Alison Acord, Soprano
A native of Houston, TX, Ms. Acord holds the Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Baylor U. As a Corbett Scholar, she received the Masters of Music in Vocal Performance and Artist Diploma in Opera from the U of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. She has taught at the U of Dayton, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and currently teaches at Miami U (Oxford, OH). Acord has performed more than 40 operatic roles in the US and abroad. She received critical acclaim as Ariadne "...Alison Acord projected a voice of stunning color, filling every corner of the hall" (The Cincinnati Enquirer). Her other roles include Lady Billows in Albert Herring, the Mother in Hänsel und Gretel, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Mimi in La Bohème, Micaëla in Carmen, La Contessa di Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. She has been heard as soloist in orchestra concerts both in the US and Europe in Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, Ravel's Shèhèrazade and in Fikret Amirov's A Thousand and One Nights (with the Cincinnati Ballet). She received the top award from both the Int'l School of Performing Arts and The Recording Industries' Music Performance Trust Fund for her performance of "Il est doux, il est bon" from Hérodiade; and in 2003, a Grismer grant for her extensive recital work in the Cincinnati region. Her students have been heard on Broadway and in regional and int'l opera and musical theater companies. Many have placed as finalists and winners in local, state and regional competitions and regularly participated in professional summer theater festivals and young artist programs such as the Rising Star Singers' Resource Network, Opera Theatre of Lucca, Cincinnati Opera, La Musica Lirica, Franco-American Vocal Academy, Song Fest, Indianapolis Opera Young Artist Program, and the Utah Opera Festival.

Alfonse Anderson, Tenor
BA, MA, Texas Southern U; DMA, U of Arizona. Professor of Voice, U of Nevada, Las Vegas. Has performed for over 35 years in the US with such notable companies as Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Oakland Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera South, Opera Columbus, Opera North and Chicago Opera Theatre. Has also performed in concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony, Warsaw Symphony, Krakow Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Henderson Symphony and in recitals and concerts in major cities such as Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York. In Las Vegas, he is regularly heard with Opera Las Vegas and The Tenors-4. Has taught voice for over 30 years. His students have won international, national and regional vocal competitions such as the MET Opera Auditions, NATS, Leontyne Price, Marian Anderson, Mario Lanza, the Palm Springs Vocal Competition, et al, and have performed in young artist programs such as Academy of Vocal Arts (Philadelphia), Aspen Musical Festival, AIMS, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chautauqua, Des Moines, Portland and Opera North. He also has performed with The American Spiritual Ensemble in concerts and recordings and for Albany Records, performed the role of Leader in the world-premier recording of the opera Bandana.

J. David Brock, Baritone, Voice Coordinator
BA, Abilene Christian U; MM, New England Conservatory of Music. Currently Assoc Professor of Voice and Chair, Voice Division, Texas Christian U (Ft Worth). Faculty positions: Texas Women's U, Int'l Summer Music Academy, Abilene Christian U, Boston Conservatory of Music, Anna Maria College, U of the Pacific, Goldovsky Summer Vocal Institute; Artistic Director-Abilene Opera Association and Quisiana (Maine); Music Director-Abilene Collegiate Opera; free-lance vocal/coaching studios in Ft Worth, Boston, Dallas, Abilene, and Stockton. Former students have appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Bayerische Staatsoper and have been winners and finalists in the Regional MET Competition, AIMS Meistersinger Competition, NATS Artist Awards and Singer of the Year Competition. They have held apprenticeships with the Chicago Opera and the Santa Fe Opera Festival. As conductor music director and/or stage director, he has directed: Albert Herring, Hansel, Pagliacci, Susannah and the Elders, Ballad of Baby Doe, Cosi fan tutte, Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro, Merry Wives of Windsor, Gianni Schicchi, La Cenerentola and Die Fledermaus. He has appeared as pianist for singers and instrumentalists in over 500 recitals throughout the USA, Europe and Korea, including performances in Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

Evangelina Colón, Soprano
Graduate of Puerto Rico Music Conservatory (Sacred Heart U), MM and DMA (Florida State U). She was a winner at the Int’l Singing Competition in Chile and at the National Opera Institute of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Her vocal teachers include Eleanor Steber, Ellen Faull, Rita Patené, and Elena Nikolaidi. Dr. Colón has been on the faculty of the U of Puerto Rico, and has directed the Opera Workshops of the Palm Beach Opera and the Opera of the Americas in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). Currently, she is voice professor at the InterAmerican U in San Germán, Puerto Rico and at the Coro de Niños de San Juan. She has sung with major opera companies in Europe, the USA and Latin America including Prague State Opera, Polish National Opera, Russian National Opera, New York City Opera Theater, Chicago Opera Theater, National Grand Opera, New Jersey State Opera, National Opera of Venezuela, Opera de las Americas and Opera de Puerto Rico, among others. Her repertoire includes leading soprano roles in Il Trovatore, Otello, Don Carlo, Tosca, Madame Butterfly, Il Tabarro, Gianni Schicchi, La Boheme, I Pagliacci, Faust, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Salomé, Die Fledermaus and The Merry Widow among others. She also has performed Spanish zarzuelas such as Luisa Fernanda, Los Gavilanes, Los Claveles, La Dolorosa, La del Soto del Parral, La Montería, El Rey que Rabió, La Calesera and others. Ms. Colón had the distinction of singing the world premiere of three operas by composer Manuel González at New York’s Lincoln Center, the last of which, Una Jíbara, was written for her. She also sang the lead soprano role of Elvira, in the 1871 opera Macías by Felipe Gutierrez Espinosa, the first opera by a Puerto Rican. Ms. Colón has also performed in oratorios, orchestral vocal works and chamber music. She has appeared in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and the Hall of the Americas (Washington, D.C.), and throughout the USA, South and Central America and in her native Puerto Rico. She was a soloist for the opening season of the Performing Arts Center in San Juan with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra and the Casals Festival.
In Europe she has appeared at international festivals and with major orchestras in Russia, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia; at the Chaliapin Int’l Opera Festival in Kazan as Desdemona; at the Styrian Autumn Festival in Graz with the ORF Symphony Orchestra in the Austrian premiere of Hans Zender’s Stephen Climax, with the composer conducting; at the Moniuszko Int’l Festival and the Kalisz Chamber Music Festival in Poland; the Hall of Culture in Ostrava, Czech Republic in the Verdi Requiem with the Janácek Philharmonic; at Schloss Eggenberg in Graz, the Grosse Aula in Salzburg and the Palais Palffy in Vienna. She has performed numerous recitals of art songs (in eight languages) and has been described as "one of the truly outstanding interpreters of the art song of Spain and Latin America". Her recordings include Héctor Campos Parsi’s cantata Sonetos Sagrados for New World Records; Verdi and the Spanish Empire with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra; and Hermosos Recuerdos, a collection of danzas from her native Puerto Rico.

Luana DeVol, Dramatic Soprano
Currently an adjunct professor of opera at the U of Nevada, Las Vegas, Ms. DeVol began her vocal career as a member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus. After winning in district Metropolitan Opera Auditions, she studied with Vera Rosza in London and then, returning to San Francisco, with the legendary Wagner tenor, Jess Thomas, and also Janet Parlova. She appeared in concert in the San Francisco Bay Area, and first as an opera soloist as Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio. In 1983, she made her European debut in this role in Stuttgart, Germany. Returning briefly to the USA, she appeared with Seattle Opera as Leonore in La Forza del Destino, and with San Francisco Opera as Ariadne. In 1984, she was engaged in Aachen (Germany) where she specialized in the operas of Strauss, Verdi, Wagner (Elisabetta, Senta, Elsa) and also sang Agathe (Der Freischütz) and Donna Anna. While at Aachen, she also appeared as a guest artist at Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Senta) and in Bremerhaven (Tosca). In 1987, she moved to Mannheim Nationaltheater where additional Strauss, Verdi and Wagner role debuts included the Kaiserin (Die Frau Ohne Schatten), Chrysothemis (Elektra), Amelia, Aida, Elizabeth (Tannhäuser) and Brünnhilde (Siegfried). While at Mannheim she also appeared with the Nederlandse Oper, Hamburg Staatsoper and Frankfurt Oper. At the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin she made her role debut in C. M. von Weber’s Euryanthe. Other role debuts were Rezia in Weber’s Oberon (Deutsche Oper am Rhein), and Ellen Orford in Britten’s Peter Grimes (Zurich Opera). As a concert singer she was invited by the Wiener Symphoniker to sing Schreker’s Christophorus and Irrelohe; the latter has been released by Sony Music.
In subsequent years she made her house debuts at La Scala, the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Bayreuth Festival. She also appeared at the Taormina Festival in Sicily and in concert at the Academi di Santa Cecilia (Rome) as the 3rd Norn and Gutrune in Götterdämmerung. Her Vienna State Opera debut was in 1992 as Elisabeth in Tannhüser. Other roles there included Ariadne, the Marschallin, Senta, Elsa and the Fidelio Leonore. With the Bayerische Staatsoper she sang Marina in Dvorak’s Dimitri. At the same house, she was invited to sing the Kaiserin with this company on tour in Nagoya, Japan. In 1994, at the Chatelet Opera in Paris, she appeared as the Kaiserin, at the Dresden Semperoper as Amelia and at the Staatsoper Berlin as Marta in d’Albert’s Tiefland. The following year, 1995, saw her role debuts at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Carl Orff’s Antigonae and at the Semperoper as Marie in R. Strauss’ Friedenstag. With Vara Radio of the Netherlands, she appeared in the title role of Das Wunder der Heliane and with the Bamburg Symphoniker sang Wagner in a concert tour of Japan.
With the 1996-1997 season, Luana DeVol began her survey of the dramatic soprano repertoire, appearing as Isolde in Braunschweig, Mexico City and Leipzig and in Basel as Elektra. She was named Singer of the Year for her interpretation of these roles. In 1998 at La Scala, Milan, she sang her role debut as Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung, in Prague, her role debut as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre, and in Essen her role debut as the Dyer’s Wife. In 1999, she was invited to return to several of the houses in which she had sung and also made a role debut as Ortrud (Lohengrin) and Lady (Verdi’s Macbeth). In 2000 she was again named Singer of the Year for her interpretation of Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung. From 2000 to 2005 she sang Wagnerian roles both in house debuts all over Europe, at numerous festivals and in venues where she had sung previously, appearing every year in Vienna, Berlin and Munich. In addition, she added the title roles in Strauss’ Ägyptisch Helena, Bellini’s Norma, Susan B. Anthony in Virgil Thomson’s Mother of Us All (at San Francisco Opera) and Puccini’s Turandot in Stuttgart and Barcelona. Throughout her career, she worked with (too many to name individually!) the major conductors and stage directors in Europe and concertized extensively in presentations of symphonic works, such as Mahler 8th and Beethoven 9th. (For more information and photos of Luane DeVol’s career, see www.operdiva.com.)

Alan Dornak, Countertenor (Baritone/Tenor)
BA (Sam Houston State U); Artist Diploma and Postgraduate Degree (vocal performance with baroque specialization) Hochschule für Musik Dresden. Currently, Adjunct Professor, Wagner College NY and maintains a private studio in New York; taught at Festa Lirica Italiana (Ischia, Italy) and privately in Houston TX and Dresden, Germany. His countertenor career began in Europe and the USA, where he was engaged by such notable companies as the Metropolitan Opera and Minnesota Opera. First he performed as a baritone (Papageno), then as a tenor (Tonio and Paolino), and was engaged by the Brandenburg State Theater in Cottbus, Germany. Shortly thereafter he worked with the renowned countertenor Michael Chance who encouraged him to pursue a career as a countertenor. His concert and recital experience includes performances in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Brazil and the USA, being a featured recitalist at the 2004 Winter Festival of Rio de Janiero and performing in such venues as Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall). Examples of his repertoire include performances of Handel’s Messiah (singing the alto, tenor and bass solo parts), Joshua, Bach Oratorios and Cantatas, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Orff’s Carmina Burana.
On the operatic stage The Los Angeles Times hailed Dornak as "an impressive new countertenor" for his performance of Athamas (Semele) and Classics Today praised him for "using his big countertenor voice with authority and accuracy" as Tauride (Arianna in Creta). He has performed Oberon (A Midsummer Nights Dream) in Munich and Regensburg and the title role and Tolomeo from Giulio Cesare in Dresden and New York. Multiple performances of lesser-known operas include Odoardo/Lelio in Hasse’s La Sorella amante, Cleone in Graun’s Orfeo (Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin), Valerius in Kaiser’s Der Tempel des Janus (Berliner Kammeroper), Hermia/Aristo in Pallavicino’s L’Antiope, Ubaldo in Pallavicino’s La Gerusalemme Liberata (Berliner Lautten Compagney), and Eris and Sophimene from Meder’s Die beständige Argenia, which was documented on German TV as Behind the Scenes with a Countertenor. Among his various recordings is J.K. Kerll’s Missa Nigra released by Öhmsclassic. Alan also has stage-directed such works as I Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana and recently started the opera company, Opera Feroce.

Gustavo Halley, Bass-baritone
BA, Jacksonville U; MM and DM, Florida State U. From 1989-2007, a member of the faculty of U of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music where he was Assoc. Professor. Received a Faculty Research Grant for his project of arranging old Cuban songs. Portrayed Christopher Columbus in world premiere in Milan (Italy) of Manuel deFalla’s scenic oratorio, La Atlantida, with Giulietta Simionato and Teresa Stratas. Performed roles such as Boris Godunov, Ferrando (Trovatore), King (Aìda),    King Mark (Tristan and Isolde), Police Commissioner (Der Rosenkavalier), Roucher (Andrea Chenier), Sarastro, Gremin (Eugene Onegin), Raimondo (Lucia), Mephistofeles (Faust), Don Giovanni, Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia) and Don Magnifico (Cenerentola), in theatres and opera houses in Miami, Palm Beach, Birmingham, Corpus Christi, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Graz, Darmstadt, Aachen, Warsaw, Hamburg, La Scala, Milan, Amsterdam, and Mexico City.  Attended AIMS in 1977 and sang in Aachen (Germany) for 5 years with his wife, Sarah Schumann-Halley before returning to the USA where he has had an active performing and teaching career. Recent performances include Osmin (Abduction from the Seraglio), Don Magnifico (Cenerentola) and the title role in Don Pasquale with Lyric Opera San Diego; and in Kansas City, Timur (Turandot), Manzoni Requiem (Verdi) and Prologue (Mefistofele by Boito).

Lori McCann, Soprano
BM, U of Wisconsin; MA, San Diego State U; DMA and Artist Diploma, U of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. As first place winner in the Opera Columbus Competition, she received a scholarship to attend AIMS in 1992 which was instrumental in launching her career in Germany. Has performed extensively in the USA and abroad appearing in opera, oratorio, and recital and has been regularly featured with the Berliner Kammeroper and the Neue Opernbühne, also of Berlin, Germany. In the U.S., she has appeared in leading roles with Virginia Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Whitewater Opera, Sorg Opera, Shreveport Opera, and Pacific Chamber Opera. Her roles include Governess (Turn of the Screw), Fulvia (Ezio, Händel), Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Mimi (La Bohème), The Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen), Giulia (La scala di seta, Rossini), Iphigénie (Iphigénie en Tauride, Gluck), Mary Warren (The Crucible, Ward), Jessie (Mahagonny-Songspiel, Weill), Second Lady (The Magic Flute), Amor (Orfeo ed Eurydice, Gluck), and others.  Awards include National Finalist, The MET Opera National Council Auditions, Virginia Hawk Young Artist Awards (San Diego), Friedrich Shorr Memorial Performance Prize in Voice, semi-finalist, Belvedere Int‘l Singing competition (Vienna), third place, Birmingham Opera Theater Competition, and fourth place, AIMS Meistersinger Competition. Currently on the voice faculty of Steinhardt School of New York U, where she has taught since 1999. Since 2003, she has taught at Teachers College of Columbia U and in Manhattan. Other academic positions: Director of Vocal Studies, Southern Illinois U (Edwardsville) from 1997-99, Chair of the Voice Department, College of Mt. St. Joseph (Cincinnati), and Adjunct Vocal Instructor, U of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department. Serves on Board of Directors for both the NYC NATS Chapter and the New York Singing Teachers Association.

Karen Peeler, Soprano
BA (English), Tulane U; MM (vocal performance), Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; DM (vocal performance), Florida State U. Currently Professor of Voice and Pedagogy at Ohio State U (Columbus) where she heads the graduate program in vocal pedagogy. Included among her teachers and coaches are Elena Nikolaidi, Oren Brown, Hubert Kockritz, John Wustman, Harold Heiberg, Thomas Grubb, Karl Pilss, and Hans-Peter Schilly. She has performed leading roles in opera, operetta, and musical theater throughout the US, and has concertized widely in the US, Austria, and Italy. She can be heard with her chamber trio, Trio Ariana, on their CD of original music for voice, viola, and piano, Renovations and Rhymes on the Eroica label. As a stage director, Dr Peeler has directed opera programs in Mississippi and Texas. In 1991, she was chosen as one of four "master teachers" to inaugurate the NATS Voice Teacher Intern program and has served as the local coordinator for that program in 1993 and 1996. Has been a national clinician for such organizations as NATS, MTNA, and the Voice Foundation, which gave her the 1993 Van Lawrence Fellowship Award for teachers who have demonstrated excellence in voice teaching and pedagogy. She is the current NATS National Vice-Present for Membership. Internationally, Dr Peeler has previously served on the AIMS faculty and given classes at the Instituto Superior de Arte of the Teatrò Colòn in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the National Ping-Tung Teachers College in Taiwan. Prior to joining the Ohio State U faculty, she served on the voice faculties of Baylor U and Delta State U. Among her voice students are professional singers, teachers, and prize winners across the nation and in Europe.

Dean Southern, Lyric Baritone
Voice teacher and Special Lecturer,
Henry Pleasants Lecture Series,
"Vocal Artistry Through the Centuries" and
Keeper of the Historic Singers Audio Library.
BA Luther College; MM (voice), U of Akron; MM (piano), U of Missouri; DMA Cleveland Institute of Music. Currently Asst Professor of Voice Performance and stage director of the Frost Opera Theater, U of Miami Frost School of Music (Coral Gables FL). Prior positions include Professor of Voice, Cleveland Institute of Music and Visiting Asst Prof of Voice and stage director of opera, U of Miami Frost School of Music. Performance engagements include Festival of Two Worlds (Spoleto, Italy), Perugia (Italy) Chamber Orchestra, Carnegie Hall´s Weill Recital Hall, The Kennedy Center and the Akron Symphony. His opera credits include Count Almaviva, Papageno, Masetto (Don Giovanni) and Nardo (La finta giardiniera), Peter (Hansel and Gretel) and Captain William Clark in the world premiere of Michael Ching’s Corps of Discovery. With Santa Fe Opera, he was a member of the Apprentice Artist Program and performed on two tours throughout the Southwest. His series of articles Distant Voices: Listening to Singers of the Past was published in Classical Singer magazine. As a director, he has staged numerous opera productions ranging from classics such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and La finta giardiniera to modern works like The Medium, The Telephone and A Hand of Bridge.

Bard Suverkrop, Bass
Bard Suverkrop holds degrees in voice and opera from the U of Cincinnati where he was the pupil of the Italian bass, Italo Tajo. He received his advanced vocal training in Europe from Hans Hotter and Josef Metternich. After an extensive European career at opera houses as Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hannover, and Heidelberg, he returned to the United States where he taught voice, vocal pedagogy, diction, and opera at Butler U, Shenandoah U, Miami U (Ohio), and the U of So California. He has taught at AIMS and has acted as stage director and the Director of Theatre Arts at Bay View Music Festival. An active recitalist, Mr. Suverkrop has been heard in concert in Europe, the United States and Asia where he twice represented the U.S. in the International Friendship Concerts in Tokyo, Japan. He has been a regular guest with the Korean Philharmonic Orchestra in Los Angeles. Mr. Suverkrop made his European operatic debut in 1981 as Rocco in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Engagements followed in Berlin, Cologne, Heidelberg, Hannover, and Düsseldorf. His operatic repertoire, performed in more than 1000 performances, encompassed over 60 roles including the Mozart bass-baritones (Figaro, Leporello, Don Alfonso and Papageno) and leading bass roles in The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola, The Crucible, Faust, Cavalleria Rusticana, La Bohème, and La Forza del Destino. He has performed under many prominent conductors in Europe. In 1984, he won the first Erika Köth Int’l Voice Competition which led to appearances with the Berlin Symphony, the Bamberg Symphony, the Baden-Baden Orchestra, and the Heidelberg and Ettlingen Summer Festivals. In the United States he has been heard with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, at the Lynchberg Bach Festival, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, Verne Riffe Center (Columbus OH), Los Angeles Music Center and with regional opera companies. He is the originator of the web site IPA Source, the largest collection of literal translations and International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions of art songs and opera on the web. He retired from teaching and now writes and maintains the site.

Patricia McKewen Amato, Opera Coach
BM Catholic U of America (magna cum laude), MM U of Houston (magna cum laude). Certificates from AIMS in opera and Lieder accompanying (´77 - ´78). She is a coach/accompanist for the voice division at Towson U and was a member of the graduate music education faculty at Loyola College, directing the Choral Studies program. Served as interim Choral Director at Towson U in 2005-06. Ms. McKewen Amato´s operatic experience includes coach/accompanist at AIMS in Graz, Brevard (NC) Music Festival, the Aspen (CO) Music Festival, Peabody Institute and Young Victorian Theatre (Baltimore). She served as asst music director of Baltimore Opera, music director of the Baltimore Opera Touring Company, asst conductor and chorus master for Washington Summer Opera, music director/conductor for Annapolis Opera, Maryland Lyric Opera, Brevard Music Festival, Opera Americana (VA), the Washington Savoyards, Peabody Institute and Rep Stage. As a pianist, she has performed with Children's Chorus of Maryland, Annapolis Opera, Annapolis Chorale, Baltmore Choral Arts, Baltimore Symphony, Maryland Symphony, Baltimore Opera, Prince George's Opera and accompanies for the MET Opera regional auditions. In 1999, she made her Lincoln Center (NYC) debut conducting an all-Charles Loeffler program. Ms. McKewen Amato accompanied and guest-conducted the Children‘s Chorus of Maryland, touring internationally, recording, and performing on television. She was a first place winner in the Houston Chamber Music Society Competition. She performed The Carnival of the Animals with the Maryland Symphony in 2005. She attended AIMS as a student and also has coached at AIMS for several years.

Edward Bak, Opera Coach
Mr. Bak holds degrees from the Peabody Institute and the Cleveland Institute of Music, with additional studies at Boston U and Yale U School of Music. He has worked privately with Yoheved Kaplinksy (USA), Marc Durand (Canada), and Eduardo Vercelli (Switzerland). Bak, currently professor at The Ohio State U School of Music and principal coach at Opera Columbus, previously held faculty positions at Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory and the Peabody Institute Preparatory. He has presented master classes at the Escuela Moderna in Santiago, Chile and the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was a visiting professor of piano in Seoul, South Korea. He appears regularly in concert with established artists and emerging talents, and has been heard in such venues as the Teatro Colón, The Monnaie, The Festival Lanuadiere, The Philips Collection, and Kolarac Hall. He is active as a chamber musician, sharing the stage with members of the Boston Symphony, The Phildelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony. He is a regular faculty member at Prelude to Performance, and has taught at AIMS in Graz, Austria. As an advocate of contemporary music Mr. Bak maintains an active interest in performing the works of living composers, presenting the world premiers of several works, and received special recognition for his performance of 20th Century music at the Queen Elisabeth Competition. He also has worked as a guest coach at the National Theater in Taipei, Taiwan.

Betty Bullock, Lieder Coach
BM, Piano Performance, Oberlin Conservatory; MM, U of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, studies at the Mozarteum (Salzburg) and the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. As winner of the Franz Schubert Prize for Accompanists at the Schubert Institut in Austria, she performed in concert for Austrian National Radio. Served on faculties of Duke U, U of Richmond, and Oberlin Conservatory, where she was Assoc Dean. Currently on the faculty of the Levine School of Music. Has taken part in Lieder master classes with prominent artists including Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hans Hotter, Erik Werba, Jörg Demus, Ernst Häfliger, Walter Berry, and Irmgard Seefried. Has worked as a coach/accompanist for more than 20 seasons at Washington National Opera. Involved in the musical preparation of many operatic works including Elektra, Salome, Turandot, Simon Boccanegra, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, Der Rosenkavalier, and Die Walküre. Active as a performer in both solo and collaborative repertoire, her concert appearances have taken her to venues in the United States and Europe. Performs regularly at the German Embassy with the Emerging Singers Program of the Wagner Society, including a recent performance at the US Supreme Court. Performed on national television in a program honoring the victims of 9/11, and for the President and members of Congress in a "In Performance at the White House" telecast. Often performs with soprano Rosa Lamoreaux, including concerts at the National Gallery of Art and in Los Angeles, the Virgin Islands and Paris, France. These two artists recently released their second CD. She has appeared as soloist with the Metropolitan Philharmonic in Washington DC.

Darryl Cooper,  Opera Coach
Trained at Florida State U, New England Conservatory, Brevard Music Center, and holds a MM from San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Teachers have included James Streem, Marilyn Neeley, Margo Garrett, and Timothy Bach. Currently asst musical director of the opera program at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. A native Georgian, he has been a member of the opera and coaching faculties of the Boston Conservatory, Boston U Theater Institute, Crittenden Opera Studio, Chautauqua Opera, Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute, and an Artist-in-Residence in Theater Arts at Brandeis U. Has prepared numerous professional and workshop opera productions in New England, Italy and the SF Bay Area. An active recital partner, he has been heard on WGBH Radio (Boston).

Nico de Villiers, Lieder Coach
BM (Honours) in piano performance, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD). Nico was the Int‘l Undergraduate Scholar of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, and received the RSAMD Accompanist of the Year award, the Mary Rowan Paton Memorial Trust award and the Sibelius Prize for Research in Musicology. Master of Music (with distinction) in piano performance (accompaniment and chamber music), U of Michigan (student of Martin Katz) where he was a scholarship holder and Staff Assistant. A native of South Africa, Nico studied with Johan Cromhout and was a prize winner at the National Musicon and Hennie Joubert National Piano Competitions, performed with major South African ensembles including the Cape Philharmonic and Odeion Sinfonietta, and with the Music Inc and Odeion String Quartets. During his stay in Scotland, Nico worked with various soloists from RSAMD performing throughout the UK. His work as accompanist has taken him to Norway for performances at the Norwegian Music Academy, to France with the Pro Cantione Antiqua Int‘l Choral Festival in Provence, to the UK and Monaco in recital with Caitlin Hulcup (mezzosoprano), to the UK in recital with William Berger (baritone) and Rhona McKail (soprano), to Canada with soprano Michelle Foster, and to England, Scotland and the USA with renowned mezzosoprano Jane Irwin. In collaboration with colleagues from RSAMD, Nico founded the de Villiers Ensemble and performed in Sweden and the UK. He was an assistant faculty member at the Int‘l Music Academy in Pilsen, Czech Republic in 2006 and 2008. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, St. Martins-in-the-Fields, Barbican Music Hall and Wigmore Hall in London. Nico is an accompanist and coach in the studio of Barbara Bonney in Salzburg and repetitor at the Salzburger Landestheater.

Christina Haan,  Coach
BA (piano performance) Portland State U; MM (accompanying) and Artist Diploma (opera coaching) U of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). While in Oregon, Ms Haan concertized extensively as a pianist and worked in musical theatre as an accompanist, chorus master, and conductor. She has since worked for the Cincinnati, Kentucky, Dayton, Whitewater and Sorg opera companies in the various capacities of vocal coach, chorus master, assistant conductor and rehearsal accompanist, and has worked for Xavier U, Miami U, U of Louisville, Central State U, and the U of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She was vocal coach and accompanist for Opera Theatre of Lucca (Italy), Bel Canto Northwest (Portland), and the Rising Star Singers Audition Works in Indiana. She has appeared as organist and harpsichordist with the Cincinnati Baroque Orchestra, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Richmond Symphony and New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. She is currently organist at Knox Presbyterian Church, coach/accompanist at Ohio State U, accompanist for VAE Cincinnati, and a doctoral candidate in organ performance at CCM.

Dorit Hanak,  Soprano/Operetta Coach
Leading soprano in major European opera houses including Graz, Wiener Volksoper and Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Appeared at festivals from Aix-en-Provence to Glyndebourne, Milwaukee to BBC Proms, and performances from Nairobi to Berlin, Brussels Monnaie and Barcelonas Liceu, at London's Royal Albert Hall, and Wiener Musikverein. Extensive opera and concert tours throughout the USA (Chicago Lyric Opera, San Franciso, Hollywood Bowl, Philadelphia, Seattle, et al). Performed with the legendary Mozart ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper. Extensive career on television and in opera movies (with Nicolai Gedda, Giuseppe di Stefano, and Max Lorenz, among others). Roles ranged from Lyric Soprano to Coloratura. Holder of the Great Gold Medal of the City of Graz and the Province of Styria. Honored in 2002 by Graz Oper for her contributions to that opera house.

John Kolody,  Opera Coach
John is a freelance vocal coach/accompanist in New York City and has a long association with AIMS. He has taught at New York U, the U of Miami Salzburg College program, Manhattanville College and Southern Methodist U. He has accompanied in the Young Artist program at the Metropolitan Opera and toured with MET stars Rosalind Elias and Andrea Velis, staged more than 10 operas, and produced over 30 music theatre revues. He studied piano under Eugene List and participated in the prestigious BMI Music Theatre Workshop under Lehman Engel; has composed for DiCapo Opera, arranged for the Glass Menagerie, accompanied Pavarotti, performed his cabaret act "Temporary Insanity" internationally, and played for the Pope. Who could ask for anything more? John has taught at AIMS many summers.

Anna Margulis,  Opera Coach/Pianist
Born in Moldova; a graduate of Gnesins Academy of Music in Moscow. Ms. Margulis has served as a principal coach at the Moscow Theatre Novaya Opera since 1991 and at Moscow State Conservatory since 1998. Her operatic repertoire includes all operas by Tchaikowsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Musorgsky, Borodin, Glinka, Three Oranges by Prokofief, Lady Macbeth from Mzensk by Shostakovich and many operas by Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Leoncavallo, Puccini, Verdi and others. She has coached diction and style for Boris Godunov at La Fenice (Venice) and Houston Grand Opera and Iolanta by Tschaikowsky at Gent, Belgium. Ms. Margulis has collaborated in recitals with Lyubov Petrova (soprano), Rodion Pogosov (bariton), Olga Romanko (soprano), Irina Romishevskaja (mezzo-soprano) and others, and has played master classes with Irina Arhipova, Lenore Rosenberg, Rudolf Piernay and Sergey Leiferkus. In 2003-2004 she participated in the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program of the Metropolitan Opera and with Houston Grand Opera Studio giving master classes on Russian repertoire. She was awarded diplomas as "Best Pianist" at the 1986 Int’l. Opera Singers Competition in Rio de Janeiro; in 1998 at the Int’l. Rimsky-Korsakov Competition, and in 2003 at the Int’l. Elena Obraztsova Competition. In 2005 she was awarded the title "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation". Anna was a Vocal Coach at AIMS in 2003, '04, '07 and '09.

Stephen Marinaro,  Opera Coach
DMA (U of Texas, Austin). Studied piano with Leland Thompson (assistant to Rosina Lhevinne) at the Juilliard School, Katja Andy (New England Conservatory) and William Race (U of Texas). Marinaro made his debut at the age of 12 with piano concertos of Beethoven and Mendelssohn in his native city, New York. An avid opera lover from an early age, he began accompanying singers and playing stage and musical rehearsals and went on to study coaching and accompanying with John Moriarty in Boston and, with a grant from the Gramma Fisher Foundation, with Heinrich Schmidt in Vienna. He has lived and worked in Germany since 1985 as vocal coach in the municipal operas of Hildesheim, Krefeld, Essen, Dortmund and Cologne, and for the past nine years, as Head of Music (Studienleiter) at the National Theater Mannheim. which presents over 45 operas and operettas each season. His duties there include preparing singers in their roles for virtually all of the major operas of Verdi, Strauss, Wagner, Puccini, Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Tschaikowsky, Janacek, and others, scheduling musical and scenic rehearsal for an ensemble of 35 singers and seven coaches, assisting in the planning and casting of repertory, and the engagement of singers. He has been on the faculties of Trinity U (San Antonio), UT Austin, Long Island U, the Folkwang Musikhochschule in Essen, the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule in Düsseldorf, and the Hochschule für Musik in Mannheim. In addition to his duties at the opera in Mannheim Mr. Marinaro is also an active performer and appears regularly in concert with such singers as Franz-Josef Selig, Daniel Louis Williams, Mihail Agafonov, Susan Maclean, et al.

John Simmons,  Opera Coach
MM in piano performance, Peabody Conservatory (student of Yoheved Kaplinsky); Artist Diploma in piano performance from the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna, Austria (student of Paul Badura-Skoda). Appointed to Cleveland Institute of Music Opera Faculty in 2005. Has appeared in numerous recitals in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy and in the U.S. at Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall and the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York City. Simmons has coached, taught and performed at AIMS, the Spoleto Festival USA, the Centro Studi Italiani, the Amalfi Coast, Shaker Mountain and Lincoln Center festivals. He was pianist/coach for two seasons at the Graz Oper and teaching assistant at the Hochschule für Musik in Graz, an associate coach at the Juilliard Opera Center for three years and on the coaching faculty at the CW Post campus of Long Island U for 6 years. In 2004-5, he was guest professor of collaborative piano at Rutgers U. He was music director and pianist for New York Opera Project‘s production of Barber‘s Vanessa in 2004, has collaborated in recital with tenor John Aler and performed with the London Symphony Chorus, the Westminster Choir and the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. He was featured as a soloist with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, was ass't conductor for the Lincoln Center Festival and U of Michigan, Ann Arbor productions of The Silver River by Bright Sheng in 2002 and 2007. While in New York, Mr. Simmons played in the voice studios of many well-known teachers including Doris Yarick Cross and Anna Moffo. He recently appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra in the Beyond the Score Series playing music of Prokofiev.

Jan Suverkrop,  Opera Coach
BM (piano performance and music education) U of Cincinnati and MM (conducting) Butler U. She has taken advanced studies in conducting at AIMS in Graz, where she was the recipient of a Gramma Fischer Stipend. Ms. Suverkrop is the winner of over 30 solo piano competitions including the American Musical Scholarship Association. She spent 10 years as an assistant conductor in European opera houses and as an opera coach at Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Germany. She was the musical director of the Int’l Youth Festival and the Wagner Seminar in Bayreuth, Germany. She has been heard as a pianist and harpsichordist with symphony orchestras throughout Germany in over 1000 performances; including performances of Saint-Saens’ Le Carnaval des Animaux, Mendelssohn’s Concerto in G Minor and Grieg’s Concerto in A Minor. She has been on the faculty of Shenandoah U, Butler U, Bay View Music Festival, and director of the Los Angeles Piano Academy and the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, Cincinnati.

Wayne Wyman,  Opera Coach
BM Orchestral Conducting, U of Tennessee; MM Conducting, Austin Peay State U; Artist Diploma (Opera), U of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Wyman‘s teachers included Kirk Trevor, Conductor of the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic (Czech Republic); Christopher Zimmerman, Chief Conductor at the Hartt School; and Prof Dr Wolfgang Gabriel, Director of Opera at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria. Artistic Director, primary conductor and stage director, Lyric Opera of San Antonio (1998 - 2003). Major interest is bringing opera to young audiences and developing the opera stars of tomorrow. Wyman founded and directed LOSA’s young artist program. From 1997 to 2001, he directed the opera program at UT-San Antonio, serving as conductor, stage director and coach. Recent projects include regional opera productions and concert presentation of Wagner‘s Die Walküre with the newly formed Valkyrie Project in Manhattan. He is in demand as a guest clinician for opera workshops and master classes, most recently at New York U. He has conducted and/or stage directed: Albert Herring, Barber of Seville, Beatrice and Benedict, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Cavalleria Rusticana, Cosi fan tutte, L'Elisir d'Amore, Die Fledermaus, Lucia di Lammermoor, The Mikado, Tosca, La Traviata, Trouble in Tahiti, Die Walküre, and Die Zauberflöte.

Michael Ramach, Stage Director
MFA (directing) Webster U and BFA (music theater) Illinois Wesleyan U. Mr Ramach has written, directed and produced over 300 plays, music theater pieces, operas and experimental productions in his 30 years as a theatrical professional. He was the Founder and Producing Director of the Triangle Theater in New York City for eight seasons. At La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in New York where he directed various original works including Brecht’s Berlin, which he also wrote, and has directed extensively throughout the United States. As an administrator, he worked at Theatre X (Milwaukee), Timber Lake Playhouse, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Mr Ramach worked on the production staff of the Kentucky Opera for seven seasons where he directed the world premieres of Muhammad Ali; Outside The Ring, Chasing A Precedent and Nyiramachabelli. He also wrote and directed a show for the Great American Voices Program, a National Endowment for the Arts/Opera America initiative which was performed at military bases. He was commissioned to write and direct a new piece for the Educational Program for Kentucky Opera in 2007. Mr Ramach has been the Co-Director of the opera theater program at the U of Louisville for 7 years.

Patricia Weinmann, Stage Director
Patricia-Maria Weinmann has worked with many national opera companies and festivals including Utah Opera, Syracuse Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Boston, Ashlawn Opera Festival, the American Opera Project, and Mississippi Grand Opera. She has collaborated on a number of premier performances including Daniel Pinkham's The Cask of Amontillado, the staged orchestral premier of Scott Wheeler's The Construction of Boston and Wheeler's Democracy for the American Opera Project in New York as a work-in-progress. Local engagements have included Four Saints in Three Acts for the Boston Conservatory, and H.M.S. Pinafore, L´Italiana in Algeri and South Pacific for Opera Boston. In 2004, Weinmann directed Utah Opera's production of H.M.S. Pinafore to critical acclaim for the inaugural Deer Valley Music Festival in Park City, Utah. Through the 2005-2008 seasons, Weinmann returned to Utah to direct The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Gondoliers. In addition, she directed Utah Opera's Cenerentola and returned in 2010 to direct L´Italiana in Algeri. Additional directing engagements include The Barber of Seville for the Seagle Music Colony, Naomi in the Living Room by Jonathan Holland for the New Gallery Concert Series and Lee Hoiby's Bon Appetit for Opera Providence. As a teacher and stage director for the New England Conservatory's Opera Studies Program, Utah Opera's Young Artist Program and Syracuse Opera's Young Artist Program, she trains some of the most talented young singers in the U.S. In 2009, Weinmann taught at AIMS and in 2010 directed for the Ashlawn Highland Festival. She also co-directs the New England Conservatory's Opera Studies Education Outreach program. Her New England Conservatory directing credits include Cosi fan tutte, Dido and Aeneas, Les Malheurs d' Orphee, Cole!, Miss Havisham's Wedding Night, La Cantarina and Hansel and Gretel. Upcoming engagements include a multi-media production of Carmina Burana with Syracuse Opera.

Please see Biographies of presenters in "Special Events" on this web site.

Charlene Harb,  
Collaborative Piano Teacher
Repetitor Coordinator
BM, U of Tennessee; MM and DM, Indiana U; Fellowship studies at Aspen School, Schubert Institute (Baden bei Wien), and Cornell. Lieder studies with Erik Werba, Jorg Demus, Walter Moore, Hans Hotter, Irmgard Seefried and others. Pianist-coach for Nashville Opera and Ballet and Principal Keyboardist, Nashville Symphony. National productions of Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. From 2003-2008, Senior Lecturer, Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt U.

Andrea Huber, Soprano
BFA in Music/Theatre at Illinois Wesleyan U and postgraduate work at Manhattan School of Music. Andrea has sung leading roles in Europe since 1985, beginning her career with a five-year engagement at Krefeld-Mönchengladbach singing 16 different roles including Violetta, Countess, Antonia, and Gilda. She has been a sought-after Merry Widow, Gräfin Mariza, Rosalinde, Schöne Helena and Kate. She appeared a number of times on stage and screen with the legendary Viennese impresario, Marcel Prawy, who claimed her as one of his “discoveries”. She has become a leading interpreter of the music of the Graz composer, Robert Stolz. She has performed at the Komische Oper, Gärtnerplatz, Oper Leipzig, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Kassel, Dortmund, Darmstadt in Germany; Bern and St. Gallen in Switzerland; State Opera of Prague; Dublin and Cork, Ireland; Theater an der Wien, Baden bei Wien, and Grazer Oper in Austria; Gent and Brussels, Belgium; Luxembourg; and Gothenburg in Sweden. She also has often performed Liederabende. In 2005, she sang Julie in a new production of Show Boat with Simon Estes (Bern), and Countess Mariza for San Diego Lyric Opera's opening of their new theater. In 2007, she premiered her one-woman Kurt Weill show in Berlin and recently performed Desirée in A Little Night Music in San Diego and Sylva in Czárdásfürstin in Ghent, Belgium. Andrea was a featured speaker at the Classical Singer Convention in 2007 and 2008. She has taught at AIMS since 2002 and was appointed the AIMS Artistic Director in August 2010. To visit Ms. Huber's website, click here.

Lynda Kemeny, Soprano
After completing her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in vocal performance, piano and dance, Ms Kemeny studied voice in Chicago and New York. Winning 1st prize in the Int'l Bel Canto vocal competition in Chicago led to studying voice in Italy with world-renowned soprano Renate Tebaldi and tenor Carlo Bergonzi. From 1987-1992 she sang at the Staattheater, Bielefeld (Germany) where, in her first season, she received the "Operntaler Award" for outstanding performance. Since 1992, she has enjoyed an int'l career singing at Opera/Musikalische Komödie (Leipzig), National Theater Mannheim, Theater Wiesbaden, Dortmunder Theater, Deutsches Theater Munich, L´Opera de Wallonie in Liège (Belgium), Hoofstaad Operette Amsterdam, Staatstheater Bern (Switzerland) and Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck.
Ms Kemeny has often given recitals and performed in concert with orchestras such as the Bielefelder Philharmonic, Dortmunder Philharmonie, Radio-Tèlèvisiòn-Belgique-France Orchestra, and the Westdeutschen-, Süddeutschen-, und Mitteldeutschen Radio Orchester, German Mozart Festival in Zwickau (Germany) and toured with the Salon Orchestra "Melange" in the 1998 Int'l Music Festival in Poland. She has made numerous solo appearances on German television channels. She also teaches voice and English diction for singers at the U of Music and Theater in Munich, gives master classes and sits on juries for voice competitions, is head of the voice department and the director of the theater groups "Kids in Motion" and "Performance Class" at the Music School in Rosenheim, Germany.

James Schiebler, Stage Director, Clinician
BM and MM (Opera Performance) U of British Columbia; MF (Theatre Stage Directing) and Artist Diploma (Opera Stage Directing) from the U of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Teaching credits include: U of the Pacific, Indiana U, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Carnegie-Mellon U. He has served as a clinician at the U of Texas – San Antonio, U of So Illinois, and the Opera Theatre of Lucca (Italy). As a performer, he has worked in musicals, prose theatre, voice-over and opera. Opera roles include: Falstaff, Figaro, Leporello, Nick Shadow and Scarpia. As a Stage director, Mr. Schiebler has worked with regional companies such as Indianapolis Opera, Kentucky Opera, Chautauqua, Memphis and Syracuse, and internationally with Vancouver Opera, COC (Toronto) and Festival Dei Due Mondi (Spoleto, Italy). His productions have twice won NOA Production Awards and he was the national prize-winner for the Canadian Opera Company Stage Director Search in 1992.

Stephanie Weiss, Mezzosoprano
BM New England Conservatory of Music, BS Tufts U (biology, drama), MM U of Missouri-Kansas City, Professional Studies Diploma Mannes College of Music. A San Diego native, Weiss was a Midwest Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was Mannes College of Music´s recipient of a Richard F Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Fdn. As the winner of the American Berlin Opera Fdn Competition, she became a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin as a Stipendiatin in the 2004/2005 season where she made her debut as Frasquita in Carmen. Other roles in her first season included Musetta in La Bohème, Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Gerhilde in Die Walküre, the cover of Nedda in I Pagliacci, and she created the role of Schlafittchen in the Berlin premiere of Das Traumfresserchen. Since then, she has been a regular guest at the Deutsche Oper Berlin singing roles including Marianne Leitmetzerin in Der Rosenkavalier, Aufseherin in Elektra, cover of Johanna in Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna, and cover of Venus in Tannhäuser in the company’s tour to the Beijing Music Festival. She was the cover of Medora in Il Corsaro with Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queler, and was subsequently invited back to sing the role of Rose in Lakmé at Carnegie Hall. She also has appeared at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden as Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte, at Oper Frankfurt as Musetta in La Bohème, and at Stadttheater Bern as Marianne Leitmetzerin. This season, Ms. Weiss will sing Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte and Grimgerde in Die Walküre with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro and Marthe in Faust. In the fall of 2010, she will make her debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, and in 2011, she will make her debut with the San Diego Opera as Marianne Leitmetzerin in Der Rosenkavalier. She has been on the faculties at UMKC Community School Division, the New York State Summer School for the Arts, Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music, and as a Teaching Fellow with the Metropolitan Opera Education Department. While living in New York, she maintained a private studio and currently has a private voice studio in Berlin.

Dane Winters, Stage Director/Actor
Mr. Winters attended the Actors Professional Training program at the Dallas Theatre Center, receiving his MFA in acting and design through Trinity University. He spent three and a half years as a free-lance actor performing onstage in the area theatre companies along with TV commercials, TV series, TV movies and feature films. He came to Europe first in 1985 with a tour of Barefoot in the Park for a Munich production company and began working for the U.S. Army Entertainment as a Music Specialist in Bamberg (1986-88). He then moved to Stuttgart as the US Forces Theatre Center Director (1988) and was promoted to the Community Entertainment Director in January 1999. Since December 2000 he has been Artistic Director of the Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany.

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GERMAN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

Werner Haas, German Coordinator
PhD, Karl-Franzens-U (Graz, Austria). Taught German at Akademisches Gymnasium in Graz; moved to USA. Taught at Springfield College; U of Massachusetts; Middlebury College; The Ohio State U; Distinguished Visiting Professor at USAF Academy (1967-1995). He is the author of Decu/Tuco (CAI) computer language programs, of Aus deutscher Geschichte; Bismarck; Die Deutschen und die Österreicher; Deutsch für alle; Sprechen wir darüber, Deutsch immer besser and German, a Self-Teaching Guide, the textbook for the German Course at AIMS. Now Prof Emeritus of German at The Ohio State U. Dr. Haas has coordinated German Language teaching at AIMS for over 25 years.

Richard Rogan
BS, U of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; MA and PhD, U of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Rogan has taught all levels of German at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN), Northern Illinois U, Gettysburg College, and Georgetown U. For 20 years he was responsible for the German program at Gonzaga College High School, Washington, DC. Presently he is a professorial lecturer in German at George Washington University. He has been a regular member of the AIMS faculty since 1980.

Kathryn A. Corl
PhD (Ohio State U). Currently, Associate Professor and Chair of Undergraduate German Language Studies at Ohio State U. Her specializations are psycholinguistics; second language acquisition; technology and materials development; online learning; testing and evaluation; teacher development and language program direction. Co-authored: Sprechen wir Deutsch! (1985,'89, '92); Übergänge: Texte verfasssen (1994). Has published articles on second-language teaching and learning. Co-Author and instructor of online Listening Course for the AATG GOLDEN teacher development project. Other projects: MultiCAT Multimedia Computer Adaptive Placement Test and Merk mal! online learning tool for intermediate learners of German. Awards: Botoman Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring in the College of Humanities (OSU, 2005); Papalia Award for Excellence in Teacher Education, Am. Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages/NY State Assoc of Foreign Language Teachers (2006). Has taught at AIMS many summers.

Rebecca Thomas
BA and MA in German from UCLA; PhD, The Ohio State U. Rebecca is Professor of German at Wake Forest U where she has taught German language, literature and culture since 1993. She has served as Departmental Chair of German and Russian, and has recently been appointed Associate Dean of the College. Her research and publications focus on contemporary Austrian studies. She has published on numerous contemporary Austrian writers including Gerhard Roth, Elfriede Jelinek, Doron Rabinovici and Kathrin Röggla. Her translation of Röggla’s novel Wir schlafen nicht was published by Ariadne Press in 2009. She has taught German at AIMS frequently since 1988.

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DICTION

Isolde Haas, German Diction
Originally from Salzburg, Austria, Ms Haas earned a certificate in cello performance from the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Classes with Georg Weigl, Enrico Mainardi and Pablo Casals. Cellist with Innsbruck Opera Orchestra, Springfield Symphony, and Columbus (OH) Symphony. Teacher of cello in Innsbruck, Erlangen, Mt Holyoke College, U of Massachusetts; teacher of German Phonetics and Diction at Middlebury German Summer School; freelance teacher of cello and German diction.

Penny Johnson, German Diction
BA (Honors) in German, U of Bristol, England; Post Graduate Certificate in Education, U of Leicester, England; MA and PhD in German Language and Literature, U of Tennessee, Knoxville; RSA/CELTA Leeds Metropolitan U, Leeds, England. Dr Johnson has over 40 years of experience as a teacher of German language and literature. She taught English in Hamburg and worked as a translator for the US Army in Berlin before moving to teach German in Evansville IN and in Knoxville TN; Her main interest is in oral language, and she conducted her PhD research at the Rundfunk der DDR (East German Radio) in East Berlin, where she spent many months collecting recordings and manuscripts of East German radio dramas. She worked as a classical music announcer in Evansville and Knoxville and as a newscaster for BBC World Service in London. Her main love is for the poetry of German Lieder and she is looking forward to helping you understand what you are singing and hopes you will learn to love the poetry and language as much as she does. She is fluent in English and German with a knowledge of French and Italian. She currently lives in the north of England.

Wolfgang Lockemann, German Diction and "Poetry of the German Lied"
PhD, Diplom für Freiberufliche Sprecherzieher, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. He trained as an actor and received an Artist's Diploma in Rhetoric and Recitation. He was Prof of German Language and Literature in the U.S. from 1963-84. Since returning to Germany, he has given workshops for students and professionals, coaching them in preparation for Lieder recitals. He also collaborates in recitals with singers and instrumentalists. Has written articles about German Lieder and Poetry in Classical Singer, The German Quarterly and other publications. Founded Lied Austria, The Step Beyond Singing in 2006.

Nina Radtke, German Diction
Ms. Radtke holds degrees in speech therapy from Ludwig-Maximilian U (Munich) and in logo/psychotherapy from Südeutsches Instituet für Logotherapie u. Existenzanalyse (Munich). Since 2002, she is a Lecturer for Diction and Vocal Health at Hildesheim U (Germany) and maintains a practice in speech therapy. Since 1987, she has been a German diction coach for singers at Stadttheater Hildesheim (Germany) coaching opera, operetta, Lieder and concert repertoire. Her specialty is pure high German and she has an extensive knowledge of opera libretti and Lieder. In addition, she has further knowledge of English, Russian, French, Italian, Latin and Swedish. She has coached German Diction and prepared singers for concerts at AIMS since 2004.

Carolyna Cotchett, Italian and French Diction
A native of England and resident of Italy for many years, Carolyna has enjoyed a musical career as recitalist, church soloist and member of prestigious professional ensembles. She studied voice with Elvira Neidlinger and Marjorie Dallam in the USA, Noëmie Perugia in France, and Gino Bechi and Antonio Moretti-Pananti in Italy. Soloist at the First Church of Christ Scientist in Florence, Italy from 1977-2005. Her degrees are in Romance Languages from (the former) Womans College of the U of North Carolina and Johns Hopkins U. A professional translator and language consultant, she now lives and works in a restored farmhouse in Tuscany.

James Varah, Italian Diction
James Varah, a native of Colorado, received a Superior certificate in Italian language from Università per Stranieri (Perugia) in 1982 and has lived in Italy ever since. He performs and teaches cello and is principal cellist of the Antonio Salieri Chamber Orchestra, Rome. He is also a singer (Bass) and has appeared in many operas as both chorister and soloist. His roles include Papageno, Schaunard, Dancairo, Figaro and Sharpless. His work in films dubbing English to Italian includes Disney’s Aladdin and Hunchback of Notre Dame and numerous short subjects and cartoons.

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AIMS ORCHESTRA

Joseph Colaneri, Conductor
Maestro Colaneri is a graduate of New York U and holds the MM degree from Westminster Choir College. His multi-faceted career includes conductor of opera, oratorio and symphonic works, educator and lecturer. Now in his ninth season on the conducting roster of the Metropolitan Opera, Colaneri concurrently serves as Artistic Director of the Opera Program at Mannes College of Music in New York City. Joseph Colaneri made his conducting debut at the Met with La bohème in 2000. The repertoire he has conducted at the Met includes: Luisa Miller in the season of 2001-02, Turandot (Met in the Parks performances) in 2002-03, L‘Italiana in Algeri with Olga Borodina in 2003-04, Nabucco, featuring Maria Guleghina in 2004-05 and Nabucco with Andrea Gruber in the Parks performances in the summer of 2004, Falstaff with Bryn Terfel in the title role in 2005, Il trittico in 2006-07, La Fille du Régiment with Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez and Lucia di Lammermoor with Miss Dessay in the title role in 2007-08. Maestro Colaneri has been associated with Met productions of Aida, A Midsummer Night‘s Dream, Andrea Chénier, Arabella, Don Carlo, Don Giovanni, Falstaff, Il barbieri di Siviglia, I Vespri Siciliani, La bohème, L‘Italiana in Algeri, La Juive, Les Dialogues des Carmélites, Lucia di Lammermoor, Madama Butterfly, Mefistophele, Nabucco, Otello, Das Rheingold, Rigoletto, La traviata, Il Trovatore, Un Ballo in Maschera and Werther in prior seasons. He has also conducted the Tokyo Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, the 2004 Richard Tucker Gala at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Prior to joining the Met, Colaneri was associated with the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center for 15 years. In 1994, he was honored with the company’s Julius Rudel Award. He made his conducting debut at Portland (Oregon) Opera and returns each season to conduct since his debut. Since 2005-06, he has conducted productions at the West Australian Opera. While at the New York City Opera, Maestro Colaneri also served as Music Director of the New York City Opera National Company. He also has appeared at Chautauqua Opera and with Western Opera Theater, conducting their tours throughout the United States. He is a frequent speaker on opera, for example, his annual series of Saturday Opera Seminars at New York U where he is a guest lecturer, and at Mannes College of Music. Maestro Colaneri is particularly interested in preparing and guiding young vocalists in the early years of their professional careers. He frequently gives master classes with apprentices at companies such as Opera North and Chautauqua Opera and presents an annual opera scenes program at the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse in New York.
The recipient of the 1994 Distinguished Alumni Award from Westminster Choir College, his early years as a professional musician was as an organist and choral conductor. He made his opera debut as Chorus Master of the New Jersey State Opera, and continued his choral-conducting career as Chorus Master of the New York City Opera from 1983 to 1996, where he prepared choruses for over 100 New York City Opera productions. At the Berkshire Choral Festival he has had many re-engagements since his debut in 1995. He has appeared previously as a guest conductor at AIMS through his friendship with AIMS’ founders Irma Cooper and Nora Sands.

Alexander Kalajdzic, Conductor
Formerly resident conductor of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the German National Theatre in Weimar, and recently resident conductor, National Theater, Mannheim, Maestro Kalajdzic is now General Music Director at the National Theater in Bielefeld, Germany. Born in Croatia, he is a popular guest conductor with the Zagreb Philharmonic and Croatian National Opera and with orchestras in Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Belgium. Guest performances have taken him to the United States and Mexico. In South Africa, he is the permanent guest conductor of the Cape Town Philharmonic. From 1985 to 1990, he was a coach with conducting duties with the United Municipal Theater Krefeld and Mõnchengladbach. He studied at the University for Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna completing studies in conducting, piano and viola. He is also in demand as a chamber music pianist and accompaniest. Kalajdzic has been a frequent guest conductor at AIMS in recent years.

Edoardo Mueller,  Conductor
Maestro Mueller has conducted at all the major opera houses in the world: La Scala (opera, concert and ballet), Rome, Bologna, Venice, Naples, Bari, Catania, Genoa, Verona, Tokyo, Paris, Barcelona, Munich, Wiesbaden, Nice, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Caracas, Basil, Linz, Santiago, San Juan, Seattle, Washington, Pittsburgh, Dallas, San Diego, The Metropolitan Opera. He also was recital accompanist for Tebaldi, Carreras, Bergonzi, Obrazotva, Caballé, Ricciarelli, and Bruson; a member of the Conducting faculty at Milano Conservatory; Director of the La Scala Young Artists Program; has given Master Classes at Curtis Institute, DePaul U, Metropolitan Opera Studio, Gent, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Tel Aviv, AIMS; and founded the Alessandria Laboratory for Singers, Conductors, and Directors. Recently featured in Classical Singer magazine, "Conductor Edoardo Mueller: A Singer's Best Friend". Quote: "Edoardo Mueller loves singers. When you are on stage, he smiles at you as if you can do no wrong - and suddenly, he's right! Your voice floats out like never before and he beams his pleasure!"

Gerrit Priessnitz,  Conductor
A native of Bonn, Germany, Gerrit Priessnitz studied orchestral and choral conducting with Dennis Russell Davies and Karl Kamper at the Mozarteum Salzburg where he received two Master of Art degrees (cum laude). He also took part in master classes with Claus Peter Flor and Kenneth Montgomery, and received scholarships from the European ERASMUS program and the Austrian Ministry for Culture. He was a recipient of the Paumgartner Medal of the Int"l Foundation Mozarteum. Currently, he works at the Volksoper Vienna where he conducts a wide range of repertory, e.g. Ariadne auf Naxos, Der Freischuetz, Rusalka, the premiere of Ernst Krenek"s Kehraus um St. Stephan, La Bohème, Tosca, Carmen, L"heure espagnole, Le nozze di Figaro, The Magic Flute, The Nutcracker and others. From 2001-6, he served as Staff Conductor and Head of Music for Theatre Erfurt (Germany). There he also conducted major parts of the company"s repertory including Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, Lehár, Mozart, Philip Glass, and a number of subscription concerts of the Erfurt Philharmonic Orchestra. He also was assistant conductor to Dennis Russell Davies at Het Muziektheater-Amsterdam and to John Axelrod at the Bregenz Festival. Since 2009, he is the Artistic Director of the Vienna Academic Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he performs at the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Musikverein, concentrating mainly on romantic repertory.
He has served as guest conductor at Opera Cologne, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Musikverein Vienna (Volksoper Symphony Orchestra), the Bruckner Orchestra (Linz), Theatre Lucerne, the Jena Philharmonic, Bulgarian State Opera-Ruse and the Tonkuenstler Orchestra of Lower Austria. He is a regular guest in Japan, conducting at the Aichi Arts Center and the Shirakawa Hall-Nagoya. Upcoming engagements include the Philharmonic Orchestra of South Westfalia, Slovene National Theatre-Maribor and Northwest-German Philharmonic-Herford.

Igor Yuzefovich, Concertmaster
Currently Ass't Concertmaster of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Concertmaster of the Lancaster (PA) Symphony, Mr. Yuzefovich began his violin studies at the Gnessin Music School (Moscow) where he studied with Irina Svetlova. Since 1991, he has resided in the United States where he studied with Jody Gatwood, Leri Slutsky and Victor Danchenko. Winner of numerous competitions, Yuzefovich has performed in many countries; from Carnegie Hall to the Cairo (Egypt) Opera House and in cities across the USA, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Russia, Italy, France, Austria, Israel, Jordan and South Africa. An active chamber musician, he was a prizewinner at the 1996 Fischoff Int´l Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Russia Quartet. In 2004, he co-founded the Monument Piano Trio, which debuted to critical acclaim in Baltimore. Mr. Yuzefovich is in high demand as a master class presenter and guest concertmaster. His web site is www.igory.net.

Igor Yuzefovich Concertmaster	David DiGiacobbe Flute/Orchestra Manager Harrisburg (PA) Symphony Orchestra	Mimi McShane Cello/Lower Strings Coordinator Dallas Symphony Orchestra

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ADMINISTRATION

Andrea Huber, Soprano
Artistic Director

See bio under Audition Training.

Henry Sauls, MD, Director, Operations and Finance; Treasurer, AIMS Board of Directors; AIMS Medical Advisor 1995-present.
Dr. Sauls' career included academic pediatrics and research at the U of Minnesota Medical School and directing medical research in nutrition and pharmaceuticals at Abbott Laboratories. Now retired, he lives in Sarasota FL and works for AIMS as a volunteer responsible for the operation of AIMS in both the USA and Graz. Classical music has been his avocation since his first piano lessons at age five.

Sarah Schumann-Halley, Mezzosoprano, Administrative Director
BA, U of Florida. Attended AIMS in 1977 and was engaged to sing with the Aachener Stadttheater in Germany, making her debut as Feodor in Boris Godunov. Remained in Germany for five seasons before returning to the U.S. where she has performed in numerous concerts, recitals, oratorios and operatic presentations. Has appeared frequently with Greater Miami Opera, Kansas City Chamber Soloists, Orquestra Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico, Kansas City Civic Orchestra and with the Conservatory Orchestra of the U of Missouri-Kansas City. Can also be heard as Amastre in a recording of Handel‘s Xerxes with the Polish Chamber Orchestra. Performs frequent recitals with her husband, bass Gustavo Halley, including an appearance in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Barbara von Künsberg-Sarre, Executive Director in Graz
JD, U of Cincinnati. Dr. von Künsberg represents AIMS in Graz, makes all of the arrangements for teaching, housing and concert facilities, raises money to support the concert series and generally ensures AIMS in Graz takes place as planned every summer. She is a native of Salzburg and has lived in France, Brazil and the USA.

Natasha Ospina Simmons, Administrative Services-Bursar
MM (Baylor U) and Artist Diploma (Cleveland Institute of Music-CIM). Currently on the voice faculty at The Music Settlement in Cleveland OH, Natasha also works in the enrollment and business office for the school. She recently sang her first Fiordiligi with the Duke Symphony orchestra. Last summer, she was at Central City Opera for a second season as an apprentice artist, where she performed in Handel's Rinaldo (Almirena/Sirene) and Mollicone's Face on the Barroom Floor. Ms Ospinas' other recent engagements include Sandman and Dew Fairy (Hansel und Gretel) for Opera Cleveland, Mrs Hayes (Susannah), and Isabelle/Madeline (Face on the Barroom Floor) for Central City Opera. Other roles include Pamina, The Marschallin, Violetta, Mimi, Ma'dame Goldentrill (The Impresario), Jenny Lind in Libby Larsen's Barnum's Bird, Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Elisetta (The Secret Marriage) and Angelica (Suor Angelica). Ms Ospina also frequently performs in musicals, recitals, oratorios, and symphonic works, including a performance with the CIM orchestra at Severance Hall.

Theresa Ruperd, Administrative Services-Housing & Programs
Housing, Concert program production and Assistant to Administrative Director. BA (flute performance) and BA (English literature) U of Missouri-Kansas City. At the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, MO, Theresa is the director of the Men‘s Chant Choir and sings with Schola Cantorum, the 12-voice professional ensemble singing mostly early sacred a cappella music. Additionally at the Cathedral, she is a cantor and sings with the Principal Choir, Women‘s Ensemble, and the Ecclesia Contemporary Ensemble. As a professional flutist, Theresa has played at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Kansas City, KS for over 15 years and has been a private instructor/coach for over 20 years. Theresa has many years of experience in arts management and print music sales in Kansas City. She has worked for AIMS in Kansas City since September 2008.

Deniray Mueller,  Administrative Assistant
Deniray returns as Assistant to the Artistic Director, assisting in planning, printing and scheduling programs on Monday and Wednesday evenings, master classes, agents, etc. She holds degrees from The Ohio State University (medical technology) and Georgia State U (laboratory management). Currently, she is Assistant for Public Policy for the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, and Executive Director Of the Metropolitan Area Church Council in Columbus, OH. Soprano soloist and choir member in oratorio and liturgical choirs for many years, including two tours of Europe with a church and professional choir. Performed under conductors/composers John Rutter, Robert Page, John Cage, Robert Shaw, William Matthias, and Alice Parker.

Kimberly Anderson,  Info Desk
Kimberly performs and teaches cello in Las Vegas NV. At AIMS she has the important function of providing answers to your questions at the Info Desk.

Arlan Doughty,  General Music Librarian
Arlan has a BA degree in music education from North Carolina Wesleyan College and formerly was an administrative assistant with the Sarasota Orchestra. He currently resides in Sarasota FL.

Antonia Zangger, Soprano, Administrative Services
In June, Antonia finished her studies for a voice degree in early music at the Johann-Joseph-Fux-Conservatory in Graz. In February, she received the BA degree in Applied Musicology from Alpen-Adria-University in Klagenfurt. Her AIMS responsibilities are to write program notes and press releases for the concerts in Graz.

Brian Bridges Assistant to Director of Operations Shreveport LA	Charlie Thomas Assistant to Director of Operations Winston-Salem NC	Charles Thomas Assistant to Director of Operations Winston-Salem NC

The American Institute of Musical Studies is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and admits students of any sex, race, color and national or ethnic origin to its programs and is non-discriminatory in its hiring of faculty and staff, and in administering its scholarship programs.

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