FACULTY
VOICE
Kevin Short | Artistic Director / Opera Studio Voice
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.
Catherine Cook | Opera Studio Voice
American mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook has excelled in a wide range of roles with leading companies throughout the United States. Of her performance as the title character in Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne, Opera Today wrote that “to say that Ms. Cook was a revelation is an understatement, since she stamped the part as her own, and experienced a triumph for her sensational performance….Ms. Cook is possessed of a round mezzo tone of great beauty, admirable control and potent power in all ranges and at any volume.” During the 2023-24 season, Ms. Cook returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for their production of Champion by Terence Blanchard and also returned to San Francisco Opera for their production of Innocence. Her 2024-25 season will include a role debut in La fille du régiment with Opera Colorado, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, and a return to Opera Parallèle.
In the 2022-23 season, Cook returned to Opera Colorado as Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana and debuted the role of Mère Jeanne inDialogues of the Carmelites for San Francisco Opera’s Centennial Season. During the Carmelites run in November 2022, Cook was awarded the San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Opera Medal, the company's highest honor, in acknowledgment of her 31 years of performance with the company. Other recent engagements for Ms. Cook included a return to San Francisco Opera as Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Drive-In. 2019-20’s season featured appearance with San Francisco Opera as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro and Opera Parallèle as Julia Child in Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appétit! which she reprised at the Sun Valley Music Festival. In the 2018-19 season, Cook’s engagements included Mother Bailey in Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life with San Francisco Opera, Death in the world premiere of Tom Cipullo’s The Parting with Music of Remembrance in Seattle, as well as its recording on Naxos Records, and Mrs. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera with West Edge Opera in Berkeley. In the 2017-18 season, Cook returned to The Metropolitan Opera as Camila in Thomas Adès’ critically acclaimed opera The Exterminating Angel, and sang The Innkeeper in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov with the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting.
Ms. Cook has been recognized as “San Francisco Opera’s go-to-choice” for a wide range of roles (San Francisco Chronicle), with recent highlights as the title role in Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne; La Frugola in Il tabarro; Mrs. McLean in Floyd’s Susannah; and Marcellina. Past highlights with the company include Arlene Kamen and Wang Tai Tai in the world premiere of Wallace’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter; Jade Boucher in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, which was recorded and released by ERATO; Annina in Der Rosenkavalier, and Mother Goose in The Rake’s Progress. Other previous engagements include Countess de Coigny in Andrea Chénier, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and featured soloist in David Gockley’s Farewell Opera Gala Concert with San Francisco Opera; Marthe in Faust and Glasa in Kát’a Kabanová with The Metropolitan Opera; Ježibaba in Rusalka with Opera Colorado; Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro and Tisbe in La Cenerentola with Houston Grand Opera; The Witch in Hänsel und Gretel and a recital with San Francisco Symphony; Older Woman in Jonathan Dove’s Flight with Opera Parallèle; Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd with Mill City Summer Opera; and two world premieres with Music of Remembrance: Zosha in Heggie’s Out of Darkness and Gertrude Stein in Cipullo’s After Life, as well as a reprise of the latter with Urban Arias. Cook can be heard as Gertrude in the world premiere recording of After Life with Music of Remembrance, released by Naxos. Cook has also appeared with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. She can be heard as soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra, released by Centaur Records.
Ms. Cook was a participant of San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Adler Fellowship and Merola Opera Program. She is a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as well as the Merola Chicago Regional Auditions Yoder Award. Ms. Cook received her Bachelor of Music from Millikin University, her Master of Music from Wichita State University, and an Artist Diploma in Opera from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She has been awarded Outstanding Alumni awards from both Millikin University and Wichita State University.
As an educator, Catherine has been on the Voice Faculty at San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 2006, where she holds the Frederica von Stade Distinguished Chair in Voice and is currently the Chair of the Voice Department. Her students have been invited to participate in the Young Artist Programs at Merola, Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass, Des Moines Opera, Central City Opera, Portland Opera, Arizona Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Teatro Nuovo.
Ann Evans Watson | Musical Theater Studio Voice
Ann Evans Watson is an Associate Professor of Musical Theatre at the University of Michigan, where she teaches voice, as well as working with jazz and classical students. As a multi-hyphenate artist who is a director/choreographer and actor, she believes the integration of sound, movement, and story to be the way to build a sustainable artistic career. She has directed and/or choreographed productions of Candide, Beauty and the Beast, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, and My Fair Lady. Ann teaches master classes for singing actors across the U.S. and Canada and has been a master teacher/lecturer and cabaret artist for NATS, PAVA/VASTA, Michigan Society of Teachers of Singing, and the NW Voice Science Conference. Recent and current students are working on Broadway & national tours in The Lion King, Harry Potter…, Hamilton, Moulin Rouge, Death Becomes Her, Sunset Boulevard, Rent (Japan tour), MJ, Back to the Future, Hadestown, Wicked, and the upcoming Buena Vista Social Club (to name a few). Some of her students include Tony Nominees Caitlin Kinnunen (The Prom, Bridges of Madison County, Spring Awakening) and Megan Hilty (Death Becomes Her, Wicked, Smash) as well as Grammy and Drama Desk Nominee Cheyenne Jackson (Into the Woods, All Shook Up, Zanadu, 30 Rock). Other regularly working students include Daniel Berryman (The Fantasticks, West Side Story, Les Mis, 2019 winner of the Lotte Leyna Competition), Solea Pfeiffer (Moulin Rouge, Hadestown, Almost Famous, Hamilton, Songs for a New World). Ann served as a vocal coach on the Netflix film The Prom and prepped Emilie Kouatchou for her Broadway debut as the first black Christine in Phantom of the Opera. She is currently the vocal coach for the Back to the Future tour.
Ann is also a proud member of Actor’s Equity and has performed at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Circle in the Square in NYC (both uptown and downtown!) in roles such as Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Nettie in Carousel, Kate in Taming of the Shrew, Mother in A New Brain, and Mona in Dames at Sea. She has recorded two albums, Chamber Music and Crossword, with her son, music director Evan Zavada.
COACHING
Alan Hamilton | Opera Coach / Collaborative Piano
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 | Musical Theater Coach / Collaborative Piano
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.
Amanda Johnston | Opera Coach / Collaborative Piano
(photo to come) Canadian collaborative pianist Amanda Johnston is Professor of Music at the University of Mississippi where she is Music Director for the Opera Theatre, teaches advanced diction and German language, and coaches singers and collaborative pianists. Since 2022, she is also Instructor of German at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA). A specialist in lyric diction, she is author of English and German Diction for Singers: A Comparative Approach, 3rd edition (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), highly praised in the Journal of Singing for “enlivening the study of diction.”
An active performer, she has concertized in Hong Kong, Sweden, Germany, France, Austria, Scotland, Canada, and the United States and has been broadcast on CBC Radio 2, NPR, Classical 96.3 FM, and CKWR. She has coached with many masters in the field of collaborative piano, including Malcolm Martineau, Rudolf Jansen, Martin Isepp, Dalton Baldwin, and Helmut Deutsch. Her recordings include Pleas to Famous Fairies with Linda Lister, soprano (Albany Records, 2018); Métissage with Adam Estes, saxophone (MSR Classics, 2017); and Mahler: Rückert-Lieder with Julia Morgan, mezzo-soprano (MSR Classics, 2012).
An energetic pedagogue, she is in great demand as a guest clinician, giving masterclasses, workshops, and lectures across the United States. Her research on comparative diction has been presented both nationally and internationally at conferences held by the International Congress of Voice Teachers (ICVT), College Music Society (CMS), National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), National Opera Association (NOA), and Song Collaborators Consortia (SCC). She has also served as Editor-in-Chief of NOA’s Opera Journal; president of the MS District of NATS; and member of the Fulbright US National Screening Committee for voice.
Amanda Johnston has held positions at the University of Toronto, Royal Conservatory of Music, York University, Musiktheater Bavaria, Druid City Opera Workshop, Taos Opera Institute, and Lied Austria. She was educated at Queen’s University (Canada), the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” (Weimar, Germany), and the Janáček Academy of Music (Brno, Czech Republic). For more information, please visit www.amandajohnston.ca
DANCE, STAGE DIRECTION, ACTING, CAREERS
Douglas Hall | Musical Theater Scenes / Acting
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 | Opera Scenes / Aria Workshop
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. www.fenlonlamb.com
J. Austin Eyer | Dance / Choreography
J. Austin Eyer is an Assistant Professor and Head of Musical Theatre at The University of Texas at Arlington. As a performer, he performed in six Broadway shows: Evita, How to Succeed..., Billy Elliot, The Little Mermaid (Prince Eric cover),Curtains, and The Secret Garden (Colin). He choreographed the long-running Off-Broadway production of My Big Gay Italian Wedding, and he choreographed for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Disney World, and Universal Studios. He has worked alongside Broadway stars like Sutton Foster, Daniel Radcliffe, Ricky Martin, Audra McDonald, David Hyde Pierce, Rebecca Luker, Faith Prince, Michael Cerveris, Bebe Neuwirth, Sherie Rene Scott, Raul Esparza, Donna Murphy, Nick Jonas, and Emily Skinner, as well as with Broadway directors and choreographers like Hal Prince, Rob Ashford, Stephen Dalrdry, Casey Nicholaw, JoAnn Hunter, Jerry Mitchell, Tony Stevens, Kenny Ortega, Lorin Latarro, and Randy Skinner.
Professor Eyer teaches worldwide with programs like Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg, American Musical Theatre Live! in Paris, and Showa University in Tokyo. He is a contributing author for Digital Theatre+ and his book titled Broadway Swings: Covering the Ensemble in Musical Theatre was published by Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama Publishing in 2015. He holds a BFA in theatre from New York University, and an MFA in directing from Penn State University.
Lynda Kemeny | Operetta Scenes
The American soprano Lynda Kemeny has enjoyed a vast international career in Europe since 1987. After completing her Bachelor's and Master's degrees with concentrations in vocal performance, piano and dance, she studied voice in Chicago and New York. She belonged to a professional pantomime troupe for two years. Upon winning 1st prize in the International Bel Canto vocal competition in Chicago, she studied voice in Italy with opera diva Renata Tebaldi and world-renowned tenor Carlo Bergonzi. In 1986, she performed as a soloist at the annual Metropolitan Opera Gala Ball.
From 1987 to 1992, Ms. Kemeny was a soloist at the State Theater of Bielefeld, Germany, where in her first season she was awarded the cherished Operntaler Award for outstanding performance. Since 1992, she has been a free lance soloist and has made guest appearances in both operatic and musical theater roles in international theaters such as the Leipziger Opera/Musikalische Komödie, National Theater Mannheim, Theater Wiesbaden, Dortmunder Theater, Deutsches Theater Munich, L'Opera de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium, Hoofstaad Operette Amsterdam, Stadtstheater Bern, Switzerland, and the Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck under the direction of Frau KS Brigitte Fassbaender.
Ms. Kemeny is often called upon to sing solo lecture recitals and has performed in concert with such orchestras as the Bielefelder Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Dortmunder Philharmonie, Radio-Tèlèvisión-Belgique-France-Orchestra, and the Westdeutschen-, Süddeutschen-and Mitteldeutschen Radio Orchestras. She participated as the soprano soloist in the 44th German Mozart Festival in Zwickau, Germany and toured with the Salon Orchestra "Melange" in the 1998 International Music Festival in Poland. She has made numerous solo appearances on the major German television channels, including the Sunday Concert on ZDF.
In addition to her performing career, Ms. Kemeny has taught voice and English diction for singers at the Bavarian Theater Academy August Everding at the University for Music and Theater in Munich, and is often called upon to give master classes at European summer programs and to sit on juries for both classical and musical theater national competitions. She has served as head of the voice department at the Music School in the Artists Center in Rosenheim, Germany, taught voice and song interpretation in the Musical Department at the two year college for music in Sulzbach, Germany near Nürnberg, and currently teaches a private voice studio.
Kalle Kanttila | Auditioning and Career Workshop
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.
GERMAN
Nils Neubert | German Language and Diction
(photo to come) Tenor Nils Neubert, DMA, was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, and is active as a performer, language and interpretation coach, educator, scholar, and administrator in the United States and abroad. He serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and has coached frequently at the Music Academy of the West.
Recent projects include Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Elektra with the Metropolitan Opera, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Musica Sacra and the New York Philharmonic, Mahler’s second and Beethoven’s ninth symphonies, and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Oratorio Society of New York, Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel with the Aspen Music Festival and School, and Weber’s Der Freischütz with the Wolf Trap Opera Company. He has also coached for Heartbeat Opera (Fidelio), Liederkranz Opera Theatre (Das Rheingold, Der Vampyr, Zemire und Azor), The Juilliard School (Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Der Schauspieldirektor, Wozzeck-Bruchstücke) and Manhattan School of Music (Die Zauberflöte, Der Kaiser von Atlantis).
Publications as author/contributor include chapters, articles, translations, reviews, liner notes, and educational sound materials in the fields of musicology, music education, language diction, voice pedagogy, musical performance/interpretation/analysis, and exile studies with Bärenreiter, Brill, Henle, Nimbus Records, Oxford University Press, Rowman & Littlefield, the Journal of Singing, Music Education Research, and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society Journal. His dissertation on the song composer Max Kowalski (1882–1956) was nominated for the CUNY Graduate Center’s Barry S. Brook Award, and he earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Juilliard School (BM), and Teachers College, Columbia University (MA).
Nils Neubert holds a full-time appointment at the Manhattan School of Music, where he serves as Faculty Coordinator of Affiliated Studies in Vocal Arts and Collaborative Piano. In 2025, he will complete a decade of service as a board member, past officer, and past president of NATS-NYC. He resides in New York City with his wife, pianist Yuri Kim Neubert.
ADMINISTRATION
Joan Travis | Managing Director, Musiktheater Bavaria
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 the Auditions Manager for 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, both onsite and at home in Florida.
Clarissa Shan | Program Manager
Dr. Clarissa Shan serves on faculty at Concordia University and California State University Fullerton. At CUI, she directs both Donne di Canto and Men’s Chorus, teaches Applied Voice Lessons, and Opera Workshop. Her responsibilities at CSUF include teaching Studio Voice, and Music Theory in the Musical Theater Department. 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 runs a baking business and loves to spend time with her husband, Drew, and their dog, Wicket.
Please note that faculty may be subject to change, in the event a contracted teacher needs to cancel their engagement. In the event of any changes, we will promptly update the list on this page.
EMERITUS FACULTY
Richard Owens (1931-2018) | Founder and Director Emeritus
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 | Co-Founder
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.
VOICE
Kevin Short | Artistic Director / Opera Studio Voice
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.
Catherine Cook | Opera Studio Voice
American mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook has excelled in a wide range of roles with leading companies throughout the United States. Of her performance as the title character in Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne, Opera Today wrote that “to say that Ms. Cook was a revelation is an understatement, since she stamped the part as her own, and experienced a triumph for her sensational performance….Ms. Cook is possessed of a round mezzo tone of great beauty, admirable control and potent power in all ranges and at any volume.” During the 2023-24 season, Ms. Cook returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for their production of Champion by Terence Blanchard and also returned to San Francisco Opera for their production of Innocence. Her 2024-25 season will include a role debut in La fille du régiment with Opera Colorado, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, and a return to Opera Parallèle.
In the 2022-23 season, Cook returned to Opera Colorado as Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana and debuted the role of Mère Jeanne inDialogues of the Carmelites for San Francisco Opera’s Centennial Season. During the Carmelites run in November 2022, Cook was awarded the San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Opera Medal, the company's highest honor, in acknowledgment of her 31 years of performance with the company. Other recent engagements for Ms. Cook included a return to San Francisco Opera as Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Drive-In. 2019-20’s season featured appearance with San Francisco Opera as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro and Opera Parallèle as Julia Child in Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appétit! which she reprised at the Sun Valley Music Festival. In the 2018-19 season, Cook’s engagements included Mother Bailey in Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life with San Francisco Opera, Death in the world premiere of Tom Cipullo’s The Parting with Music of Remembrance in Seattle, as well as its recording on Naxos Records, and Mrs. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera with West Edge Opera in Berkeley. In the 2017-18 season, Cook returned to The Metropolitan Opera as Camila in Thomas Adès’ critically acclaimed opera The Exterminating Angel, and sang The Innkeeper in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov with the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting.
Ms. Cook has been recognized as “San Francisco Opera’s go-to-choice” for a wide range of roles (San Francisco Chronicle), with recent highlights as the title role in Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne; La Frugola in Il tabarro; Mrs. McLean in Floyd’s Susannah; and Marcellina. Past highlights with the company include Arlene Kamen and Wang Tai Tai in the world premiere of Wallace’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter; Jade Boucher in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, which was recorded and released by ERATO; Annina in Der Rosenkavalier, and Mother Goose in The Rake’s Progress. Other previous engagements include Countess de Coigny in Andrea Chénier, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and featured soloist in David Gockley’s Farewell Opera Gala Concert with San Francisco Opera; Marthe in Faust and Glasa in Kát’a Kabanová with The Metropolitan Opera; Ježibaba in Rusalka with Opera Colorado; Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro and Tisbe in La Cenerentola with Houston Grand Opera; The Witch in Hänsel und Gretel and a recital with San Francisco Symphony; Older Woman in Jonathan Dove’s Flight with Opera Parallèle; Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd with Mill City Summer Opera; and two world premieres with Music of Remembrance: Zosha in Heggie’s Out of Darkness and Gertrude Stein in Cipullo’s After Life, as well as a reprise of the latter with Urban Arias. Cook can be heard as Gertrude in the world premiere recording of After Life with Music of Remembrance, released by Naxos. Cook has also appeared with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony, and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. She can be heard as soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Cincinnati Philharmonia Orchestra, released by Centaur Records.
Ms. Cook was a participant of San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Adler Fellowship and Merola Opera Program. She is a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as well as the Merola Chicago Regional Auditions Yoder Award. Ms. Cook received her Bachelor of Music from Millikin University, her Master of Music from Wichita State University, and an Artist Diploma in Opera from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She has been awarded Outstanding Alumni awards from both Millikin University and Wichita State University.
As an educator, Catherine has been on the Voice Faculty at San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 2006, where she holds the Frederica von Stade Distinguished Chair in Voice and is currently the Chair of the Voice Department. Her students have been invited to participate in the Young Artist Programs at Merola, Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass, Des Moines Opera, Central City Opera, Portland Opera, Arizona Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Teatro Nuovo.
Ann Evans Watson | Musical Theater Studio Voice
Ann Evans Watson is an Associate Professor of Musical Theatre at the University of Michigan, where she teaches voice, as well as working with jazz and classical students. As a multi-hyphenate artist who is a director/choreographer and actor, she believes the integration of sound, movement, and story to be the way to build a sustainable artistic career. She has directed and/or choreographed productions of Candide, Beauty and the Beast, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, and My Fair Lady. Ann teaches master classes for singing actors across the U.S. and Canada and has been a master teacher/lecturer and cabaret artist for NATS, PAVA/VASTA, Michigan Society of Teachers of Singing, and the NW Voice Science Conference. Recent and current students are working on Broadway & national tours in The Lion King, Harry Potter…, Hamilton, Moulin Rouge, Death Becomes Her, Sunset Boulevard, Rent (Japan tour), MJ, Back to the Future, Hadestown, Wicked, and the upcoming Buena Vista Social Club (to name a few). Some of her students include Tony Nominees Caitlin Kinnunen (The Prom, Bridges of Madison County, Spring Awakening) and Megan Hilty (Death Becomes Her, Wicked, Smash) as well as Grammy and Drama Desk Nominee Cheyenne Jackson (Into the Woods, All Shook Up, Zanadu, 30 Rock). Other regularly working students include Daniel Berryman (The Fantasticks, West Side Story, Les Mis, 2019 winner of the Lotte Leyna Competition), Solea Pfeiffer (Moulin Rouge, Hadestown, Almost Famous, Hamilton, Songs for a New World). Ann served as a vocal coach on the Netflix film The Prom and prepped Emilie Kouatchou for her Broadway debut as the first black Christine in Phantom of the Opera. She is currently the vocal coach for the Back to the Future tour.
Ann is also a proud member of Actor’s Equity and has performed at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Circle in the Square in NYC (both uptown and downtown!) in roles such as Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Nettie in Carousel, Kate in Taming of the Shrew, Mother in A New Brain, and Mona in Dames at Sea. She has recorded two albums, Chamber Music and Crossword, with her son, music director Evan Zavada.
COACHING
Alan Hamilton | Opera Coach / Collaborative Piano
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 | Musical Theater Coach / Collaborative Piano
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.
Amanda Johnston | Opera Coach / Collaborative Piano
(photo to come) Canadian collaborative pianist Amanda Johnston is Professor of Music at the University of Mississippi where she is Music Director for the Opera Theatre, teaches advanced diction and German language, and coaches singers and collaborative pianists. Since 2022, she is also Instructor of German at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA). A specialist in lyric diction, she is author of English and German Diction for Singers: A Comparative Approach, 3rd edition (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024), highly praised in the Journal of Singing for “enlivening the study of diction.”
An active performer, she has concertized in Hong Kong, Sweden, Germany, France, Austria, Scotland, Canada, and the United States and has been broadcast on CBC Radio 2, NPR, Classical 96.3 FM, and CKWR. She has coached with many masters in the field of collaborative piano, including Malcolm Martineau, Rudolf Jansen, Martin Isepp, Dalton Baldwin, and Helmut Deutsch. Her recordings include Pleas to Famous Fairies with Linda Lister, soprano (Albany Records, 2018); Métissage with Adam Estes, saxophone (MSR Classics, 2017); and Mahler: Rückert-Lieder with Julia Morgan, mezzo-soprano (MSR Classics, 2012).
An energetic pedagogue, she is in great demand as a guest clinician, giving masterclasses, workshops, and lectures across the United States. Her research on comparative diction has been presented both nationally and internationally at conferences held by the International Congress of Voice Teachers (ICVT), College Music Society (CMS), National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), National Opera Association (NOA), and Song Collaborators Consortia (SCC). She has also served as Editor-in-Chief of NOA’s Opera Journal; president of the MS District of NATS; and member of the Fulbright US National Screening Committee for voice.
Amanda Johnston has held positions at the University of Toronto, Royal Conservatory of Music, York University, Musiktheater Bavaria, Druid City Opera Workshop, Taos Opera Institute, and Lied Austria. She was educated at Queen’s University (Canada), the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” (Weimar, Germany), and the Janáček Academy of Music (Brno, Czech Republic). For more information, please visit www.amandajohnston.ca
DANCE, STAGE DIRECTION, ACTING, CAREERS
Douglas Hall | Musical Theater Scenes / Acting
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 | Opera Scenes / Aria Workshop
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. www.fenlonlamb.com
J. Austin Eyer | Dance / Choreography
J. Austin Eyer is an Assistant Professor and Head of Musical Theatre at The University of Texas at Arlington. As a performer, he performed in six Broadway shows: Evita, How to Succeed..., Billy Elliot, The Little Mermaid (Prince Eric cover),Curtains, and The Secret Garden (Colin). He choreographed the long-running Off-Broadway production of My Big Gay Italian Wedding, and he choreographed for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Disney World, and Universal Studios. He has worked alongside Broadway stars like Sutton Foster, Daniel Radcliffe, Ricky Martin, Audra McDonald, David Hyde Pierce, Rebecca Luker, Faith Prince, Michael Cerveris, Bebe Neuwirth, Sherie Rene Scott, Raul Esparza, Donna Murphy, Nick Jonas, and Emily Skinner, as well as with Broadway directors and choreographers like Hal Prince, Rob Ashford, Stephen Dalrdry, Casey Nicholaw, JoAnn Hunter, Jerry Mitchell, Tony Stevens, Kenny Ortega, Lorin Latarro, and Randy Skinner.
Professor Eyer teaches worldwide with programs like Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg, American Musical Theatre Live! in Paris, and Showa University in Tokyo. He is a contributing author for Digital Theatre+ and his book titled Broadway Swings: Covering the Ensemble in Musical Theatre was published by Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama Publishing in 2015. He holds a BFA in theatre from New York University, and an MFA in directing from Penn State University.
Lynda Kemeny | Operetta Scenes
The American soprano Lynda Kemeny has enjoyed a vast international career in Europe since 1987. After completing her Bachelor's and Master's degrees with concentrations in vocal performance, piano and dance, she studied voice in Chicago and New York. She belonged to a professional pantomime troupe for two years. Upon winning 1st prize in the International Bel Canto vocal competition in Chicago, she studied voice in Italy with opera diva Renata Tebaldi and world-renowned tenor Carlo Bergonzi. In 1986, she performed as a soloist at the annual Metropolitan Opera Gala Ball.
From 1987 to 1992, Ms. Kemeny was a soloist at the State Theater of Bielefeld, Germany, where in her first season she was awarded the cherished Operntaler Award for outstanding performance. Since 1992, she has been a free lance soloist and has made guest appearances in both operatic and musical theater roles in international theaters such as the Leipziger Opera/Musikalische Komödie, National Theater Mannheim, Theater Wiesbaden, Dortmunder Theater, Deutsches Theater Munich, L'Opera de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium, Hoofstaad Operette Amsterdam, Stadtstheater Bern, Switzerland, and the Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck under the direction of Frau KS Brigitte Fassbaender.
Ms. Kemeny is often called upon to sing solo lecture recitals and has performed in concert with such orchestras as the Bielefelder Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Dortmunder Philharmonie, Radio-Tèlèvisión-Belgique-France-Orchestra, and the Westdeutschen-, Süddeutschen-and Mitteldeutschen Radio Orchestras. She participated as the soprano soloist in the 44th German Mozart Festival in Zwickau, Germany and toured with the Salon Orchestra "Melange" in the 1998 International Music Festival in Poland. She has made numerous solo appearances on the major German television channels, including the Sunday Concert on ZDF.
In addition to her performing career, Ms. Kemeny has taught voice and English diction for singers at the Bavarian Theater Academy August Everding at the University for Music and Theater in Munich, and is often called upon to give master classes at European summer programs and to sit on juries for both classical and musical theater national competitions. She has served as head of the voice department at the Music School in the Artists Center in Rosenheim, Germany, taught voice and song interpretation in the Musical Department at the two year college for music in Sulzbach, Germany near Nürnberg, and currently teaches a private voice studio.
Kalle Kanttila | Auditioning and Career Workshop
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.
GERMAN
Nils Neubert | German Language and Diction
(photo to come) Tenor Nils Neubert, DMA, was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, and is active as a performer, language and interpretation coach, educator, scholar, and administrator in the United States and abroad. He serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and has coached frequently at the Music Academy of the West.
Recent projects include Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Elektra with the Metropolitan Opera, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Musica Sacra and the New York Philharmonic, Mahler’s second and Beethoven’s ninth symphonies, and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Oratorio Society of New York, Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel with the Aspen Music Festival and School, and Weber’s Der Freischütz with the Wolf Trap Opera Company. He has also coached for Heartbeat Opera (Fidelio), Liederkranz Opera Theatre (Das Rheingold, Der Vampyr, Zemire und Azor), The Juilliard School (Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Der Schauspieldirektor, Wozzeck-Bruchstücke) and Manhattan School of Music (Die Zauberflöte, Der Kaiser von Atlantis).
Publications as author/contributor include chapters, articles, translations, reviews, liner notes, and educational sound materials in the fields of musicology, music education, language diction, voice pedagogy, musical performance/interpretation/analysis, and exile studies with Bärenreiter, Brill, Henle, Nimbus Records, Oxford University Press, Rowman & Littlefield, the Journal of Singing, Music Education Research, and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society Journal. His dissertation on the song composer Max Kowalski (1882–1956) was nominated for the CUNY Graduate Center’s Barry S. Brook Award, and he earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Juilliard School (BM), and Teachers College, Columbia University (MA).
Nils Neubert holds a full-time appointment at the Manhattan School of Music, where he serves as Faculty Coordinator of Affiliated Studies in Vocal Arts and Collaborative Piano. In 2025, he will complete a decade of service as a board member, past officer, and past president of NATS-NYC. He resides in New York City with his wife, pianist Yuri Kim Neubert.
ADMINISTRATION
Joan Travis | Managing Director, Musiktheater Bavaria
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 the Auditions Manager for 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, both onsite and at home in Florida.
Clarissa Shan | Program Manager
Dr. Clarissa Shan serves on faculty at Concordia University and California State University Fullerton. At CUI, she directs both Donne di Canto and Men’s Chorus, teaches Applied Voice Lessons, and Opera Workshop. Her responsibilities at CSUF include teaching Studio Voice, and Music Theory in the Musical Theater Department. 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 runs a baking business and loves to spend time with her husband, Drew, and their dog, Wicket.
Please note that faculty may be subject to change, in the event a contracted teacher needs to cancel their engagement. In the event of any changes, we will promptly update the list on this page.
EMERITUS FACULTY
Richard Owens (1931-2018) | Founder and Director Emeritus
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 | Co-Founder
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.
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P.O. Box 545, Winter Park, FL 32790-0545
Phone: 407-490-3703 (*In June through August, please contact us by email.)
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