World-class mentors.

Versatile American bass-baritone Kevin Short is thrilling audiences around the globe in a wide range of repertoire ranging from the depths of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Monteverdi’s L’Coronazione di Poppea to Verdi’s Attila, Carmen’s Escamillo and Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer. A sampling of his North America appearances include performances with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Pacific, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Sarasota Opera Company, Spoleto Opera Festival, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, and the Opera de las Americas.

His European and Asian credits include appearances with multiple opera companies, orchestras, and festivals. They include Paris’ Opera Comique, Welsh National Opera, Kazan State Theater-Russia, Theatre Caen, Grand Theatre du Luxembourg, Oper der Stadt Köln, Semperopera Dresden, Stadttheater Stuttgart, Theater Aachen, Theater Basel, Theater Bern, Theater St. Gallen, Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, Savonlinna Festival-Finland; Bregenzer Festspiele-Austria, Baden-Baden Festspiele-Germany, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence-France, Festival Montpellier-France, l’Opéra de Rouen-France, l’Opéra de Reims-France, Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan and festivals in Beijing, China; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Granada, Valencia, Gran Canaria, and Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Mr. Short also enjoys an active concert and recital schedule and has performed with the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Handel and Haydn Orchestra-Boston, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Filharmonisch Orkest, Swiss and Italian RAI Orchestra, Radio France Orchestra, Marseille Philharmonie, Gulbenkian Orchestra-Lisbon, Portugal, Parma Reggio Emilia Orchestra, Malta Philharmonic, Thüringen Symphony Orchestra-Germany, Jena Symphony-Germany,Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, Russia, Omsk Philharmonic-Russia, Siberian State Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Hiroshima Symphony, the Kazan Symphony for the opening of the Universiade Games in Kazan, Russia, and the Winter Olympics Festival Orchestra for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

He received his training at Morgan State University, B.S., the Curtis Institute of Music, M.M., and the Juilliard School of Music’s American Opera Center. While attending these institutions he was a prizewinner in numerous competitions and garnered many awards. Highlights include the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Internazionale Concorso per Voce Verdiane, the Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition, the Bruce Yarnell Competition for Basses and Baritones, the Liederkranz Competition, and awards from the Sullivan Foundation, Opera Index, Shoshana Foundation, and the George London Foundation. His solo CD on the Pentatone label, Mephistopheles and Other Bad Guys, was listed by WQXR as one of the outstanding classical recordings of 2018. His other recordings include Otello (Pentatone), the Grammy-nominated L'enfant et les Sortileges and Amahl and the Night Visitors (Naxos), The Death of Webern (Albany), and Don Carlo with the Metropolitan Opera (Sony Classics). Upcoming releases include Porgy and Bess (San Francisco Classical Recording Company).

In addition to his active performance and recording schedule, Mr. Short is a member of the voice faculty at Juilliard, and also serves as Associate Professor of Voice and Opera at the University of Maryland. A member of our faculty for several summers, Musiktheater Bavaria appointed Kevin as Artistic Director in October 2023. He will teach a resident voice studio at MTB this summer.

Dr. Isaí Jess Muñoz is a nationally acclaimed tenor, voice educator, and executive arts leader serving as chair of the Vocal Arts Department at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where he leads one of the United States’ historic and influential programs in classical voice, opera, musical theater, vocal pedagogy, and choral studies. He oversees more than 50 faculty and 400 students, shaping the department’s artistic direction through curricular advancement, global partnerships, and a deep commitment to mentorship. Alumni of the program perform on the world’s most prestigious stages and hold faculty appointments at major conservatories and universities worldwide. His tenure has focused on faculty development and support, curricular innovation, academic review, and major strategic collaborations with numerous domestic partners, including Silkroad Ensemble, National Sawdust, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Baroque and the Denyce Graves Foundation. He also led the expansion of institutional partnerships across Europe and Asia, reinforcing the division’s international profile.

He is the founding artistic director of the Opera Innovators Series, a bold partnership with Boston Lyric Opera featuring student residencies with Martin Katz, Anne Bogart, Sasha Cooke, Warren Jones, Jamie Barton, Lawrence Brownlee, Roderick Williams, and others. Nationally, Muñoz serves as Immediate Past President of the National Opera Association, following his presidency from 2024 to 2026. His leadership has encompassed board and committee governance, annual and planned giving, and implementation of the association’s 2024–2029 Strategic Plan, addressing membership development, organizational effectiveness, diversity, and access. Dr. Muñoz previously held tenured positions at the University of Delaware and Indiana Wesleyan University, with additional faculty appointments at SUNY Stony Brook and the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division.

As a globally recognized tenor, he has performed with the New York, Los Angeles, and Israel philharmonics, the American Symphony Orchestra, New York City Opera, Bard Music Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, and Verbier Festival, among others. On Broadway, he appeared with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. His discography includes recordings on Sony Classical, Decca Gold, Albany Records, and Bridge Records/Naxos. His solo album Visca L’Amor: Catalan Art Songs of the XX and XXI Centuries is a BBC Music Magazine five-star honoree (UK). His work on audio recording has been praised by Gramophone (UK), Limelight (Australia), Sonograma (Spain), Pro Ópera (Mexico), The Whole Note (Canada), and American Record Guide (USA).

A sought-after clinician and speaker, he presents at conservatories, universities, and festivals throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. He holds a DMA from SUNY Stony Brook, an MM from Manhattan School of Music, and a BM from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. His pedagogical lineage includes Richard Owens (founder of AIMS), W. Stephen Smith, Cynthia Hoffmann, Mary Henderson-Stucky, Barbara Honn, and Mark Oswald.

A committed advocate for equity and representation in the arts, Dr. Muñoz serves on the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Committee on Advocacy and formerly chaired NOA’s Sacred in Opera Initiative (2015–2021), exploring the intersection of opera and world religion through scholarship and performance. Additionally, Dr. Muñoz is a member of Actors’ Equity, SAG-AFTRA, OPERA America, CMS, and the Latin Recording Academy. With a career spanning continents and disciplines, he continues to empower artists to redefine the possibilities of the singing voice in the twenty-first century.

Chelsea Packard is an Associate Professor of Musical Theatre at the University of Michigan, specializing in private voice instruction. A Broadway performer, voice teacher, and clinician, she brings extensive professional experience to her work with emerging artists.

Her Broadway and New York credits include Wicked (Elphaba understudy), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Cynthia understudy), the original Broadway cast of Hands on a Hardbody, the original revival cast of Promises, Promises, and New York Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall (Jenna). She toured nationally with Wicked as the Nessarose understudy and as a featured performer on Kristin Chenoweth’s Some Lessons Learned album tour.

Her regional credits include Elle Woods in Legally Blonde at Marriott Theatre, Amneris in Aida at Kansas City Starlight, Esther in Meet Me in St. Louis and Dorothy in Summer of ’42 at Bucks County Playhouse, Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Paper Mill Playhouse, and Rock Bottom at the Public Theater in New York. She continues to perform in concerts across the country.

Packard appeared in Kristin Chenoweth’s PBS concert recording, Home, performing “Enough Is Enough” in duet with Chenoweth. She sings with the GRAMMY-nominated Broadway Inspirational Voices, contributed ensemble vocals to NBC’s Smash, and originated the role of Woman 2 in Pasek and Paul’s Edges, which she also recorded.

As a teacher and clinician, Packard has worked with organizations including Joffrey Ballet, Broadway Classroom, Broadway Workshop, A Class Act NY, Brave Arts, Broadway for All, Broadway Teaching Group, and Broadway in South Africa. In 2011, she founded The Broadway Intensive, a musical theatre training program that has continued to grow and flourish. Now housed at the University of Michigan, the program trains more than 200 students each year. Her New York private voice studio grew out of her work with her mentor, Tony Award-winning voice teacher Joan Lader.

Packard holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, and AGVA.

Collaborative pianist Alan Hamilton currently serves as the Studienleiter at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, where he has worked since 2012. At the Staatsoper, Mr. Hamilton oversees an ensemble and music staff of around 50 singers, pianists, conductors, prompters, and language coaches, and serves as a consultant for casting and repertoire for all musical activities at the house. Additionally, he has been under the employ of La Monnaie / De Munt, Theater Aachen, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Internazionale Sommerakademie Mozarteum, the New York Philharmonic, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Spoleto Festival USA, American Lyric Theater, Opera in the Heights, and Pocket Opera of New York as a pianist, coach, assistant conductor, and language specialist.

In addition to preparing professional singers for work in all the world’s major opera houses, Mr. Hamilton has consistently maintained a working relationship with developing singers through teaching positions at various institutions including the Juilliard School, where, in addition to his operatic as well as song recital duties, he was invited to be an instructor of Italian diction together with the highly renowned Corradina Caporello. Further posts include such institutions as the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart, the University of Michigan, as well as various summer festivals including the International Vocal Arts Institute (Israel, Virginia, and New York), Sherril Milnes’ VOICExperience, the MSM Summer Voice Festival, and Classical Singing in New York.

Mr. Hamilton’s interest in chamber music began during his studies at the University of Michigan, where he worked with Martin Katz, and continued at the Juilliard School where he received a Graduate Diploma in Collaborative Piano and was awarded the Sam Sanders Award, leading to a featured performance at the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival playing with members of the New York Philharmonic. His interest in chamber music and song continues as a frequently requested partner in concert with various singers as well as members of the Staatsorchester Stuttgart. His professional operatic training began as a fellow with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program as well as the Tanglewood Music Festival, where he played under the baton of James Levine for Così fan tutte as well as the American staged premiere and DVD release of Elliot Carter’s What Next? His knowledge of singing and singers has been enhanced through his work playing for voice instruction with the best teachers worldwide as well as his accompaniment of classes led by such luminaries as James Levine, Shirley Verrett, Renata Scotto, Dawn Upshaw, Carol Vaness, Mignon Dunn, Deborah Polaski, Evelyn Lear, Michele Breedt, Eva Randová, Helene Schneiderman, Sherril Milnes, Matthew Polenzani, Vinson Cole, George Shirley, Joan Dornemann, Malcolm Martineau, and Roger Vignoles among many others.

Dean Wilmington has extensive experience as a musical director, conductor, coach, stage director, educator, and arts administrator. A native of Australia who has lived and worked in Germany for most of his career, he holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Queensland Conservatorium of Music. He is presently engaged as director for cultural events in Burghausen, Germany, where he organizes concerts, theater, and international festivals.

Mr. Wilmington recently served for 4 years as Head of Music Theater (opera, operetta, and musicals) at Theater an der Rott in Bavaria, and 2 years as artistic director and business manager, where he conducted productions and concerts spanning classical, jazz, and musical theater repertoire and stage directed a number of musical theater productions. This followed a 3-year engagement as Head of Music Theater at Theater Trier in Trier, Germany, where he also stage directed a production of Into the Woods. A frequent guest director in other German theaters, he has been engaged as guest conductor with the Salzburg Philharmonic, the Czech Virtuosi, and the Austrian sINNfonietta among others. He has additionally served as Music Director of the Joop Van den Ende Academy in Hamburg, Stage Entertainment’s former training conservatory for musical theater performers.

As a faculty member of the Bavarian Theater Academy (the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Munich) from 1998 through 2016, Mr. Wilmington was Musical Director for many of their productions, including RENT, Little Shop of Horrors, Wedding Invitation, What A Wonderful World, Krach in Chioggia, Alice in the Park mit George, Rocky, Lebe Deinem Traum, Mondschein Tarif, Die Amouren des Don Juans, The Show Must Go On, Dancer in the Dark, Surrender, Der blaue Vogel, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, and The Threepenny Opera. He has also prepared and conducted The Beauty and the Beast (Germany-Austria tour), Robin Hood (Bremen, Munich and Berlin), On the Town (Munich and Nürnberg), Into the Woods (Bolzano) and Spring Awakening at the Deutsches Theater, Munich. Further shows include The Rhythm of Life, City of Angels, Lucky Stiff, Gold, Bring on Tomorrow, the children's musical Ristorante Allegro and a number of German musicals.

Mr. Wilmington wrote the book, libretto, and music for the German music theater piece Der Reigen, which had its world premiere in November 2018. He received a 2019 nomination from the German Musical Academy (similar to the American Tony Awards) for Best Composition for Der Reigen, which also received nominations in three other categories. He recently composed and directed a unique new musical about Hitler's book Mein Kampf, which premiered in Germany to critical acclaim. Mr. Wilmington also composed the music for a theatre drama titled The Black Virgins, which won the Hamburg Körberstudio Award for new theater pieces. He wrote the music and songs for a stage adaptation of the television program South Park, and was Music Director and arranger of the first world performance of Jekyll and Hyde, Resurrection. His further compositions for theater include Die Tage die ich mit Gott verbrachte and Hamlet.

New productions in Germany for which Mr. Wilmington has been Music Director have included (opera) Maria de Buenos Aires, (operetta) Ball im Savoy, and (musicals) the German premiere of American Idiot, the German premiere of The Bridges of Madison County, Jesus Christ Superstar (own arrangements), Cabaret (own arrangements), Lola Blau, Evita (own arrangements), I Do, I Do (own arrangements), and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

In addition to his experience in musical theater and classical music, Mr. Wilmington has played and worked as a composer for various ensembles who have performed at many jazz and world music festivals throughout Europe and has scored film and television shows.

American pianist and conductor Stephen Hopkins has worked at the Vienna State Opera for the last 16 years, and appears regularly as a soloist on the pianoforte in the pit for many recitative and continuo operas. He has conducted numerous children's and youth operas with the Vienna State Opera Stage Orchestra. He also conducted concert performances in the New State Opera (NEST) withPiotr Beczała, Serena Sáenz, and Kate Lindsey. Over the years he has accompanied 10 Ensemble Matinées in the Mahlersaal of the Vienna State Opera with various singers from the Ensemble.

His latest album as a pianist ("PAZZIONE" with tenor Carlos Osuna) has been reviewed as not only a "technically impeccable work, but also an exercise in emotional interpretation, where every word and every note is treated with reverence." Praised by Opera News and Die Presse for his "sensitive, sovereign, and eloquently improvised" recitative playing on the fortepiano with the Vienna Philharmonic, he quickly attracted attention and achieved widespread musical recognition in Vienna and beyond as an outstanding pianist, as well as for his dedicated work as a conductor and répétiteur.

MTB is pleased to welcome Mr. Hopkins for several days of master classes this summer, working with both our singers and pianists.

Douglas S. Hall is a director, actor and teacher who has worked at theatres across the US including The Williamstown Theater Festival, the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival, Merry Go Round Playhouse, Mountain Playhouse, and Seven Angels Theater. Mr. Hall is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he oversees the musical theater minor and teaches acting and directing.

Professional directing credits include the New York premiere of The Religion Thing (Project Y Theater Company), and the regional premiere of Tenderly, The Rosemary Clooney Musical (Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival). Other directing credits include an award-winning production of Daddy Long Legs at freeFall Theater, multiple casts of Forever Plaid, Merrily We Roll, Chicago, Guys And Dolls, and Always… Patsy Cline (starring Sally Mayes). As an actor, he most recently appeared in Sea Wall at freeFall Theatre and the SaraSolo Theater Festival. Other acting credits: Red Velvet (Pierre) at freeFall Theatre and the webseries Precious Cargo (Lionel).

From 2008 – 2019, he was the Director of the New York Showcase for Drama UK, a consortium of the top drama schools in Great Britain. He has been a Guest Director at Elon University and was on the faculty at CAP 21/NYU for ten years. He has taught at Pace University, the Growing Studio, and Broadway Classroom. From 2015- 2024, he was on the faculty at the University of South Florida where he created a musical theatre degree and developed the USF Theatre in Paris program.

Mr. Hall holds a BA in English from University of California at Berkeley and an MFA in directing from Rutgers University, and he heads the Musical Theater department at Musiktheater Bavaria.

Fenlon Lamb has been recognized by The Kansas City Star as "one of the most creative forces in Kansas City...presenting satisfying and ingenious productions." Seen and Heard International praised her "well-honed theatrical sensibility." Fenlon is the co-creator and Artistic Director of Papermoon Opera Productions. In the last few seasons Papermoon created dynamic, new productions of Pirates of Penzance and Fanciulla del West for Central City Opera, a colorful, commedia production of Il barbieri di Siviglia with Amarillo Opera and Opera Delaware, and an intimate Werther with William Jewel College. Papermoon's La voix humaine received first place in the National Opera Association competition. Their flagship production of Hänsel und Gretel has been remounted at Palm Beach Opera and Amarillo Opera.

A frequent collaborator with Arizona Opera, Fenlon directed the world premiere production of Riders of the Purple Sage and returned to the company for a "fantastic revival of this timely western" (Opera Wire). Recently, she directed new productions of Charlie Parker's Yardbird for Arizona Opera, Carmen for Opera Santa Barbara with her photos from Seville featured in projections there and at Opera Southwest, and Alcina in collaboratioin with student designers at Boston University. Other recent productions include Le nozze di Figaro at Portland Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with Madison Opera, and La bohème for New Orleans Opera.

Ms. Lamb has directed Carmen for Amarillo Opera, Pensacola Opera, Annapolis Opera, North Carolina Opera, Mill City Summer Opera and Dayton Opera, along with engaging productions of Tosca, La Bohème, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Pasquale for Palm Beach Opera, where she returned for Così fan tutte in 2023. Other highlights include Der Fliegende Holländer for Opera Carolina with Greer Grimsley in the title role and Werther with Gran Wilson at Mobile Opera. As the Director of Opera and Vocal Programming of the Bar Harbor Music Festival, she designed and directed engaging productions of Carmen, L'elisir d'amore, Madama Butterfly, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le nozze di Figaro, La bohème, La Cenerentola, Don Giovanni and Hänsel und Gretel. In spring 2026, Fenlon joined the faculty of Texas State University School of Music as Assistant Professor/Director of Opera Theater. www.fenlonlamb.com

Stacy Alley is Head of Musical Theatre and Professor of Musical Theatre/Dance at The University of Alabama (UA). She is also a professional director and choreographer whose teaching and artistic credits include work in Denmark, Italy, Tanzania, Norway, Scotland, and Chile and in theatres throughout the U.S. She recently directed and choreographed the Danish premiere of LaChiusa’s The Wild Party at Fredericia Theatre. She has served as the Artistic Director of SummerTide Theatre since 2014 where she has directed/choreographed Nunsense, All Shook Up, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Ring of Fire, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Forever Plaid, and Smoke on the Mountain. Recent UA credits include Into the Woods, Cabaret, Violet, Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening, The Drowsy Chaperone, A Chorus Line, and August: Osage County. She has been performing professionally for over thirty-five years, including five years as a featured dancer in Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular.

Ms. Alley is the former President of the Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance, a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and co-founder of the Musical Theatre Committee for the Southeastern Theatre Conference. She has an MFA in Acting from The University of Alabama, a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern California, and is a Certified Movement Analyst through The Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in NYC. Stacy is the recipient of the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award from the University of Alabama’s National Alumni Association and the President’s Faculty Research Award through The Office for Research & Economic Development.

Artist Manager Kalle Kantilla is the Executive Director of Kantilla Management, (formerly International Opera Artists) an agency for opera singers and conductors. It is based in Germany, Italy, France, Russia and Helsinki, and provides worldwide services in the field of opera. Kantilla Management has rapidly become one of the largest and most significant opera agencies in Europe, and distinguishes itself from many European opera agencies due to its additional strong presence in the USA.

Born in Finland, Mr. Kantilla studied at the Helsinki Conservatory of Music, the Zürich Conservatory, and the Music Department of University Karlsruhe, Germany. Before founding his agency, he had a career as an opera singer, appearing as a soloist at many important opera houses such as the Komische Oper Berlin, National Theater Mannheim, the State Operas of Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Meiningen, Nürnberg, and Karlsruhe, Alexander Theater Helsinki, Opera Wuppertal, Schwetzingen Music Festival, and Savonlinna Opera Festival, among many others. He is a sought-after lecturer at many master classes and seminars in Germany and abroad, and is a jury member at many important international singing competitions.

A native German speaker based in the Scottish Highlands, Katja Riek is a specialist in teaching German for Singers. Since 2000 Katja has been teaching German Language and Diction in the Departments of Vocal and Opera Studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she has also coached many in-house opera productions performed in German. Other text coaching engagements include The Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus, and acclaimed mezzo Karen Cargill.

Katja Riek has also held positions at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Open University, the Goethe Institute, and the Humboldt Institute. Her freelance portfolio encompasses online German language instruction for singers, voice teachers, conductors, collaborative pianists, and opera directors, and text coachings with a focus on textual interpretation, as well as tranlations of vocal repertoire, artists' biographies, websites, and program or recording notes.

Publications include Alma and Gustav Mahler song texts for Linn Records. Past students have won BBC Cardiff Singer of the Year or gone on to work at Staatstheater Nürnberg, Salzburger Landestheater, Scottish Opera, and the Wiener Staatsoper. Ms. Riek holds a postgraduate degree in Comparative and General Literature from Edinburgh University and a Masters in Education from Glasgow University.

Joan Travis holds a B.A. in German and Spanish from Gettysburg College, with additional studies at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn, Germany, and the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín, Colombia. She earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and practiced corporate and commercial real estate law for a number of years.

A mezzo-soprano, Ms. Travis has appeared in over 25 professional opera productions with Opera Memphis, Nashville Opera, Opera Columbus, Como Opera and Kansas Opera Theater. Additionally, she has performed many roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas with such companies as Chicago's Light Opera Works, The Savoyaires, The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Chicago, Columbus Light Opera and Denver's Empire Lyric Players. She has appeared in concert as a soloist with chamber orchestras and church choirs throughout the United States, and has been a member of several professional choral ensembles. A church musician for many years, Ms. Travis has directed children's choirs and children's musicals, and an a capella sacred early music ensemble. She currently serves as Co-Director of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Florida District.

First introduced to the MTB program when her son attended in summer 2007, Ms. Travis served as President and Chair of the Board of the nonprofit Music Theater Bavaria, Inc. from 2010 to 2021, and provides executive direction of the operations of the Musiktheater Bavaria summer program as a member of the board of directors and Managing Director of MTB programs. A firm believer in the value of study-abroad programs and foreign language study for students in every discipline, she enjoys helping MTB's young artists with their German skills as well as working in support of the program and its students year-round.

Dr. Clarissa Shan serves as an Assistant Professor at University of La Verne in La Verne, California, where she is Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Studies. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she is also a church musician, serving as the Director of Music at both the Glendale City Seventh-day Adventist Church and Temple City First United Methodist Church. Dr. Shan is also active as an educator in Los Angeles and Orange County, working as a clinician at local high schools, guest conducting, and adjudicating for events with the Southern California Vocal Association and Music Teacher’s Association of California.

Dr. Shan is also an active soloist and a professional chorister in the Southern California area and is a staff singer and member of Pacific Chorale. In 2019, Dr. Shan had the privilege to sing on the Grammy Winning Deutsche Grammaphon recording of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel. Dr. Shan earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance with an emphasis in Sacred Music and a Masters of Music in vocal performance from the University of Southern California. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from La Sierra University. In her free time, Dr. Shan enjoys baking and loves to spend time with her husband, Drew, and their dog, Wicket.

Richard Owens, baritone, enjoyed a long career on the opera and concert stage, in arts administration and in teaching, in both Europe and the United States. He received degrees from Trinity University (BM), Yale University (MM) and Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology (MSTh), and completed advanced training in Opera and Lied at the Akademie für darstellende Kunst in Vienna.

Mr. Owens was an active soloist and recitalist in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the U.S., and sang over 400 performances of 20 major baritone roles with the Municipal Opera of Ulm, Germany, the Municipal Opera of Regensburg, Germany, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Milan, Italy, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Corpus Christi Symphony, the Dallas Civic Symphony, the Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Space Coast Symphony, the Winter Park Bach Festival, and the Robert Shaw Chorale, among others. He performed the Southwestern premieres of Cantorial roles in the Sacred Services of Ernest Bloch, Darius Milhaud and Simon Sargon, and was the first American to perform the Shostakovich 13th Symphony, Babi Yar. He also sang the premiere recordings of La Grande Bretéche by Avery Claflin for CRI Records, and Three Gothic Ballads by John Duke for WNYC, New York.

Mr. Owens was a founder of the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, and served as its Artistic Director from 1968 until 1984, when he moved to Orlando, Florida, to serve as General Director of the Orlando Opera Company, a position he held until 1990. The Orlando Opera experienced dramatic growth during his tenure, greatly increasing its attendance and subscriber base, as well as its community outreach, number of performances, and engagement of international stars. He founded the Musiktheater Bavaria program in 2000, and served as its General and Artistic Director for many years.

Mr. Owens was honored with the title Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Voice at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he taught from 1992 - 2018, and previously also served on the voice faculties of Baylor University, Southern Methodist University, Texas A & I University and North Texas State University, and as an adjunct Professor of Music Theatre at the University of Central Florida. He published books titled Towards A Career in Europe (a handbook for singers auditioning for opera houses in the German-speaking countries) and The Professional Singer's Guide to New York, and conducted many career training seminars on both topics.

Passionate about teaching, and equally at home working with students of either opera or musical theater, he was a mentor to hundreds of successful opera singers and musical theater performers, including more than 20 who have sung at the Metropolitan Opera, and many who performed in, or are currently in, major Broadway productions. He was honored with the Director Emeritus title at Musiktheater Bavaria, recognizing his long history of contributions to the program.

Rolann Owens is recognized as one of America's foremost teachers of dance. An award-winning choreographer and frequent judge of national and international dance competitions, she received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in dance from The Juilliard School.

Experienced in all areas of dance, Ms. Owens has particular expertise in musical theater dance styles and tap. Beginning her professional career while still in high school, she was a member of the original Broadway casts of My Fair Lady, Li'l Abner and Destry Rides Again. Her television dance credits include The Perry Como Show, The Gary Moore Show, The Jackie Gleason Show (with the June Taylor Dancers) and the Miss America Pageant, as well as national TV commercials.

Ms. Owens has chaired the Tap Committee of the International Dance Organization, and also serves on juries such as the International Dance Organization's World Championship (Germany), the Trofeo Internazionale di Danza for the Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy), the Just Dance Festival (Slovenia), the American Dance Awards and the Headliners National Talent Competition. She has also judged for the German National Tap Dance Championship, the Swiss National Tap Competition Finals, the Slovenian National Dance Competition Finals, and American Dance Spectrum.

Working extensively as a choreographer in a variety of settings, Ms. Owens has choreographed for the Miss New York State Pageant, Holiday on Ice, the Ice Follies, the U.S. Olympic Team Ice Skating Pairs and National Ice Skating Pairs, and has prepared the Croatian Formation Tap Team for the World Competition. At home in Orlando, Florida, she counts numerous shows for Walt Disney World among her credits, including Ellington Under the Stars: A Salute to the Duke (in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute), Bob McGrath's Sesame Street Show, the World's Largest Concert (a PBS special with Sandy Duncan), the Millenium Show and the World Dancers Special Events Show, and has also served as Disney World's College Program dance director. At the acclaimed Passionspielhaus in Erl, Austria, Ms. Owens choreographed the world premiere of the Jürgen Doetsch opera Altes Testament.

Recipient of a Presidential Scholar Teacher Award from President Bill Clinton, Ms. Owens maintains an active studio where she and her staff teach a full curriculum of ballet, tap, jazz, lyric and contemporary dance, as well as musical theater voice and dance. She has presented master classes in New York, L.A., Miami, Buffalo and New Orleans on musical theater dance and audition technique. Many of her former students are appearing on Broadway, television, video, cruise lines and opera stages throughout the world. A number of them have recently been cast in major Broadway shows, including Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, Evita, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Billy Elliott, The Pirate Queen, Rock of Ages, Oklahoma, A Chorus Line, Gypsy, Jersey Boys, All Shook Up, Young Frankenstein, Wicked, The Little Mermaid and Curtains, and some have been featured with the famous Rockettes. Ms. Owens was the childhood dance partner of Michael Bennett, the creator of A Chorus Line, and maintains extensive connections in the dance and Broadway communities. Ms. Owens is a Teacher of Dance Emerita at MTB, recognizing her long history of contributions to the program.