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ANTICIPATED FACULTY (Please check back for updates)
The QSVI experience provides each young artist with a strong foundation of essential tools to excel in the competitive world of vocal performance. Led by acclaimed regional and international professionals, this intensive summer program will train, motivate and inspire each young singer. Meet our distinguished faculty!
Dr. Sherry Overholt
Soprano Dr. Sherry Overholt has combined a long and successful career with operatic and concert performances in addition to her teaching positions at Queens College, Purchase College Conservatory, and recently the Curtis Institute of Music. As a private voice teacher in Manhattan and at three academic colleges, her students have been contracted by opera companies and festivals, including New York City Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and The Caramoor International Festival. Her students have also won numerous competitions, including the National Association of Teachers, Jenny Lind Competitions, and the Metropolitan Council Awards. This past summer marks the 14th season for Ms. Overholt as Artistic Director/Vocal instructor for The Westchester Summer Vocal Institute, which is dedicated to empowering emerging operatic artists. This past season she also completed her 10th season as Artistic Director/Vocal Instructor for the QueensSummer Vocal Institute, a high school classical vocal program at Queens College where she is Director of Vocal Studies. As a performer, Dr. Overholt performed for Columbia Artists Management in joint operatic concerts for ten years and sang title roles in regional opera houses. Her discographies include the title role in Frank Lewin’s opera Burning Bright for Albany Records, Vincent Persichetti’s Song Cycle: Harmonium, and Legacy of Songs of Persichetti for MSR Classics. Ms. Overholt’s received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami and her Master of Musical Arts and Doctorate in Vocal Performance from Yale University, studying under Metropolitan Opera Soprano Phyllis Curtin, who taught at the Tanglewood MusicCenter for 51 years.
Executive & Artistic Director
Jennifer Grimaldi Toohey
Soprano Jennifer Grimaldi Toohey made her European debut as the soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Charlemagne Orchestra in Brussels under the direction of Bartholomeus-Henri Van de Velde.
Upcoming engagements for the 2024 season include the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah (parts 2 & 3) with the Babylon Chorale and the soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Canterbury Chorale.
Additional solo engagements for Ms. Grimaldi-Toohey include the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Canterbury Chorale at Carnegie Hall, the Vier letzte Lieder of Richard Strauss at Symphony Space in NYC with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra and NY Repertory Orchestra, soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Canterbury Chorale in NYC, soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and Symphony No. 2 with the Mineria National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico City, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the NY Repertory Orchestra, soprano soloist in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Flint Symphony in Michigan and soprano soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Sheboygan Symphony in Wisconsin and Mahler’s 8th Symphony with both the Nashua and Lexington Symphony Orchestras.
Additional highlights include the soprano soloist in Britten’s War Requiem & Brahms’ Ein deutches Requiem with the Queens College Choral Society, Mozart’s Requiem with the Reona Ito Orchestra and Chorus, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Queens College Orchestra, Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria with the New Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with The New York Repertory Orchestra in conjunction with the New York Festival Singers, Barber’s Knoxville Summer of 1915 with Agincourt Orchestra, and Mozart’s Exultate, Jubilate with the Third Street Music School Settlement Orchestra.
Jennifer Grimaldi Toohey has performed with US opera companies and festivals, including Sarasota Opera, Brevard Music Festival, Intermezzo Opera Festival, Utah Festival Opera, and Raylynmor Opera, among others & created the role of Dolly in the New York City Premiere of Orpheus Descending by Bruce Saylor.
A graduate of The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, Ms. Grimaldi Toohey is the co-founder and co-owner of the Long Island Studio of Music, on the voice faculty at The Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and serves as program director and voice teacher for the Queens Summer Vocal Institute. Jennifer is a long-time student of her voice teacher and mentor, Dr. Sherry Overholt.
Artistic & Program Coordinator
Ron Land
Well-versed in opera, art song, and musical theatre, Ronald F. Land is a respected vocal instructor, pianist, assistant conductor, coach, accompanist and administrator who helps singers at all levels achieve their maximum potential. He is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Voice at the Rider University/ Westminster College of the Arts and serves as a music director in the Opera Studio at Queens College. He served as Professor of Voice and Theatre at Five Towns College for eight years, where, in addition to teaching private voice lessons, he taught classes in music and theatre as Musical Director of the Theatre Department and Head of Vocal Studies. He maintains private teaching studios on Long Island and in Manhattan.
Voice Faculty/Pianist & Co-Music Director High School Division
Alex Paul Sheerin is the director of Opera at Queens College (Aaron Copland School of Music) where he will stage The Turn of the Screw as well as an evening of one act opera. Sheerin was a young artist director at Brevard Music Center and Opera North, and is the resident director at North Shore Music Festival (Long Island), where he directed Don Pasquale and Amahl and the Night Visitors. Alex was also young artist director in residence at Indianapolis Opera where he directed Puccini’s Madama Butterfly as well as several virtual programs including The Three little Hoosier Pigs, an opera for children. Credits include A Little Night Music (Quisisana), Cosi Fan Tutte (Queens College, Quisisana, Queens Summer Vocal Institute), The Medium (Chicago Summer Opera), Cosi Fan Tutte (abridged, Florida State Opera), Patience (Long Island Light Opera), and The Very Best of Gilbert and Sullivan (Brevard Music Center). Alex was scheduled to direct Glory Denied and L’Enfant et Les Sortiléges at Florida State University, as well as Carmen at the North Shore Music Festival. Assistant directing credits include: The Merry Widow (Dorothy Danner, Director), Cosi Fan Tutte (Jennifer Williams, Director), La Traviata (Andreas Hager, Director), Don Giovanni (Scott Skiba, Director), Of Mice and Men (Matthew Lata, Director). Street Scene (Dean Anthony, Director), Don Pasquale (David Gately, Director), The Fairy Queen (Isabel Milenski, Director), and Romeo et Juliette (Buck Ross, Director).
Alex Paul Sheerin
Director of Opera Division & Stage Director
Elaine Smith Purcell
Vocal coach and collaborative pianist Elaine Smith-Purcell guides and mentors high school and college students in all aspects of the vocal arts. She teaches a wide range of vocal repertoire spanning Baroque improvisational airs, standard classical Art Songs, and musical theater repertoire from the golden age to contemporary writers. Elaine works at the prestigious performing arts high school Walnut Hill School for the Arts, located in the Boston suburbs. She has previously taught at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and the American Repertory Theater. Her classical voice students have recently matriculated to the following schools: Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, The Schulich School of Music at McGill University, Harvard University, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Boston Conservatory, Rutgers University, Hartt School of Music, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and Northwestern University.
Voice Faculty/Pianist & Co-Music Director High School Division
Dr. Jen Stephenson
Texas-based artist JEN STEPHENSON enjoys a multifaceted career as stage director, producer, educator, and arts administrator. As a stage director and producer, Stephenson has worked with the Baylor Opera Theatre, Chicago Summer Opera, Landlocked Opera, Opera Seme, Lawrence Opera Theatre, Music On Site, Harrower Summer Opera, Druid City Opera, The University of Alabama Opera Theatre, and Tabor College Opera, which she founded in 2015. For her work with the Baylor Opera Theatre, Stephenson's productions have collected numerous accolades from the National Opera Association and the American Prize, including most recently being named first place winner of the Robert Hansen Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition of the NOA (2023). Recent directing credits include productions of Luisa Fernanda, Le nozze di Figaro, Giulio Cesare, The Tender Land, Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, La finta giardiniera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Hansel and Gretel. Praised for her thoughtful characterization and impeccable comedic timing, she is currently chair of the awarding committee of the National Opera Association's JoElyn Wakefield Wright Stage Director Internship, of which she was the recipient of in 2015.
Dr. Stephenson holds degrees from The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Westfield State University, University of South Florida, and The University of Alabama. Currently, she serves as Director of Opera Theatre and Assistant Clinical Professor of Opera at Baylor University, Artistic Director at Music On Site, Inc., Resident Stage Director with Opera Seme, and Executive Board Member and Recording Secretary of the National Opera Association.
Stage Director
Ken Benson
Ken Benson, long respected as a leading representative of classical singers, is returning to Artists Management to guide and develop the careers of exceptional young talent.
For 25 years, he headed his own Division as Vice President at Columbia Arti ts Management, Inc. Known for his deep knowledge of singing and vocal repertoire, he developed and built the careers of some of the leading singers and stage directors of the time.
Ken Benson regularly gives masterclasses, workshops, lectures, and private consultations at leading music conservatories and Young Artists Programs across the country. He is in great demand as an adjudicator of many leading vocal competitions. Ken has served as Career Consultant with Washington National Opera's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Program. He frequently acts as a lecturer, interviewer, and writer about opera. A long-time regular panelist and host of the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, he has interviewed opera icons and given lectures on Wagner's Ring Cycle on the stage of the Met.
Artist Manager
Peter Randsman
Peter Randsman who is the Founder and President of Randsman Artists Management INC was born in Long Beach Hospital, in Long Beach, Long Island, New York, on July 11th. He shares his birthday with Nicolai Gedda, Herman Prey, Yul Brynner, Ebi Stignani, John Quincy Adams and Giorgio Armani. Peter spent his first 13 years of life, living in Harbor Isle, a suburb of Island Park, Long Island, New York. In the early 1960’s Peter met his childhood, “Best Friend” Ricky Ian Gordon, the world renowned composer, and they went on to “discover” opera together and spent each weekend attending star-studded performances of operas at both The Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera. He attended first Nassau Community College as a Drama Major and next Hofstra University as a Drama Major. Peter’s Broadway and National Tour credits include singing the song Liza Liza , as a duet, with film legend Ruby Keeler on Broadway and a national tour of Kismet with Metropolitan Opera star, John Reardon. Additional productions included the roles of Clifford Bradshaw in Cabaret, Charley in Charleys Aunt, Dick in Dames at Sea and Gabey in On the Town which was Peter’s personal favorite role. Mr. Randsman sang with the New York City Opera for 4 seasons at the New York State Theater in Lincoln Center, and performed in LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER in the PBS telecast of Mefistofele with Samuel Ramey, conducted by Julius Rudel. Peter’s Film and television credits include the National commercial appearing as Burger King’s “Whopper Boy” and Minolta’s “Camera Boy. Artistic Director positions included National Grand Opera at the Tilles Center at C.W. Post in Long Island, and currently with the New York Opera Collaborative. After nearly fifteen years as a professional singer /actor, Peter has fulfilled 2 life-long dreams by working 1 season as artistic director of an opera company (National Grand Opera, at The Tillis Center for the Performing Arts at C.W. Post Campus in Long Island) and by also starting his own company, “Randsman Artists Management”. He is happy to be responsible for the careers of 50 internationally active opera singers. In addition to Randsman Artists Management, Mr. Randsman is in high demand for Master classes and Career counseling and consulting, where he has taught Master classes in over 20 major opera companies in the United States and all over the world. In addition, Peter Randsman offers private sessions of both role and aria preparation to artists who are preparing for auditions, career engagements and Video submissions to opera companies. www.randsman.com Office: 212-244-5874 Cell: 917-494-6654 randsman@aol.com www.randsmanartistmanagement.com
Artist Manager
Katrina Fasulo
New York City native Katrina Fasulo is a mezzo-soprano, arts executive, and fundraiser currently living in Southeast Michigan. Her passion lies in the nexus of uniting audiences with opera in engaging and impactful ways, and is delivered through a philosophy and practice rooted in transformational and servant leadership. She presently serves as Executive Director of Opera MODO and as an Associate Major Gifts Officer at Detroit Opera; in addition to maintaining a roster of clients as a freelance consultant and project manager.
As a graduate of the University of Michigan (B.M.A. vocal performance, arts management, program in entrepreneurship) and Seattle University (M.F.A. arts leadership), Fasulo leverages a background at the intersection of artist/administrator and practice/academia to achieve strategic goals. Within her local community, she is an active arts volunteer and advocate, having served on multiple granting and artistic funding panels alongside participation on a steering committee working to diversify classical arts audiences and bolster community engagement. As a regular volunteer and arts advocate, she has partnered with the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, WMHT community advisory board, the New York State Council on the Arts community regrant panel, and the MAP Fund review panel, among others.
Fasulo has previously worked with organizations including Opera Saratoga, Opera NexGen, Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony, the 5th Avenue Theatre, University Musical Society, the Glimmerglass Festival, and Loft Opera. She finds fulfillment in supporting artists, fostering belonging and inclusivity on and off stage, and building audiences for sustainability through authentic cultural experiences. She envisions operatic engagements that reflect and celebrate diverse lived experiences which uplift, heal, and hold positive societal impact. In 2021, she participated in the Of/By/For All program, to deepen her learning and propel DEIA efforts in her organization with care.
With a firm belief in lifelong learning, she recently participated in the inaugural cohort of Aubrey Bergauer's leadership development course and her "Summer Uplevel" program. Katrina's projects and research have been highlighted and quoted in interviews, panels, and guest speaking engagements with OPERA America, OperaWire, U-M SMTD Excel, the Crescendo Club and artistic entrepreneurship cohorts facilitated by peers and colleagues. Her commitment to understanding field trends and growing audiences of opera in intentional ways is a palpable continuation of her thesis "Opera Under Reconstruction: Strategic Responses for Audience Engagement in the 21st Century."
She is an active individual member of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Racial Justice Opera Network, and the Women's Opera Network. Katrina was selected as one of three protégés in the 2023 Mentorship Program for Women Administrators, the fifth iteration of a competitive development program, facilitated by OPERA America - working closely with mentor Julia Noulin-Mérat, CEO & General Director of Opera Columbus, on objectives that build upon her decade of practical field experience.
Festival Manager
Jeffrey Langer
Jeffrey Langer currently studies oboe at Stony Brook University under the tutelage of James Austin Smith. He performs regularly with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, and actively plays across the greater NYC region. His passion for music is fueled by both performing orchestral and chamber repertoire, as well as teaching. He maintains a robust private studio.
Growing up on Long Island, Jeffrey was previously a member of the New York Youth Symphony in its 2018-2019 season, as well as a student at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege program. Summer festivals include the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, and Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. Jeffrey has also had the privilege of performing in masterclasses with some of the world’s leading oboists, such as Phillipe Tondre, Mary Lynch VanderKolk, Allan Vogel, Dwight Parry, John Ferrillo, and Robert Sheena.
Memorable performances include a solo performance of Jacob TV’s Garden of Love for oboe and electronics at the University of Michigan’s historic Hill Auditorium. The performance was part of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance’s annual Collage Concert, showcasing performances by students across the artistic disciplines to a sold-out audience.
Complementing his work as performer, Jeffrey has a profound interest in arts administration, and has completed internships with the Lake George Music Festival, assisting with patron services, the box office, and daily operations. He most recently worked with Opera Saratoga in the position of scheduler and transportation coordinator in the summer of 2023.
Jeffrey received his BM in oboe performance from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. His teachers include Nancy Ambrose King, Lillian Copeland, and Keve Wilson. Jeffrey aspires to pursue a lasting career as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, and arts administrator. In his free time, Jeffrey enjoys reading fiction, running, and traveling.
QSVI Scheduler & Festival Coordinator
Dr. Sean Moonsammy
Dr. Sean Moonsammy is a professionally trained opera singer and voice-specializing speech-language pathologist. His performing career has allotted him to sing backups for Elton John, perform on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The U.S. Open opening ceremony, and has accompanied Josh Groban as a backup singer through two national tours. His publications focus on cultural responsive care to voice-related disorders. Sean commenced his voice training at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in New York City; he subsequently obtained his B.M. and M.M. in opera performance at the Aaron Copland School of Music, as well as his M.A. in speech-language pathology from the City University of New York: Queens College. He obtained his doctorate of speech-language pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital, specializing in voice-related advocacy of minoritized populations. He completed his clinical fellowship as an acute care and outpatient provider specializing in voice/upper-airway disorders, and gender-affirming voice care at Stony Brook University Hospital. His appointment at Stony Brook Medicine has been supplemented by features within the ASHA Leader: In the Limelight, "The Agentic Voice," “SLPs of Color,” and “The 8%” podcasts. Sean has co-established Long Island’s first gender-affirming voice care clinic with Stony Brook Medicine’s Laryngologist, Dr. Keith Chadwick. He hopes to continually raise awareness of voice disorders and destigmatize vocal injury among professional voice users.
Voice Specializing Speech/Language Pathologist
Abril Valbuena
Abril Valbuena (she/her) is an opera stage manager and stage director native to New York City. As a Colombian-American born to immigrant parents, Abril is passionate about creating opera that is accessible and enjoyable to all audiences. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Queens College, CUNY and a Master of Music in Opera Production (Directing Focus) from Florida State University. Select credits: Assistant Stage Manager, Madama Butterfly (Opera Carolina), Production Stage Manager, Alcina (Queens College Opera), Assistant Stage Manager, Falstaff (Knoxville Opera), Assistant Stage Manager, Sweeney Todd and La Tragédie de Carmen (Chautauqua Opera Company), Stage Director, Luisa Fernanda (Florida State University), Assistant Stage Director, Carmen and Il barbiere di Siviglia (Janiec Opera Company). This summer, Abril joins the faculty of Queens Summer Vocal Institute for her third year as Resident Assistant Stage Director.
Assistant Stage Director
Naseer Ashraf
With a background in music performance and education, Naseer François Ashraf is a dedicated musician based in Bronx, NY. Currently serving as a staff pianist at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, Naseer shares his expertise with students as a music educator at institutions such as Hoff-Barthelson Music School, Music Conservatory of Westchester, and Rye Arts Center. Additionally, he contributes to the arts community as a Ballet Accompanist at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, and as Music Director and Organist at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pearl River, NY.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Theory & Composition from the University of Rhode Island under the tutelage of Eliane Aberdam, Naseer further distinguished himself as a violist under the mentorship of Ann Danis, earning the 2006 Kingston Chamber Music Festival Award. Continuing his musical journey, Naseer pursued a Master’s in Classical Composition from SUNY Purchase, studying with Laura Kaminsky and Du Yun. He subsequently delved into piano studies, earning an Artist Diploma in 2015 under the guidance of Stephanie Brown and Miyoko Lotto. Eager to bring his diverse musical experiences to the forefront, Naseer looks forward to serving as Music Director and pianist for Giancarlo Menotti’s “The Medium,” aiming to enrich the production with his unique musical perspective.
Accompanist
Jennifer Barsamian, mezzo-soprano, pianist and educator is a professional Opera Singer that has sung extensively throughout the US. Jennifer has been teaching voice and piano for over 20 years. In addition to maintaining a private studio, Jennifer has served as professor of voice and Five Towns College where she worked with musical theatre majors. Jennifer is co-owner and co-founder of the Long Island Studio of Music, which provides exceptional music instruction in your home throughout Long Island, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Westchester.
www.LongIslandStudioofMusic.com.
She has also served on the music faculty of Music Academy of Garden City, the Greenwich House Music School in Manhattan, Lucy Moses School in Manhattan, the Loomis Chaffee School in CT, the community division at The Hartt School of Music, and the community music school at North Carolina School of the Arts.
As a performer, she has been praised as “a consummate artist with a winning personality and a deep, rich, strong, vocalism.” Described as the “quintessential Carmen” she has sung the title role several times throughout the United States. On the operatic stage she has sung with the Belleayre Music Festival, Opera Western Reserve, Asheville Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Company of the Highlands, Utah Festival Opera, New Jersey Verismo Opera, and the Spoleto Festival USA. Jennifer’s students all receive outstanding NYSSMA scores and go on to study at top music schools and conservatories throughout the US. Jennifer holds a Master’s Degree in Music from North Carolina School of the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Westminster Choir College, where she began her studies as a pianist. She has also earned two post graduate certificates in Voice and Opera from both the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute and the Hartt School of Music. Jennifer is thrilled to be returning to the QSVI voice faculty this summer!
Voice Teacher
Jennifer Barsamian
Lauded as having a "stunningly large round sound," as well as a “steely, velvety” timbre, American dramatic soprano, Helena Brown, is quickly distinguishing herself as a force of nature for the international stages. Recently, Helena made her role debuts as Lucia in Terence Blanchard's Champion, First Mother in Dead Man Walking, and Fisherwoman in Peter Grimes at the Metropolitan Opera; she also debuted as Mrs. Dickson in Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center Theater, Sieglinde in Die Walküre with Miami Wagner Institute, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Rioja Lirica/DIVAria Productions, Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia with New Camerata Opera, as well as Serena and Strawberry Woman in Porgy and Bess on the New York Harlem Theater European tour at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Chassé Theater, and Amsterdam RAI. Additional appearances include the Glimmerglass Festival for multiple seasons, most notably to sing Isabella in the American premiere of The Siege of Calais; Bloody Mary in South Pacific at Opera Roanoke, concerts with the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and New Haven Symphony Orchestra; and as a featured soloist with Maryland Opera, LOFTrecital and Out of the Box Opera.
Helena has received awards such as the Top Prize, Robert Lauch Memorial Award, in the Wagner Society of New York Competition, Second Place in the Brava Opera Theatre Competition, the Sergio Franchi Award in the Deborah Voigt/Vero Beach Opera Competition, Second Place in the Young Patronesses of the Opera/Florida Grand Opera Vocal Competition, as well as awards from the Cooper-Bing Foundation, Opera at Florham, Opera Birmingham, and Opera Ebony Benjamin Matthews vocal competitions. Helena additionally received grants from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Giulio Gari Foundation, Opera Index and Encouragement Grants from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Philadelphia, the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation, and the MetroWest Opera Vocal Competition in Boston.
Formerly a mezzo-soprano, Helena was a young artist at the 2016 Glimmerglass Festival where she performed Rebecca Nurse and covered Tituba under the baton of Nicole Paiement in Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed production of The Crucible. Additionally, Helena appeared with Minnesota Opera, performing Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos; sang Addie in Regina and Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring at Bronx Opera; covered Mama McCourt in Ballad of Baby Doe with Chautauqua Opera; and covered Grandmother Buryjovka in Jenůfa with Des Moines Metro Opera, where she also appeared in scenes concerts as Dalila in Samson et Dalila, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Martha in Faust, and Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin.
Helena holds a Master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Music, Summa Cum Laude, from Hollins University where she also studied arts management and theatre. In addition to appearances in/out of the US, Helena works full time as a chorister at the Metropolitan Opera. A fierce ally to the arts, Helena holds positions as a Vice President on the board for the American Guild of Musical Artists and as an Advisory Director on the Metropolitan Opera Board of Directors.
Voice Teacher/Soprano
Helena Brown
Voice Teacher/Conductor
Louis Burkot
After completing his master’s degree at the Yale School of Music, Louis Burkot enjoyed a career as a tenor soloist with orchestras and choral societies. Performing such diverse repertoire as Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, the Evangelist in both of Bach's Passions, Mendelsohn's Elijah, Stravinsky's In Memoriam Dylan Thomas, Orff's Carmina Burana and many of the oratorios of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Kodaly and others. He has appeared as Acis in Handel's Acis and Galatea with the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, as a soloist with the New Haven Symphony, at the Blossom Festival, with the orchestras of both Vermont and New Hampshire, the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, and with over 50 collegiate and regional choral societies along the East Coast. Paul Hume of the Washington Post said of his performance in Stravinsky's Mass "Of the four soloists, tenor Louis Burkot sang with beautiful tone and unerring musical instincts." Recital repertoire has included both Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin and Die Winterreise as well as Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge, Faure's La Bonne Chanson, and Rorem's King Midas.
He is best known as the long-time Artistic Director of Opera North which has been nationally recognized for its Resident Artist program that has helped launch the careers of many internationally acclaimed singers, conductors, and directors. He has conducted nearly 100 productions for Opera North. From 1993 – 1998, he was the Musical Director of Opera New England, the touring arm of the Boston Lyric Opera. Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe praised his conducting as “first-rate, capable and stylish,” and Opera News magazine notes his conducting “sparkles with verve and sensitivity to the needs of singers.” Additionally, he has guest conducted for regional opera companies in Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts, and Florida.
Louis Burkot currently teaches voice at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, a position he has held since 1981, and was awarded a Distinguished Teaching award in 2000. As director of the Dartmouth College Glee Club, he has conducted most of the major choral/orchestral masterpieces, including The Saint John Passion of J.S. Bach, the Requiems of Mozart, Fauré, Duruflé, and Brahms (performed in Carnegie Hall), Barber's Prayers of Kierkegaard, Verdi's Quatro Pezzi Sacri and Rachmaninoff's All-night Vigil. Other responsibilities at Dartmouth have included coaching chamber music, and conducting operas, musicals, and ballets. He has given master classes at conservatories nationwide and served as a judge in competitions, including the semi-finals of the Metropolitan Opera Council Annual auditions, the Corbett Scholarship competition at University of Cincinnati College Conservatory, and the Lynam Competition of the University of North Carolina/Greensboro.
A longtime master teacher at the Westchester Summer Vocal Institute (now the Queens Summer Vocal Institute), he joined the faculty of the Aaron Copland School of Music in the Fall of 2021.
Cris Frisco
Cris Frisco is a collaborative musician equally at home in the worlds of classical and popular music. He is Director of Music and Director of the Handorf Company Artist Program at Opera Memphis. This season, he conducts Hansel and Gretel at Opera Birmingham and The Falling and the Rising at Opera Memphis and works on productions of Spears’s The Righteous for Santa Fe Opera and Kaminsky’s Hometown to the World for NYC’s Town Hall. He is the rehearsal pianist for vocal programs at the Philadelphia Orchestra and partners singers in recital in Los Angeles, New York, and Indiana. Currently in development, he is the music director for Anatomiae Occultii’s contemporary dance production of Sweeney Todd. A committed educator for the next generation of artists, he is the Music Staff Coordinator and Principal Coach for the Opera Program at Mannes College of Music and has served on the faculty of Westminster Choir College, Rutgers University, City University of New York, the New School for Drama, the Castleton Festival, the Mostly Modern Festival, Finger Lakes Opera, and Westminster’s CoOPERAtive. crisfrisco.com
Vocal Coach/Pianist
Tammy Hensrud
Tammy Hensrud has appeared in opera houses throughout Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Japan, Israel, South Africa, and the United States, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Stuttgart Opera, Theatre de Chatelet in Paris, Klagenfurt Stadttheater, Salzburg Festival, Cleveland Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, New York City Opera, and the Spoleto Arts Festival. Her core repertoire includes the great operatic roles of Strauss, Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Puccini, and orchestral works of Mahler, Berlioz, and Wagner. Ms. Hensrud has sung world premieres at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, the Center for Contemporary Opera in NYC and Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. A most versatile artist, she has performed Musical Theater, Cabaret and Kurt Weill shows at the Lucille Lortel Theater, Players Club, the Café Sabarsky Series at Neue Galerie in NYC and the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland.
Hensrud earned her BMus in cello performance, MMus in vocal performance and MA with a concentration in German from the University of North Dakota. She continued her post-graduate studies on voice as the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship in Stuttgart, Germany, where she received the Artist Diploma in Opera. Additional studies were at Salzburg's Mozarteum, the Franz Liszt Musik Akademie, and the L'ecole Hindemith in Vevey, Switzerland. She has served on the Voice Faculty of Hofstra University since 2005 and is the Coordinator of Vocal Studies.
Additionally, Hensrud was Visiting Associate Professor of Voice at St. Olaf College in MN from 2017-21 and is the Vocal Director of the Oyster Bay Summer Music Festival. She serves on the Guest Faculty of the Queens Summer Vocal Institute, ArtsBridge, Music in the Alps Summer Music Festival in Bad Gastein, Austria and the United Artist International Music Festival in Kiev, Ukraine.
Voice Teacher
Kelly Horsted
"Gifted and versatile," pianist Kelly Horsted, is a native of Sioux City, Iowa, and enjoys an active career in NYC as an accompanist, music director and vocal coach specializing in new opera, art song, and role preparation.
An enthusiast of new music, Kelly enjoys a long standing relationship with the Brooklyn based company American Opera Projects. He has been a co-music director for AOP's Composers and the Voice series since 2006. He participated as a music director in The Stonewall Operas, and The Fort Greene Park Operas, collaborations between AOP and the Advanced Opera Lab at the NYU Tisch School, headed by Randall Eng and Sam Helfrich. Other AOP engagements have included the premiere of Beauty Intolerable : A Songbook based on the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Sheila Silver with singers Deanne Meek, and Risa Renae Harman at Symphony Space, performances of Tarik O'Regan's Heart of Darkness and music direction for several readings of Paula Kimper's opera, The Bridge of San Luis Rey. He assisted preparing the cast of Patience and Sarah for the chamber opera's premiere at the Lincoln Center Festival. Kelly was a part of the first semi-staged workshop of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, by Hershel Garfein directed by Mark Morris.
Kelly was music director for readings of Mark of Cain with Center for Contemporary Opera's Atelier Series. A frequent collaborator with Chelsea Opera, Kelly was part of the artistic team performing Glory Denied by Tom Cipullo, returning to the piece as part of the preparation staff for Urban Arias. His other Chelsea Opera projects have included The Medium and On Rosenstrasse. Kelly was pleased to perform on the 20th Anniversary concert for Friends and Enemies of New Music featuring Baritone Chris Pedro Trakas and works by Adams, Bolcom and Yarmolinsky. Other contemporary music performances have included Vector 5, Cutting Edge Music, Downtown Music Productions, Five Words in a Line and the Guggenheim Museum's Works and Process series.
An active performer, Kelly was music director and conductor for Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men, and Erwartung at Madison Lyric Stage, directed by Marc Deaton. As pianist he joined Deaton for his original mono-drama, We Lived Only for the Music : Max Lorenz and the Third Reich, and Hotel Fables: Episodes in a life. Kelly performed works by Randolph Coleman and Carlisle Floyd at Zankel Hall with Remarkable Theater Brigade. Kelly participated in the Wintergreen Festival under Stephen Osgood, where his performances included Respighi's adaptation of Monteverdi's O,feo as well as two Liederabends. Kelly was assistant conductor for Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore at New Jersey Opera Theatre and pianist for Menotti's The Medium and Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci with Opera Company of Brooklyn. He spent two years as a faculty member at Intermezzo Opera as assistant conductor for L 'Enfant et !es Sortileges, in West Palm Beach, Florida, under the baton of J. David Jackson and as head coach for performances of Mark Adamo's opera, Little Women under the baton of Steven Osgood at the Hartt School in Connecticut. Mr. Horsted was music director for performances of Casi fan Tutte at Merkin Concert Hall with director Janet Bookspan, and for Harrisburg, PA's Opera in the Park. He performed at Wall to Wall Bernstein at Symphony Space. Kelly was music director and a founding member of the New York based opera company The CoOperative for six years. Kelly performed community outreach programs regularly as part of Trinity Church's Concerts to Go, Concerts in Motion, and as music director of La Piccola Opera with Arts Horizons. On the lighter side, Kelly enjoys a regular relationship with the Long Island Concert Pops under the direction of Dean Karahalis, and is often featured as a soloist with the group.
Kelly's recent recording with Baritone Robert Barefield on Albany records Light Enough, featuring works by David Conte and premieres by Sandra D'Ercole, Larry Alan Smith and Scott Wheeler has received extensive critical acclaim. He can also be heard on selections from the Opera America Songbook.
Dedicated to the development of singers and musicians, Kelly has been a frequent thesis project collaborator at NYU's Tisch Graduate Musical Theater Program. Kelly was faculty member at Ann Baltz's ground breaking Operaworks training program in California for seven summers. As a visiting lecturer, Kelly music directed Hunter College's flagship mixed bill, The Sisters of Nikolas Flagello and M. Choujleuri of Offenbach. Kelly was an Artist/ Teacher at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford in West Hartford, CT. As a coach at the Mannes College of Music, he served as music director for performances of Ned Rorem's Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters, and Mozart's Zauberjlote. Kelly was a staff accompanist at the International Workshops in Graz, Austria, and at the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival in Brunswick, Maine. Mr. Horsted is a current faculty member at Five Towns College, in Dix Hills where he serves on the voice and techniques of music faculty.
Mr. Horsted's other notable performances include appearances at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall and the prestigious Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, as well as Fountainbleau, France and NBC's Weekend Today Show. He earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Eastman School of Music, where he was a fellowship recipient and 1st place winner in the Kneisel Lieder Competition.
Vocal Coach/Pianist
With three GRAMMY wins and a chart-topping debut album already under her belt, 24-year-old Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous jazz singing sensation recorded by the venerable Verve Records. Her voice, rich and velvety yet precociously refined, has already earned her fans like Anita Baker and Regina King and appearances on the TODAY Show, The Tonight Show w/Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show w/Stephen Colbert, CBS Mornings, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and more, in addition to millions of likes on TikTok — securing her status as perhaps the first Gen Z jazz vocal star. The New York Times praised the “silky-voiced rising star” for “helping jazz take a youthful turn” while NPR All Things Considered named her a “classic jazz singer from a new generation.”
Samara is still relatively new to jazz. Growing up in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx, it was music of the past — the music of her parent’s childhoods, as she put it — that she listened to most. She treasures her musical lineage, which stretches back to her grandparents Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, both of whom performed with Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and runs through her father, who is a vocalist and bassist who toured with gospel artist Andraé Crouch. Though she’s young, she relishes the process of digging through the music’s history. “I think maybe people connect with the fact that I'm not faking it, that I already feel embedded in it,” Samara says. “Maybe I'm able to reach people in person and on social media because it's real.”
Samara began singing jazz as a senior at Fordham High School for the Arts and was awarded Best Vocalist at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition. Following her graduation as valedictorian, she attended the jazz program at SUNY Purchase, where she became the school’s Ella Fitzgerald Scholar and graduated Magna Cum Laude. While in college, she also won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, one of the most sought-after honors for a rising jazz performer. The competition’s judges were Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jane Monheit, Christian McBride, and producer Matt Pierson, who would eventually become her manager. In July 2021, the same year she graduated from SUNY Purchase, Samara released her self-titled debut on Whirlwind Recordings.
On her debut album for Verve Records, Linger Awhile, which was produced by Pierson and recorded by Chris Allen at Sear Sound in NYC, Samara is accompanied by esteemed veterans: her former professors, guitarist Pasquale Grasso and drummer Kenny Washington, form the core of the band, which also includes bassist David Wong and pianist Ben Paterson. With ease and a preternatural assurance, Samara swings right alongside them through understated yet powerful renditions of this creative collection of standards. There are burnished, gleaming versions of chestnuts in “Misty,” “Linger Awhile” and “Someone to Watch Over Me,” transporting listeners to some romantic, long-lost supper club. Those familiar tunes are listed alongside some more unusual, if equally vintage selections: “Sweet Pumpkin,” a Ronnell Bright tune performed by the likes of Blue Mitchell and Gloria Lynne, a fresh take on “Guess Who I Saw Today” (a story of infidelity famously told by Nancy Wilson), and “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood,” which Samara uncovered on a collection of Sarah Vaughan rarities, add a lilting, upbeat bent to the album’s selections.
Voice Teacher / Grammy Award Winning Jazz Vocalist
Samara Joy
A native of Sacramento, soprano Christine Moore Vassallo is a versatile performer and sought-after teacher, training numerous competition winners and finalists, including Schmidt Regional and National competitions, YoungArts, Opera Index, NATS-NYC and Eastern Regions, Classical Singer, Dayton Opera, Opera at Florham, among others. She has over 25 years of teaching experience, including both private studio and as faculty for 14 years at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Since 2019 she has been a mentor/teacher with ArtSmart, a national organization co-founded by tenor Michael Fabiano that provides free lessons and mentorship in underserved schools across the country. Since 2018 Christine been a Teaching Artist with the Lunigiana International Music Festival in Fivizzano, Italy and with American Voices, an American-based international organization that provides workshops and lessons to students in hard-to-reach locations around the world. Christine is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music and trained at Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, Tanglewood, Chautauqua Institute, and the Mozarteum in Salzburg (under Christa Ludwig). She was a Regional Finalist (Pacific) in the Met Competition and has sung Mimi in La Bohème (with Oper Leipzig where she performed over several years), the title roles in Madama Butterfly, Suor Angelica and Aida, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Micaëla in Carmen, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, among others. She has curated Spanish art song and Arab art song concerts at Lincoln Center and beyond. Recordings include Christine Moore–Arias and the soon-to-be-released From Al Andalus to the Americas–An Odyssey of Spanish Song. She works with composers frequently and has a current project with Patricio Molina on poetry by Arab women in the Al-Andalus period of medieval Spain. Christine speaks five languages fluently. www.christinemooresoprano.com www.christinemoorevoicelessons.com
Voice Teacher
Christine Moore
Mary Nessinger has been heard in concert and recital throughout the United States and Europe, and is in demand for her critically acclaimed performances of some of last and this century’s most dynamic works and for her astute interpretations of standard repertoire. Of recent performances, The New York Times has praised her “remarkable fluidity and beauty of tone”, and described her interpretive skills as “a tour de force of characterization”; the New Yorker has heralded her “exacting musicianship and quiet dignity (which) have made her a fixture of the New York scene.” Ms. Nessinger has been heard as a soloist in some of this country’s finest venues, including Carnegie, Alice Tully, Avery Fisher and Merkin Halls, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Freer Gallery in Washington D.C.; Jordan Hall and the Gardner Museum in Boston; and she has appeared internationally at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie in Berlin, the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
In Ms. Nessinger’s work with orchestra, she has been a soloist with the Baltimore, Grand Rapids, Jacksonville and London Symphonies, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Her collaborative work has found her performing with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New Millennium Ensemble, the Hebrides Ensemble (Scotland), the Brentano, Colorado, Pacifica, and Orion String Quartets, the Endellion String Quartet (London), and as a guest artist at the Tanglewood Music Festival and the Ravinia Festival.
Ms. Nessinger has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Nonesuch, Tzadik, CRI, New World, Naxos, Ondine, Mode, and Koch International labels. She and her two daughters live in New York City.
Voice Teacher
Mary Nessinger
Hailed as a “soprano of ravishing, changeable beauty, blazing high notes and magnetic stage presence” by Opera News, recent highlights include returns to Florida Grand Opera as Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, and for her first performances as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, her first performances of Freia in Das Rheingold with both the London Philharmonic and Odense Symphony Orchestras, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Sofya in Prokofiev’s Semyon Kotko with Vladimir Jurowski conducting the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and a return to the Metropolitan Opera New York as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. She also joined Bard Music Festival for Marfa in The Tsar’s Bride, and on the concert stage gave her first performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Jakub Hrusa, and Britten’s War Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko, in London’s Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall respectively. She also sang Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 with Moscow Chamber Orchestra and Shostakovich’s From Jewish Folk Poetry at Music@Menlo, and returned to La Jolla Music Festival for performances Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras and selections of Schubert Lieder. Winner of the 1999 International Elena Obraztsova Competition and the 1998 International Rimsky-Korsakov Competition, the New York based Russian soprano Lyubov Petrova trained at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and on the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Programme, and made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos in 2001. She subsequently returned for numerous roles including Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Norina in Don Pasquale, Sophie in Werther, Nannetta in Falstaff, Oscar in Un ballo in maschera, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Xenia in Boris Godunov, and Woglinde in Das Rheingold. In an extensive North American career, she has appeared at the Dallas Opera in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, the Los Angeles Opera as Zerbinetta, the Pittsburgh Opera as Juliette, Lucia di Lammermoor and Gilda in Rigoletto, as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera at Houston Grand Opera, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Lucia di Lammermoor and Zerbinetta with Washington National Opera. She has also performed Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare with Glimmerglass Opera; the title role of Lakme at the Spoleto Festival, and Elvira in I puritani with Palm Beach Opera.
Since 2007, Lyubov Petrova has taught and mentored countless aspiring young singers as well as established professionals. A passionate vocal pedagogue she maintains a private studio in New York City and in Moscow. An accomplished and highly sought-after voice teacher Lyubov Petrova has given master classes worldwide including NYU, CUNY in New York and Elena Obraztsova’s Voice School in Moscow. With more than 15 years of teaching experience and a performing career spanning almost three decades Petrova contributes an unmatched breadth of performance experience, pedagogical expertise, and industry wisdom to her vocal studio.
Vocal Coach/Soprano
Lyubov Petrova
Mary Pinto, an acclaimed accompanist and vocal coach, has worked with international opera singers and major American opera companies for the past 25 years. She serves as musical and artistic director at Opera at Florham.
In 2012, Ms. Pinto coached and served as rehearsal pianist for Metropolitan Opera star and international soprano Deborah Voigt as she prepared for the three Brünhilde roles for the Met's production of Wagner's Ring Cycle. In 2014, she performed with Opera Noire's Ensemble in the American Embassy in Moscow and St. Petersburg and spent the past 3 summers coaching at Masterclass d'Ischia in Italy. In March 2018 she was the official accompanist for the Deborah Voigt International Competition in Vero Beach.
Ms. Pinto has been a private coach and accompanist on the faculty of Montclair State University since 2007. In Fall 2018, she joined the adjunct faculty at SUNY Purchase College teaching Italian and French lyric diction, operatic styles, and coaching.
Vocal Coach/Pianist
Mary Pinto
For over 25 years Beth Roberts has been a dedicated and accomplished voice teacher and music educator. Recently, Ms Roberts joined the Full Time Faculty at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. Previously she was on the faculty of Mannes College The New School for Music since 1996 and served as Coordinator of the Vocal Department since 2001. Her voice studio has produced principal artists in many national and international professional venues, including the Metropolitan Opera, Munich Opera, Zurich Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Saint Louis Opera, Covent Garden and La Scala. Students of Ms. Roberts have been finalists and winners of such major vocal competitions as the Metropolitan Opera National Finals, the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, the Giuseppe di Stefano Competition, the Jenny Lind Competition, the Gerda Lissner Competition, the Giulio Gari Competition and the Joy of Singing Competition. Others have entered young artist programs at Merola, Wolf Trap, Glimmerglass, Santa Fe, Tanglewood and Chautauqua. Ms. Roberts has been a vocal instructor for the Washington National Opera Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca (with the University of Cincinnati), a guest lecturer at the Classical Singer Convention, and an adjunct faculty member at the Westminster Choir College. She has served as an adjudicator for numerous competitions, including the Schmidt Vocal Competition, Fulbright Scholarship and the Finals of the Concours de Musique du Canada. She is a current faculty member of Voice Experience with the Savannah Voice Festival. A lyric soprano, Ms. Roberts has sung with many opera companies throughout the United States, including the Santa Fe Opera and the Washington Opera, and performed numerous concerts at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall. She was a Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Winner and a Liederkranz Foundation Competition Winner. She has also recorded for radio and television. Ms. Roberts earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Screen Actors Guild.
Voice Teacher
Beth Roberts
The Financial Times (London) acclaimed that "Korliss Uecker, a bright and pretty American soprano, was charming, crystalline of voice and sparkling as an actress."
Uecker has sung over 140 performances at the Metropolitan Opera including Susanna in the Marriage of Figaro (international broadcast), Marzelline in Fidelio, Oscar in Masked Ball, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Clorinda in La Cenerentola. At the Met, she also sang Giannetta in The Elixir of Love with Lucianno Pavarotti and Frasquita in Carmen with Placido Domingo. Other roles include Micaela (Carmen) Susannah (Floyd) Violetta (Traviata) Pamina (Magic Flute) Elvira (Don Giovanni) Adele (Die Flatermaus) Zerlina (Don Giovanni) Despina (Cosi fan Tutte) Adina (Elixir) Norina (Don Pasquale) Lucia & Manon.
In addition to her singing career, Ms Uecker is frequently a Master Class teacher, adjudicator, and lecturer with such institutions as the Manhattan School of Music, the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann/ Laffont Competition, Columbia University , Minnesota Opera Summer Program and Queens Summer Vocal Institute. She has been a consultant for Steamboat Opera Young Artist Program. Miss Uecker is on the board of Action for Artists, an organization that helps young professional musicians . She is on the advisory board for the Music Conservatory of Westchester. Summer 2023 Korliss is on faculty at the Collaborative Piano Institute and Music in the Alps in Bad Gastein, Austria.
Ms. Uecker is the Director of Voice at the Music Conservatory of Westchester. MCW Theater Arts is a nonprofit program for economically disadvantaged gifted singers.
Korliss earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Juilliard School. She continued post graduate studies with the Juilliard Opera Center. She studied at the Steans Institute, apprenticed at the Santa Fe Opera and Tanglewood Festival. She received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science from the University of North Dakota and was a registered nurse before she began her singing career. Her husband Jerry Grossman is principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Voice Teacher
Korliss Uecker
Artist Manager
Justin Werner
Justin Werner is an operatic professional with extensive experience in production, education, and artist representation. Mr. Werner is the Founder and President of Stratagem Artists in 2018, which cultivates and represents a select roster of operatic artists through artist driven collaboration.
Between 2014-2018, Mr. Werner was a co-founder and artist manager at Couret & Werner (C&W) Artist Management. Mr. Werner gained his initial Artist Management experience at IMG Artists, where he served as an Artist Management intern.
Mr. Werner was the founder and Artistic Director of New York Opera Exchange (2011–2015), which afforded numerous opportunities for emerging singers, directors, and designers to mount critically acclaimed productions. According to Opera Today, "Artistic Director Justin Werner manages to infect others with his enthusiasm through sheer force of charisma and passion." Additionally, Mr. Werner founded the Independent Student Opera Initiative at Boston University.
A valued advisor for emerging artists, Mr. Werner is a frequent panelist for Opera America's Career Blueprints and Feedback Audition programs. He has presented masterclasses and workshops for institutions such as Emerging Leaders of New York Arts (ELNYA), Yale School of Music, the Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival, Boston University, Fort Worth Opera / Texas Christian University, Oklahoma City University, the University of North Texas, the New York Opera Alliance, the University of Delaware, Opera NextGen and the Seagle Music Colony. In the spring of 2021, Mr. Werner joined the Atelier Lyrique at L’Opéra de Montréal and Mannes School of Music at The New School as an Artistic Advisor in Residence to the Mannes Opera where he will return for the 2021/2022 academic year.
In past seasons, Mr. Werner served on the adjudicating panels of the McCammon Vocal Competition, Talents of the World Annual Voice Competition, MetroWest Vocal Competition, CS Music Vocal Competition and Opera Ithaca Competition. In the spring of 2023, he will judge the finals of the Cooper-Bing Competition at Opera Columbus.
Mr. Werner earned his BM in Vocal Performance from Boston University and his Advanced Certificate in Vocal Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. Mr. Werner is also proud to be the chair of the On Site Opera Artistic Advisory Council.
Violetta Zabbi
A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Violetta Zabbi is an accomplished pianist, conductor and coach. She received her BM and MM in "Piano Performance" and Ph.D. in “ Musicology” from Odessa State Academy of Music.
Dr. Zabbi has been involved in over 100 different opera projects while living in New York for the past 25 years. She is currently in the faculties of Adelphi University and CUNY Brooklyn College. Alongside coaching and teaching at Brooklyn College, Dr. Zabbi organizes contemporary American art song recitals within the voice department. She has also spent 10 years accompanying the graduate art song seminars taught by tenor and American art song specialist Paul Sperry. She is currently music director and conductor with Vocal Productions NYC, Slope Opera (Brooklyn, NY), New York Opera Theater, and Delaware Valley Opera. She appears as a pianist and coach with Regina Opera, Hofstra University, New Camerata Opera, Opera Manhattan Repertoire and the American Opera Project. Dr. Zabbi frequently appears in recitals both as a soloist and in collaboration, where her playing has been described as: “the image of joy and passion.”
For the past 10 seasons, she has performed with DCINY International at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. Additionally, Dr. Zabbi serves as festival faculty at the following intensive programs: UArtist Music (Kiev, Ukraine), International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia (Morelia, Mexico), Oyster Bay Music Festival (NY), AMAO American Masters Academy( Moscow, Russia and New York).
In addition to her career as a vocal coach, Dr.Zabbi served as a Piano Professor and later Vice President of Long Island Conservatory from 1998 to 2011 where she had great success teaching Piano Performance in all levels. Her students were passing all NYSSMA levels, participating and winning local and international competitions.
Vocal Coach/Pianist
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