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AIMS proudly presents the Faculty and Staff for AIMS in Graz 2010.
Please see Biographies of presenters of Master Classes on the Special Events page.
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.
Stefano Algieri, Tenor
BMus, MMus, Manhattan School of Music; Assoc Prof of Voice, McGill U Schulich School of Music since 2003.
Mr. Algieri has sung major tenor roles with the leading opera companies, symphonies, conductors and directors in North America and
Europe. His North American operatic debut was in the first Festival of the Two Worlds in 1977 in Charleston, SC. His European debut
was in Bielefeld (Germany) in 1984; from there he went on to sing with the leading opera companies of Europe - Berlin, Vienna, Paris,
Amsterdam, Barcelona, Prague, Bonn, Leipzig, Essen, Hanover, Glasgow, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Strasbourg, Lyon and Nantes. In 1999, he joined
the Metropolitan Opera. He also has sung with the Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), New York City Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Opéra de
Québec, Opera Pacific, and the opera companies of Pittsburgh, Austin, Sacramento, Manitoba and Edmonton.
His repertoire extends from the lyric to the dramatic in many languages - Italian, German, French, English, Russian, Czech, Swedish and
Bulgarian. His roles include Bellini, Donizetti, Mozart, Verdi and Puccini, and most of the major spinto/dramatic roles including Don Alvaro,
Radames, Gustav III, Manrico, Don Carlo, Andrea Chénier, Don José, Pollione, Des Grieux, Calaf, Canio and Turridu. From there Mr. Algieri
went on to sing the dramatic/helden repertoire of Tristan, Otello, Siegmund, Bacchus, Johann von Leyden, and Lohengrin.
With his operatic career taking him to the leading houses of the world, Algieri sang with many distinguished singers, conductors and stage directors.
He also has performed extensively on the concert and recital stage. His song repertoire includes the works of Schubert,
Schumann, Bellini, Beethoven, Sibelius, Duparc, Debussy, Fauré and Strauss. He can be heard in recordings of Aida, Norma and La Forza
del Destino with the BBC, and Don Carlo (French) with the CBC.
Many of Mr. Algieri’s voice student’s have won regional and national vocal competitions in North America and Europe, and have sung in
major opera houses and in young artist programs. He has taught voice in the US, Canada, Japan, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland,
France, Finland, Denmark, Israel, Austria, and Holland, and is an internationally recognized adjudicator of voice competitions and
teacher of master classes in North America, Europe and Asia.
Alfonse Anderson, Tenor
BA, MA, Texas Southern U; DMA, U of Arizona. Assoc Professor of Voice and Coordinator of Vocal Studies, U of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Has performed for over 30 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-3. Has taught voice for over 20 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.
Lynn Blaser, Soprano
BA in Psychology (York U), Diploma in Operatic Performance (Toronto) and ARCT (Solo Performer-Voice). Blaser's principal voice studies
were with Patricia Kern (Toronto), Daniel Ferro (New York), Bernard Diamant (Toronto) and also with Gina Cigna (Milan & Venice). The
recipient of several grants from the Canada Council, she worked with Tito Gobbi (Italian repertoire), Marguerite Meyerowitz, Re Koster
(French style) and other noted coaches in Europe and the US. At home in many languages and styles of music, she is known as an affecting
visual and vocal actress.
In opera, she has performed leading roles with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto and on tour in the US and Canada, Opera Hamilton, Opera
in Concert, Calgary Opera, Guelph Spring Festival, CBC-TV and The Bermuda Festival, et al. Her appearances as soloist with symphonies and
choirs in Canada include The Toronto Symphony and Mendelssohn Choir, Orchestra London, Ottawa Choral Society and Symphony Nova Scotia; and in
the US at Cleveland's Berea Bach Festival. In recital, she has sung in Berlin, Paris, London, Milan, many cities in Canada and was presented
on a concert tour of France for Jeunesses Musicales de France. The distinguished conductor Margaret Hillis chose her for the Dame Myra Hess
recitals in Chicago, which were broadcast in the US.
Since 1990, Blaser has combined her performing career with teaching Voice and Music Education at the University of Toronto, as a festival
and competition adjudicator and Master Class teacher for choirs and soloists. She is a Senior Voice Examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music,
was Voice Coach for the Ontario Youth Choir for 8 years, and currently is the NATS District Governor for Ontario. Many of her students pursue
advanced degrees at foreign universities (Indiana, Manhattan, Mannes, Manchester UK, Vienna and the New England Conservatory) and perform in
opera, oratorio and on the concert stages of the world.
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.
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.
Jonathan Retzlaff, Lyric baritone
BM, Millikin U; MM, Wichita State U; DMA in performance, Arizona State U.
Currently, Assoc Prof of Voice and Chair of the Voice Department, Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt U. He has presented over
100 performances and master classes in 25 states and Europe. Following his New York debut recital French Mélodie at Carnegie
Recital Hall in 1986, he championed the art of the song recital singing in a number of prestigious concert series: The National
Gallery of Art and Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, the A. I. Lack Music Master Series in Houston, the Bechstein Recital
Series in Santa Fe, the Community Concert Series (Columbia Artists), National Public Radio, and at many colleges and universities.
A semi-finalist in both the Elly Ameling Lied Concours in The Hague, The Netherlands and the Walter W. Naumburg Vocal Competition,
Retzlaff has also performed operatic roles and concert repertoire. Roles include Il Conte, Eisenstein, Guglielmo, Paquillo
(La Perichole, and Fredrik (A Little Night Music), among others. His orchestral repertoire includes the Brahms Requiem,
Vaughan Williams Hodie, Bach's St. John Passion, Fauré Requiem, Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio and Debussy
Trois Ballade de François Villon. His students have garnered national recognition singing with Central City Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera,
Berkshire Opera, Sarasota Opera, Texas Chamber Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Astoria Music Festival, Austin Light Opera and the Lincoln Center Summer
Music Festival. He has served as an adjudicator for the NATS Artist Awards, the MTNA Collegiate Artist Competition, the MET Opera Council
Auditions and Tennessee Governor of NATS and is a member of MTNA. He has taught at AIMS frequently.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nathalie Doucet-Lalkens, Opera Coach
After receiving degrees from the Université de Moncton and the Université de Montréal (solo performance), Doucet-Lalkens focused
on the collaborative arts and vocal coaching. She has held positions at McGill U (staff coach/accompanist in the opera department), Des Moines
Metro Opera (Music Director, Opera Iowa), Orlando Opera (Young Artist Program Director, Orlando Youth Opera Director, Repetitor), U of
Tennessee (Faculty Coach) and Knoxville Opera Company (Principal Coach). Having toured France and Germany, Doucet-Lalkens also has been
on the faculty of summer programs in Oberaudorf, Germany (Music Theater Bavaria), in Graz, Austria (AIMS), and in Sulmona, Italy (Center
for Opera Studies in Italy). She has performed with such artists as Richard Margison, Cheryl Studer, Deloris Ziegler, Nathalie Paulin,
Catherine Robbin and Marc Hervieux, and has been featured in recitals for the Canadian Broadcast Company Radio, WUOT in Knoxville and
WMFE in Orlando. In 2005, she returned to Canada and worked in Toronto and Montreal with The Canadian Opera Company, Opéra de Montréal,
Opera in Concert, Toronto Operetta Theatre, Summer Opera Lyric Theatre, Musique pour tous-Musica per tutti, Opera York, Queen of Puddings
and Tapestry New Opera Works, and was a member of the faculty at York U and part-time faculty member at the U of Toronto.
Doucet-Lalkens presently lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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.
Vicki King, Pianist/Operetta Coach
BM (piano), Mississippi U for Women; MM (piano), Indiana U; Doctor of Arts
(piano pedagogy), U of Mississippi. Performer‘s Certificate (piano), Mozarteum (Salzburg). Studied piano in Cologne with
Pavel Gililov and harpsichord in Hamburg with Gisela Gumz. Was an opera coach and ballet accompanist for five years in
Germany and professional accompanist for singers and instrumentalists. Student at AIMS in 1980; has worked
on the staff since 1983 as an operetta coach and church music coordinator. In 1995, was one of 20 pianists from 10
countries to tour music conservatories in China, where she lectured on natural playing. Author of the book, Playing
the Piano Naturally (Conners Publications), and numerous articles in
Piano Guild Notes. Teaches piano at Tennessee State U (Nashville).
Presents workshops for piano teachers on "Playing the Piano Naturally" has made performance injuries
a lifetime project. With husband, tenor Thomas King, has performed all over the world.
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, 2004 and 2007.
Robert Mills, Opera Coach
Currently Asst Professor of Music and vocal coach and accompanist for Arizona State U‚s Lyric Opera. Holds degrees from
U of Maryland (BA in Music), Arizona State U (MM and DMA in Accompanying) and Brigham Young U (Juris Doctor and Master of Library
Science). Prior to joining ASU‚s faculty, he was assistant vocal coach and accompanist for Opera Institute at Boston U and
Coordinator of Piano Accompanying at Mesa Community College. In 2005,’06 and ’07, he was a repetitor/opera coach at AIMS.
Dr Mills has collaborated with vocal artists, technicians and composers such as Ingo Titze, Phyllis Curtain, Ariel Bybee and David
Conte in concert, workshop and master class settings and has performed with the Baltimore, Phoenix and Mesa symphony orchestras. He
is a frequent guest artist with the Phoenix Bach Choir and the Three Tenors of Mexico and maintains a busy schedule as coach/accompanist
in the Phoenix area.
John Mueter, Lieder Coach
John Mueter holds degrees in piano from the Hartt School of Music and in composition from Washington
State U in Pullman. He studied further with Kurt Bauer at the Nuremberg (Germany) Conservatory and
with Hermann Reutter at the State Academy of Music in Munich. He is currently on the faculty of the
University of Missouri Conservatory of Music (Kansas City) and has held faculty positions at the Hartt
School of Music, the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis), Kodaikanal International School in India and
Theatre International in Leysin, Switzerland. In addition to teaching and coaching, he performs approximately
twenty recitals a year. During the summer he on the teaching/performing staff of the Seagle Music Colony.
His compositions have been performed in many venues in the US and Europe, including Alice Tully Hall
and Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. In 2007 his one-act opera
Everlasting Universe premiered in Kansas City.
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.
Russell Young, Coach/Accompanist/Conductor
Currently, Assoc Professor of Opera and Musical Theater, Kennesaw State U and a vocal coach, accompanist, and conductor. BM (Music History), Baylor University;
MM (Piano Performance) U of Louisiana (Monroe), and DMA (Accompanying and Chamber Music), U of Miami. He has worked at Western Opera Theater (San Francisco)
and Stadtstheater in Darmstadt, Germany and has been associated with Florida Grand Opera and Gold Coast Opera. Has accompanied many notable artists: Kathleen Battle,
Barbara Bonney, Joy Davidson, Joseph Evans, Evelyn Lear, Helen Donath, Thomas Stewart, et al. He is co-director of Miami Chamber Ensemble, (vocal chamber music).
The group has performed nationally, at the national convention of NATS, and for the Nakamichi Concert Series in Boston Their CD was released in 2006 (Albany Label).
He recently conducted Elixir of Love for Amarillo Opera. Prior appointments include:Director of the coaching staff, Program Director and Conductor, Opera Theater,
at U of Miami (Coral Gables) where he premiered one-act operas of Thomas Sleeper and Luigi Mancinelli, Dr. Young has coached at AIMS in Graz, Austria,
the University of Miami in Salzburg program, and serves as Musical Director for "Solfest" - a summer opera seminar in Key West.
Dale Dreyfoos, Stage Director
Prof of Opera/Music Theater at Arizona State U and Resident Stage Director for Lyric Opera Theatre (ASU, Tempe), Dreyfoos has had
a multi-faceted career as a stage director, character tenor, actor, educator, and arts administrator. As a stage director, he has
directed productions of The Marriage Of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Cosi Fan Tutte, L’Elisir d’Amore, HMS Pinafore, The Secret Garden,
Turn of the Screw, Dido and Aeneas, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Coronation of Poppea, Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, Nunsense,
Susannah, La Serva Padrona, Hansel and Gretel, Don Pasquale, The Impresario, Riders to the Sea, Barber of Seville, Daughter of the
Regiment, Albert Herring, Gallantry, Die Fledermaus, Cinderella, and the world premiere of The Ransom of Red Chief for such companies
as Opera Carolina, Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Charleston Opera, Birmingham Civic Opera, Arizona Opera Education Tour, Milton
Center Series, and ASU’s Lyric Opera Theater and was assistant director for productions of La Cenerentola, The Mikado, Lucia Di
Lammermoor, La Boheme, and Don Pasquale with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Center for American Artists, Opera Carolina, Des Moines
Metro Opera, Birmingham Civic Opera and Mississippi Opera.
Mr. Dreyfoos began his performing career as a boy soprano soloist with the Atlanta Boy Choir, and appeared as a soloist in Mozart’s
Vesperae Solennes De Confessore with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony, as well as appearing in the French, Spanish, and Moroccan
premieres of Britten’s chamber opera The Golden Vanity. Dreyfoos’ specialty is character roles including Vespone in La Serva Padrona,
Ambrogio in Il Barbiere Di Siviglia, Goro in Madama Butterfly, Frosch and Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus, Senex in A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum, Henry in The Fantasticks, Herr Schultz in Cabaret, King Sextimus in Once Upon a Mattress, Moonface Martin in
Anything Goes, Frisellino in Le Pescatrice, Njegus in The Merry Widow, Mozart in A Visit With Amadeus, Ben in The Telephone, the
Duchess of Krackenthorp in La Fille Du Regiment, Edna in Bye, Bye, Birdie, and Queen Elizabeth II in HMS Pinafore with such companies
as the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Arizona Opera, Opera Carolina, Haydn Festival (Eisenstadt, Austria), Birmingham Civic Opera, Mississippi
Opera, Newberry Opera, Charleston Opera, Shakespeare Sedona and ASU’s Lyric Opera Theatre. He has also appeared as the "Bargain
Countertenor Soloist" in P.D.Q. Bach’s The Seasons with the Alabama Symphony under the direction of Peter Schickele. He is the author
of two highly acclaimed educational music dramas, A Visit with Amadeus and A Visit with Mr. and Mrs. Bach, which have received over 2,000
performances in the United States. Dale has coached Stage Artistry at AIMS for many summers.
Karen Coe Miller, Stage Director
Ms. Miller developed a passion for working with the singing actor early in her
career while on staff at The Minnesota Opera (Minneapolis). She had a long association with the company, serving as a
stage director for the touring and education department and artistic associate for a department developed to create
new work. In 1992, she co-founded the New Music-Theater Ensemble (now Nautilus Music-Theater), a professional company
in St. Paul that supports the development and production of new operas. As co-artistic director for the Ensemble, she
produced five world premieres, directed seven productions, and served as producer, director, or dramaturg for over 30
sessions of work-in-progress. Ms. Miller has been committed to performer training throughout her career. She directed
professional apprentice programs for the Des Moines Metro Opera, Lyric Opera of Cleveland and Sarasota Opera. She has
presented performance workshops for universities around the country. Ms. Miller has been a staff director and instructor
for the Wesley Balk Opera/Music-Theater Institute since 1986. Her directing work has been seen at the Minnesota Opera
New Music-Theater Ensemble, Nautilus Music-Theater, The Southern Theater of Minneapolis, Geva Theatre Center of
Rochester, N.Y., Midwest Opera Theater (Minnesota Opera touring affiliate), Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble, North
Star Opera of St. Paul, Western Plains Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, Lyric Opera of Cleveland,
Northern Arizona U, Baylor U, the U of North Texas, and The Ohio State U, among others.
David Sannerud, Baritone and Stage Director
BM Pacific Lutheran U, MM Yale U and DMA U of Arizona. Dr Sannerud is Assoc Prof of Music at California State U, Northridge and is coordinator
of the voice area. Hw teaches graduate and undergraduate studio voice, vocal technique class, German diction, and has served as stage director
for the CSUN Opera Theater. His voice students enjoy careers throughout the US and abroad, such as at LA Opera, and perform lead roles on Broadway.
Many have distinguished themselves in competitions, including The MET Auditions, Palm Springs Opera Competition, the
Bel Canto Competition and at NATS. They also have been selected to participate in prestigious young artist apprentice programs
such as at Los Angeles Opera, Orlando Opera, Des Moines Opera, St. Louis Opera Theater and Pittsburgh Opera Center. He has served as adjudicator
of MET Auditions, the Palm Springs Opera Competition, many NATS competitions, and the AIMS Meistersinger Competition and as a vocal/diction coach
for Sony Classical Recordings. His recital appearances include Los Angeles, New York, Munich and Toronto and he has sung
with symphonies such as the New Haven Symphony, the Norfolk Music Festival and the Flagstaff Symphony. He has performed with Connecticut Opera,
Glimmerglass Opera, the Pittsburgh Opera Center and Yale Opera. He has served as stage director for numerous professional and university operatic
productions, and for four seasons was stage director and producer of the operas at the Bear Valley Music Festival in northern California.
He has published in Ars Lyrica and his reviews of the Mozart operas at the Salzburg Festspiele in Salzburg, Austria appeared in
The Opera Journal. He also has served as a board member of the Los Angeles Chapter of NATS.
Please see Biographies of presenters in "Special Events" on this web site.
James Douglass, Director
Collaborative Piano Program
Piano Teacher
BM, MM (Piano Performance) U of Alabama (studied with Amanda Penick); DMA (Keyboard Collaborative Arts) U of
So. California (studied with Alan Smith). Served on faculties of Mississippi College, Occidental College (Los Angeles)
and at U of So. California as a collaborative pianist, coach, and instructor. In 2003, Asst Professor of Collaborative Piano
and director of the Collaborative Piano program at Middle Tennessee State U. Currently, faculty of the U of North Carolina-Greensboro as Asst Professor
of Collaborative Piano and Vocal Coach. Has performed in the US and Europe in the areas of chamber music, vocal arts, opera,
choral arts, musical theater, jazz, and cabaret.
Charlene Harb, 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.
Lisbeth Brittain Carter, Soprano
BM (Voice and Performance) Boston Conservatory (David Blair McClosky and Iride Pilla,
and diction and opera performance-John Moriarty). Won MET New England Regional Competition in 1972,
received a MET scholarship for voice study in London; then spent two summers as an
apprentice at Santa Fe Opera. In 1975, she attended AIMS, which led to a series of engagements
in the German speaking countries. From 1976 through 1986, Ms. Carter was resident lyric soubrette
with the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater der Stadt Bonn, and the
Dortmund Opera, where she performed over forty roles in opera and operetta. These included Sophie
(Der Rosenkavalier), Musetta, Zdenka, Micaela, Frau Fluth and Jungfrau Anna (Die Lustigen Weiber),
Marzellina and Papagena, among others. She made frequent guest performances with opera companies in Berlin,
Cologne, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Heidelberg and Ulm. Between 1980 and 1986 Ms. Carter performed at the Theater des
Westens in Berlin starring as Maria in West Side Story, Laurie in Oklahoma, Anna in Feuerwerk,
and in several operettas. More performances of West Side Story followed at the Zurich Opera and the
Volksoper in Vienna. She also appeared in summer festivals in Eutin, Germany, singing in Der Freischuetz,
The Bartered Bride, and Der Vogelhändler.
In 1986, Ms. Carter joined the Hamburg production of Cats, appearing as Jenny Anydots and Grizabella,
singing more than 600 performances, and worked as a voice coach for the cast. In 1998, she and her colleague,
Michael Dixon, performed a cabaret of Sondheim songs at the Macadam Theater in Hamburg. She was one of the creators
of a Musical Theater training program for the Stella Academy (Hamburg) and also taught in Hamburg, Paris and Vienna.
In 1990, Ms. Carter returned to the United States, appearing in Threepenny Opera as Pirate Jenny with
the Triangle Opera Theater. She received her Master of Music in Performance and Pedagogy from Meredith College in 1994,
and remained as Adj Prof of Voice and director of the Meredith College Opera Theater until 2003. Since 2002, she has
been on the faculty of Elon U and also has taught voice at the U of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She has given seminars
in musical theater in Berlin and twice in Graz. In 2005 and 2009, she was a faculty member at AIMS.
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. To visit Ms. Huber's website, click here.
Thomas King, Tenor, Co-Artistic Director
Dr. King holds degrees from U of Kansas, Indiana U, the Mozarteum-Salzburg, and the U of Mississippi. Currently, Prof of Voice at Austin Peay State U (Clarksville TN).
After attending AIMS in 1980, he sang professionally in Germany for five years, performing over 400 times on various opera house stages. Among his roles were
Pedrillo (Abduction from the Seraglio), Beppo (I Pagliacci), the Witch (Hansel and Gretel), Rosillon (The Merry Widow), Eisenstein
(Die Fledermaus), the Conferencier (Cabaret) and many other operetta roles. He has performed in six world premiere operas, two of which were written
especially for him. In 2005, he portrayed Chopin in the world premiere of George Sand...and Chopin? He is active as soloist in Messiah, Creation,
and Bach's Magnificat. Dr. King has sung recitals in over twenty states and in Germany and Austria. He has taught Audition Training every
summer for over 25 years at AIMS and is now AIMS' Artistic Director and a member of the AIMS Board of Directors.
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.
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).
John Lalande
Dr. Lalande has taught German at universities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Missouri and Illinois and is now Professor and Chair of the
Department of Modern Languages and Literature at State U of NY in Oswego. He has authored dozens of books, booklets, book chapters, articles
and reviews. He is an author of the leading German textbook Deutsch heute published by Houghton Miflin. He was a translator of German
for the U.S. Army following his BA in German (cum laude) at NY State U-Oswego. Subsequently, he received an MA and PhD in German from
Pennsylvania State U. Dr. Lalande has taught at AIMS in Graz frequently since 1987.
Rebecca Thomas
BA and MA in German from UCLA; PhD, Ohio State U (was Editorial/Administrative Assistant to the Editor of German Quarterly at OSU);
Distinguished Student Award, UCLA; 1982 Sister City Scholarship Award to Freie Universität Berlin. Currently Associate Professor of German,
Wake Forest U in Winston-Salem, NC, where she teaches all levels of German language, literature and culture. She has directed the
study abroad program for Wake Forest in Vienna Austria, and has been a frequent instructor for AIMS in Graz since 1988. She has published
numerous articles on contemporary Austrian literature and culture,and is currently working on a book on Austrian literature and politics
since 1986.
GERMAN DICTION
Isolde Haas
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 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
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.
Nina Radtke
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.
ITALIAN and FRENCH DICTION
Carolyna Cotchett, Soprano
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. Degrees in Romance
Languages from (the former) Womans College of UNC and Johns Hopkins U. A professional translator and
language consultant, she now lives and works in a restored farmhouse in Tuscany.
Additional private Italian and French Diction coaching will be offered by Prof. Stefano Algieri and Italian Diction coaching by James Farah.
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 also appeared as a guest conductor at AIMS through is friendship with AIMS’ founders Irma Cooper and Nora Sands.
Michael Dixon, Conductor
Biographical information to be published.
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 Meuller, 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 Müller: 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!"
Yuriy Bekker, Concertmaster
BM and MM at Indiana U where he studied violin with Nelli Shkolnikova and Ilya Kaler and chamber music
with Atar Arad, Emile Naoumoff, and Janos Starker. GPD at Peabody Conservatory where he studied with
Herbert Greenberg. He has served as Principal 2nd violin Indiana U Chamber Orchestra, Bloomington
Camerata and Indiana Festival Orchestra; Asst. Concertmaster European Music Festival (Stuttgart),
Spoleto Festival Orchestra USA. Aspen Festival Orchestra; and Concertmaster Manhattan Virtuosi Orchestra,
Ensemble du Monde (New York), Peabody Symphony and is the newly appointed concertmaster of the Charleston
(SC) Symphony. Bekker has participated in other festivals such as Sösterberg (Holland), Interharmony
(Switzerland), Pacific Music Festival (Japan), and has played with other orchestras such as Louisville,
New World, Houston and Houston Grand Opera and Ballet. Bekker also is an active chamber musician.
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Yuriy Bekker
Concertmaster
Charleston (SC) Symphony Orchestra |
David DiGiacobbe
Flute/Orchestra Manager
Harrisburg (PA) Symphony Orchestra |
Mimi McShane
Cello/Lower Strings Coordinator
Dallas Symphony Orchestra |
Thomas King, Tenor
Co-Artistic Director and Dean; President, AIMS Board of Directors
(See bio under Audition Training)
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.
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 Graz and works for AIMS as a volunteer
responsible for the operation of AIMS in both the US and Graz. Music has been his avocation since 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.
Emil Las, Administrative Services
AIMS Bursar, computer support, bookkeeper, webmaster, concert program design and production, translator, Czech diction.
Emil taught middle school math and science and coached athletics in
the Czech Republic until 1992 when he moved to Austria. He has worked for AIMS since 2005.
Theresa Ruperd, Administrative Services:
Housing, Concert program production and Assistant to Administrative Director. Theresa is a singer and flutist. She teaches flute and has several years of experience in arts
management and music sales in Kansas City. She has worked for AIMS since September 2008.
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Brian Bridges
Assistant to Director of Operations
Shreveport LA |
Richard Gibson
Bass, Operations Manager
Kansas City MO |
Francesca Halley
Administrative Assistant
Kansas City MO |
Charles Thomas
Assistant to Director of Operations
Winston-Salem NC |
| The American Institute of Musical Studies 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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