeared in Putting It Together and a new Sondheim revue Moving On.
As a soloist with Michael Feinstein, she performed with the New Mexico Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Hollywood Bowl, and is featured on 5 original cast albums. Teri has appeared in many television shows as well. Since her return to New York this past year, she has done a workshop of Natural Woman with Michael Blakemore, Hats, The Musical (also in Denver), Bajour at the York Theatre's Musical in Mufti and a workshop of a new musical Unbeatable which is to open in New York in Fall 2009.
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Erich Rausch
Pianist & Accompanist, Coaching, Arrangements; Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award
Erich Rausch is a recipient of the prestigious Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award for musical direction of Once on this Island, as well as nominations for Gypsy and West Side Story. He has worked on over 300 productions as a composer, arranger, music director, stage manager, director and actor. He was the music director for the NY premieres of Brecht's The Roundheads and the Pointheads, and the musical adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and has received excellent notices in Newsday, The Village Voice, and The New York Times for productions of A Chorus Line, My Fair Lady, and his original music for Beaumarchais's The Barber of Seville. He has also received excellent reviews for regional productions including West Side Story at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, and the premiere of the new musical Dream! Dream! Dream!, based on the music of the Everly Brothers, in Atlantic City. In 2007 he was invited to MusicTheater Bavaria in Germany to teach and direct young adults preparing for careers in American musical theater and opera.
Erich has accompanied master classes for Broadway veterans and conductors, including Helen Gallagher, Eric Michael Gillett and Kim Grigsby. He has performed solo jazz at the Lenox Lounge in Harlem, and with Sticks Evans and Melvin Greenwich at Citicorp, and has accompanied Andre Solomon-Glover, Philip Creech and Lauren Flanigan. He joined the baritone Abraham Lind- Oquendo at Carnegie Hall for a tribute to the late Raul Davila, and a commission in 2005 by Boricua College for an arrangement and orchestration of the danza Perla Del Caribe was premiered at the college’s 25th Anniversary Concert at Symphony Space, and has become a staple in the BC Chorus repertory.
Erich currently teaches acting, singing and instrumental music at West Side Dance/City Music School, the Puerto-Rican Travelling Theatre and HB Studio. He was the music director and composer with City Lights for the Standing Tall Project, creating with 5th grade witnesses to the September 11th disaster a play with music. He created the first vocal classes for pre-teens at The Lee Strasberg Institute, where he studied directing and acting with George Loros and Paul Calderon. He is a student of Karen Leslie-Lyttle, a protégé of Uta Hagen and Stella Adler.
Erich was accepted into The Mannes College of Music for clarinet studies, and into The Manhattan School of Music as a theory major. He studies conducting and composition with Katherine Hoover. He was the last student to live and study piano with Isabelle Sant' Ambrogio, herself a student of Alexander Siloti, student of Listz. He was also the last student trained to teach singing by Henry Rosenblatt, son of the famed cantor Yosselle Rosenblatt, and protégé of Herbert Caesari.
He began his career as an intern for the late Rosetta LeNoire at Amas Theater, as a pianist for Titus Walker at Ujamaa Black Theater, and as a composer via the NYC Summer Youth Employment Program for The East Harlem Music School where also he studied percussion, dance, jazz with the late Charlie Palmieri, and poetry with the late Rumanian writer Mihai Eres. He later worked for Johnny Colon, teaching piano, violin, music theory and acting, and representing the school at early community meetings for the Harlem Empowerment Zone Initiative, until the death of the school's co-director, Stephanie Munoz. With Titus Walker he music directed the premieres of early anti-apartheid plays, bringing an invitation to the United Nations, and a musical biography of Malcom X, performed for the late Betty Shabazz. At the Fantasy Playhouse he premiered Barbara Schaap's first operetta, Beauty and the Beast, as reported in The New York Times, and later was the first to bring her musicals to Manhattan, where he created a pre-teen musical theater program at A.C.T. at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He has music directed numerous shows at Stagedoor Manor (the theater camp portrayed in the film Camp).
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Wendy Russell
Singing For People Who Think They Can't, Private Voice Lessons, Scholarship Program; Singer, Songwriter, Arranger
A native New Yorker, Wendy Russell began her musical/singing career at the age of 8 as a soloist in Riverside Church’s children’s choir. By age 11 she was recording educational albums for Holt Reinhardt & Winston’s Triton Records Division. A songwriter and arranger, her music has been featured on the television show ‘One Life to Live’. She has performed at Birdland, Don’t Tell Mama’s, Danny’s Skylight Room, the Duplex, The Actor’s Playhouse, Westchester Broadway Theatre & various other venues in and around NYC.
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Elizabeth Russo
Voice Technique, Teen Voice Workshop, Private Voice Lessons: Singer, Carnegie Hall, Sorg Opera, Pacific Opera
Elizabeth Russo is an award winning Mezzo-soprano who is well known for her powerful voice and strong stage presence. In 2004 she received the James Humphriville Vocal Award for excellence in voice and music. She has performed the dramatic Verdi roles of Amneris, Azucena, and Maddelena and Wagner’s Waltraute, Fricka, Erda, and Wellgunde. Ms. Russo also enjoys the comic Gilbert & Sullivan contralto roles such as Lady Jane from Patience, which she performed with Sorg Opera. New York companies include The Richmond County Orchestra and Riverside Opera; Pacific Opera; New York Opera Productions and the Albany Symphony at Shaker Mountain Festival.
As a recitalist Elizabeth has performed the song cycles of Mahler, Schumann, Brahms, Elgar and Berlioz. In 2004 she presented her solo recital at the Marian Anderson Hall in Danbury, CT to rave reviews.
Ms. Russo has an extensive teaching career not only at Singers Forum, but also in her CT studio where she continues to dedicate herself to instructing students of all ages and levels in the art of bel canto singing. Elizabeth taught Musical Theatre at Fordham University; The Lee Strasburg Institute; The Pulse Ensemble Theater; The Connecticut Conservatory and The School of Performing Arts. She attended Western Connecticut State University majoring in voice and piano and theater and currently works and performs with pianist and conductor Eric Trudel.
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David Shenton
Pianist & Accompanist, Coaching, Arrangements, Orchestration; Back Stage Bistro Award
UK born David Shenton is an accomplished pianist, violinist, composer and arranger. From 1993 to 1997 David studied at the Royal College of Music in London from where he graduated with the highest of honors. As a classical accompanist David has played for master classes given by Pinchas Zukerman, James Galway and Emma Kirby. He was also a regular accompanist at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In popular music, David has played for Petula Clark, Ann Crumb and Carol Ann Page. In December 2006 David opened as jazz pianist for Tony Bennett for his NYC engagement. David has composed 5 musicals, which have premièred in New York. He is also the composer of more than 100 original works including everything from short piano pieces to full scale orchestral works.
David has worked as an orchestrator/arranger at Abbey Road & CTS Studios (London), Hollywood movies, West End, Broadway & Off-Broadway shows. His arrangements can also be heard onboard the QE2 and QM2 cruise ships and his jazz arrangements can be heard in cabaret shows all over the USA and Europe. In 2004 David wrote his first short film score, Beauty, written by Hollywood screenwriter Franc. Reyes (Empire, The Ministers).
David has recently recorded his first solo piano jazz album, Sunnyside Blues. He also appears frequently in NYC jazz and cabaret clubs as M.D. and accompanist. www.shentonmusic.com
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Mark Simon
Audition & Performance/Professional Level, Casting Director
PARADISE FOUND opening in May at The Menier Chocolate Factory in London, continues a long association with Harold Prince which began with SHOW BOAT (Broadway, multiple tours and London) and CANDIDE (Broadway and NYC Opera), 3HREE (The Ahmanson theatre and The Prince Music Theatre), HOLLYWOOD ARMS (Broadway and Goodman), BOUNCE (Goodman and The Kennedy Center), LOVEMUSIK (Broadway), SWEENEY TODD (NYC Opera) and PARADE (Broadway and tour), which began another long association with Jason Robert Brown, "13", THE LAST FIVE YEARS, and the upcoming HONEYMOON IN VEGAS. Also: IT'S ONLY LIFE (John Bucchino/Daisy Prince), CHITA RIVERA: THE DANCER'S LIFE, PIPPIN, ADRIFT IN MACAO, HARLEM SONG, SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS, DIE, MOMMIE, DIE!, THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, RAGTIME, and the NY City Opera productions of CINDERELLA, PATIENCE, THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. Current projects: THE THOMASHEFSKYS (Michael Tilson Thomas and Pat Birch) for The NY Philharmonic, PARADISE LOST (Eric Whitacre) at Carnegie Hall, and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
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Ellen Starr
Private Piano Lessons; Pianist, Singer, Coach and Arranger; New York Performing Jazz Artist
A native New Yorker and graduate of Oberlin College, Ellen Starr began her performance career as a jazz pianist and singer, but quickly became highly sought after in the world of commercial records and radio and television advertising. Among her many successes, she wrote an award-winning Pepsi jingle, and arranged an Aretha Franklin album for Columbia Records and a hit single for singer Ronnie Dyson of the Broadway musical Hair. Thankfully for jazz lovers, she returned to live performing a few years ago and leads her own quartet, playing regularly at 55 Bar, Sweet Rhythm and other well-known jazz clubs in New York. A talented composer as well as arranger, singer and pianist, Ellen's original composition, "Starrburst" was recorded by Houston Person on his album Blue Oddysey. She currently studies jazz piano with Kenny Barron.
"There are many 'good' singers but very few special ones... Ellen has a fantastic voice, she kicks butt as an arranger and pianist, and has wonderful taste in repertoire, featuring songs by new composers... as well as re-presenting some of the standards... she's my personal nomination for talent deserving of wider recognition." - All About Jazz, 2005
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Vicki Stuart
Performance Coach; Director, Coach, Performer; "Smiling Through", "Days of Our Lives"
Imported to the U.S. from London, England, where she was born and trained, Vicki Stuart has enjoyed a long and successful career encompassing theater television, concerts, recordings and nightclubs from London to Las Vegas. Ms. Stuart starred in the musicals "We’ll Meet Again" for which she won a Bistro award and "Smiling Through" Off-Broadway as well as opposite Jim Dale in the U.S. premier of "The Invisible Man" at the Cleveland Playhouse. She starred at the famous Latin Quarter in New York in Noel Coward’s "A Short Visit Only" at the Commodore in NYC and appeared in the original workshop of Cy Coleman’s "Exactly Like You" at the Westbeth Theatre. One woman shows include "Typically English" and "A Touch of Class," both in NYC. Her cabaret career spans five decades and includes performances at London's Astor Club, The Pigalle, The Embassy and the world famous Stork Club. Her New York appearances include starring at the renowned Latin Quarter, Supper Club, St. Regis Hotel, Empire Room at the Waldorf=Astoria and the legendary "Bonsoir" and "Blue Angel." A favorite at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas and night clubs throughout the U.S., Vicki had a long stint as the scene-stealing Violet Crumb on NBC’s "Days of Our Lives." She also appeared on The Tonight Show, Paul Anka Show and numerous appearances on NBC’s Music Hall Series.
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Christopher Temporelli
Private Voice Lessons; Singer, Toronto Opera
American Bass Dr. Christopher Temporelli, is an internationally acclaimed opera singer as well as renowned voice teacher and vocal coach. Christopher has many years of experience in teaching voice, from young people to advanced opera singers, in all levels of vocal ability and development. During his doctoral work at the University of Michigan, his teaching fellowship included training of actors and music theater majors and assisting them in reaching their highest potential.
In New York City, Christopher has been on the faculty of the Singers Forum since 2005 and is sought after for his innovative personal system of breath integration, vocal onset and balanced vocal registration. Individuals of varied backgrounds, from classical to pop artists, actors, jazz singers as well as Broadway stars and classroom teachers have all made great progress and achieved goals working with Christopher.
Christopher's students have gone on to many of the great music/theater programs such as the New England Conservatory and The Julliard School. His students are also performing on Broadway, appearing in TV programs such as "Good Morning, America," securing roles in films, and performing throughout the nation in theater and at classical venues. Christopher has worked with many of the vocal profession's most prominent names, including Andy Anselmo, Armen Boyajian, Shirley Verrett, George Shirely, Stephen Sulich, William Vendice as well as in vocal pedagogy at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. For more information on Christopher's singing career please go to: www.ChristopherTemporelli.com
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Eric Trudel
Classical Vocal Performance; Pianist, Coach, Conductor; Quebec Conservatory of Music, Yale University
A native of Quebec, Canada, Eric Trudel graduated from the Quebec Conservatory of Music with the highest honors. “An authentic talent…” (Toronto Star) He won the prestigious Prix d’Europe competition, which enabled him to study privately with pianists Garrick Ohlsson, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Marc Durand and Louis Lortie. Classical Singer Magazine recently honored Mr. Trudel with its “Coach of the Year” award for 2008. He has taught and performed extensively throughout Canada, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, and the United States. His New York City credits include recitals at Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall and the 92nd Street Y. While pursing an active career as a pianist, he took conducting lessons from Raffi Armenian and Ronald Zollman.
Mr. Trudel has worked as a pianist, coach and/or conductor with many organizations, amongst them The Banff Center Festival for the Performing Arts, L’Opera de Montreal, Connecticut Grand Opera, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, The OK. MOZART Festival and the Pro Arte Singers. His faculty appointments include the Banff Center for the Performing Arts, The Conservatoire de Musique du Quebec in Trois-Rivieres, Montreal Opera’s Atelier Lyrique, the Universite Quebec-Montreal and more recently Yale University School of Music. He presently teaches under the auspices of the Bushnell Foundation.
His long association with the CBC includes numerous television and radio performances as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. On CD, he can be heard on the CBC and Star labels. In 2005, he was involved in the recording of the complete songs of Charles Ives based on a new critical edition by renowned scholar and conductor James Sinclair for the company Naxos.
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Melanie Vaughan
Private Voice Technique, Associate Teacher; Ring of Fire, Parade, "As The World Turns"
Melanie Vaughan has appeared in the original casts of ten Broadway shows, including RING OF FIRE, PARADE, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE and ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. She has been a soloist with New York City Opera, the Omaha Symphony, at Madison Square Garden, Town Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the United Nations and Radio City Music Hall. Melanie toured nationally with SWEENEY TODD, JERRY'S GIRLS and JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY and spent three months in Barcelona as Jasmin Munchgstettner in the world premiere of BAGDAD CAFE: THE MUSICAL. Her regional credits include the Old Globe Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater, The Human Race Theater, Virginia Stage Theater, the O'Neill Theater Center and Goodspeed Opera House. Television credits include LAW & ORDER and AS THE WORLD TURNS.
Melanie graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance. She studied bel canto technique with Dr. Corbelita Astraquillo and Dr. Earl Redding and has continued to study voice and acting in New York. She has been a Guest Artist/Lecturer for NYU's Music Education program, HB Studios.
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Mark Wade
Music Theory & Ear Training for Singers; Bassist; New York University
Mark Wade is a professional bassist working in the NYC area. He graduated from New York University in 1997 Magna Cum Laude, National Music Honor Society. Since that time, he has performed with a wide variety artists. Mark has appeared on the Today Show with jazz vocalist Stacy Kent. For two years, he performed weekly at Birdland. Mark performed the 2001-2002 season with the Key West Symphony Orchestra, which included performances with Grammy winners Sharon Isbon and Robert McDuffie. Mark Wade is currently Principal Bassist with the 92nd Street YMCA Orchestra, a position he has held for 4 years. For his performance of “Ice Island”, a theatre piece for seven actors and solo double bass, the New York Times reviewed “..hauntingly played by Mark Wade.” Mark played for the Broadway show “It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues.” Mark also recorded with pop legend Neil Diamond. He can currently be seen leading his own group at Cornelia Street Cafe.
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Steven Ray Watkins
The Arrangement Experience; Pianist, Arranger, Actor; MAC & Bistro Award Winner
Steven Ray Watkins has been playing the piano for 39 years, and has been working professionally as a performer and musician for 35 years . As an actor he has appeared in "The Last Session," "Jesus Christ Superstar," and in the national tours of "Big," "Singin' in the Rain," and "Showboat." As a musician, he has worked as a session player, as a musical director and vocal director in the theater, and most frequently as an arranger and musical director in the New York City cabaret circuit. He has worked with such names as Patti LuPone, John Turturro, Karen Mason, Louise Pitre, Amanda McBroom, Lennie Watts and Sharon McNight, among many others, and has received two Bistro Awards and two MAC awards.
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Lennie Watts
The Arrangement Experience; Vocalist, Director, Producer; MAC, Bistro & Nightlife Award Winner
Lennie Watts is a 4-time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets), 4-time Backstage Bistro, and 3-time Nightlife Award winner. He was a 2008 MAC Award nominee for Outstanding Major Cabaret Artist for his critically acclaimed "Manilow '73-'83" show. Recognized as an outstanding vocalist, director, producer, and booking manager, he has been active in the New York cabaret scene for over 20 years. In addition to directing in small cabaret venues, he has directed events at Symphony Space, Town Hall, and BB Kings. He has toured nationally and internationally with productions of "The Music Man" (Marcellus) and "The Wizard Of Oz" (Lion). Other roles: Psuedelus (A Funny Thing...), Herod (Jesus Christ Superstar), Nicely Nicely Johnson ("Guys and Dolls"), Jinx ("Forever Plaid"). He has performed at Town Hall in several concerts, including "Broadway Unplugged" and "Broadway By The Year, 1949", and can be heard on the cast recordings of both shows. As a theater director, he has directed productions of "Godspell", "Dames at Sea", "Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", and "Phantom". Watts is the creator of "cablab" and "Summer In The City", both critically acclaimed professional cabaret performance workshops. David Finkle of "The Village Voice" calls him "A one man cabaret army!" He appeared on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", and released his debut CD "I want... You want..." in 2000. Lennie is currently the Vice President of MAC.
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