VOICE TEACHERS
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 USA 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 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.
J. David Brock, Baritone, Voice Coordinator
BA, Abilene Christian U; MM, New England Conservatory of Music. Currently Asst Professor of Voice, 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 Boston,
Dallas, Abilene, and Stockton; Conductor and/or Music Director and/or Stage Director: 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, Die Fledermaus.
Shirley Close, Soprano
BA, Olivet Nazarene U; MM (Voice), U of So California. She was the recipient of the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fdn Award,
winner of the San Francisco Opera Regional Auditions, received an award from the Oratorio Society of NY, and was NATS
Singer of the Year (So California Chapter). Ms. Close is currently Assoc Prof of Voice at Florida State U (Tallahassee)
and previously held the same position at the Greatbatch School of Music, Houghton College (NY). She has performed operatic,
concert and oratorio repertoire in Europe,
America and Asia such as at the Bavarian State Opera, the Cologne Opera, the Bayreuth Festival, the National Theater of Mannheim,
Opera du Rhin (Strasbourg), Opera de Nantes, Opera de Nice, the opera companies of Washington, Dallas, Atlanta among others.
She covered Isolde at Seattle Opera, Brünnhilde at Chicago Lyric Opera, Kostelnicka (Jenufa) at San Francisco Opera and at the
Saito Kinen Festival in Japan (Ozawa). Additional roles she has performed include Kundry, Ortrud, Tosca, Elizabeth, Venus and
Santuzza. She has sung under renowned conductors such as Ricardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Wolfgang Sawallisch, James Conlon,
Pinchas Steinberg, Michel Plasson, John Nelson, Dennis Russell Davies, Julius Rudel, Michael Gielen, and David Atherton. She has sung
the oratorio repertoire with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Bonn Philharmonic,
Indianapolis Symphony, Rheinland Pfalz Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic and Stuttgart Philharmonic. She has performed many times both at
Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center. She sang at the 1994 Biennale in Munich, premiering a work by Hans Werner Henze. In 2003, she was
the recipient of the Maggie Sloan Crawford Award given by Olivet Nazarene U to women who have excelled professionally and who are role
models to young women. Other recipients include Sandra Day O‘Connor and Elizabeth Dole.
Leneida Crawford, Mezzo-soprano
Dr Crawford is Assoc Prof of Voice at Towson U (Baltimore), and asst chairperson
of the Department of Music. She teaches applied voice, vocal diction, vocal
literature and pedagogy and is the asst director for the opera workshop. A well-known soloist in both oratorio
and recital venues, she has championed American music, especially the American Art Song, through concerts in
Beijing and Shanghai, China, Vienna and Mürzzuschlag, Austria, Mexico City and throughout the USA.
She has appeared as soloist at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (Baltimore) with Baltimore Choral Arts Society, at Kennedy
Center (Washington, DC) with The Paul Hill Chorale, with the Washington Oratorio Society and The Choral Arts Society
of Washington DC, with the National Chorale at Avery Fisher Hall and at Alice Tulley Hall and Carnegie Hall (New York).
She has performed with the Fairfax (VA) Symphony, the Handel Choir of Baltimore, the Virginia Chamber Orchestra, the
Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the Cayuga Chamber Symphony. Her opera credits
include Santa Fe Opera, Des Moines Opera and others. Dr. Crawford has recorded on the Albany and VOX labels
and has appeared on CBS and PBS. Her voice was described in a San Francisco Chronicle review as "a fine-grained
mezzo-soprano of remarkable agility with viola-like colors."
Linda DiFiore, Mezzo soprano
DMA (Voice Performance), U of Minnesota. She is Regents Prof of Voice at U of North Texas since 1996;
was Professor of Voice at U of Florida for 14 years. While there, she twice received Teacher of the Year Award
for the College of Fine Arts, and a Teaching Incentive Program Award from the U of Florida. She has presented master
classes at Voice Centre in Toronto, Conservatory of Music (San Juan PR), Steffani Conservatory (Castelfranco-Veneto, Italy),
U of British Columbia (Vancouver), Eastman School of Music, Fort Worth Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Seagle Arts Colony,
Kansas City Lyric Opera and Orlando Opera. In 2004, Dr. Di Fiore was a Master Teacher in the NATS Intern Program in Colorado.
She served as Visiting Prof of Voice at Eastman School of Music in 2005. She has taught in summer programs in Rome, Venice,
Casalmaggiore, Italy and Innsbruck, Austria. At the U of North Texas she received the Citation for Distinguished Service to
Int´l Education and the President´s Council Teaching Award.
Dr. Di Fiore´s professional performances include opera, oratorio, recital and musical theatre performing with
the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Bach Aria Festival (New York City), Orlando Opera,
Pensacola Oratorio Society, Wichita Opera, Music Theatre of Wichita, Winter Haven Messiah Society, North Florida Arts Opera Series,
Longview Opera, Orchestra of New Spain, Arlington Choral Society, Richardson Symphony, San Angelo Symphony and the Da Ponte String
Quartet. An active song recitalist, she has performed in Innsbruck, Rome, Venice, Cremona, Mantua, Castelfranco-Veneto and San Juan PR;
and in the U.S. in Santa Barbara, St. Petersburg, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Washington, DC. She has toured
England and Scotland as an oratorio soloist and has lectured for the Smithsonian with its music festival tour to Vienna and Prague.
Her students have participated in prestigious summer programs in the U.S. including Wolf Trap, Santa Fe, Chautauqua,
Central City, Aspen, Opera North, Ashlawn-Highland, Des Moines Metro, Brevard, Opera in the Ozarks and Seagle Fine Arts Colony, and have participated
in Young Artist Programs, including The Met, Fort Worth, El Paso, Kentucky and Utah opera companies, and have sung
roles in major opera houses in the U.S. They also have won or placed in competitions such as The Met Opera Auditions, Dallas Opera
Guild, El Paso Opera Guild, Palm Beach Opera, Birmingham Opera, Bel Canto, MTNA and NATSAA.
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.
Galina Pisarenko, Soprano
Currently Prof of Voice at Moscow State Conservatory of Music, Prof Pisarenko is President of the Moscow Mozart Society
and member of the jury at many int´l vocal competitions, including the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
She is active as a master class teacher in Russia, Poland, Ecuador, USA, Greece, South Korea, Iceland and Japan.
Prof Pisarenko taught at AIMS in 2002,‘03, ‘05 and ‘07. Her distinguished and active career in opera, chamber music
and recitals included extensive performing experience in Russia, Finland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, USA, Italy, France,
Ecuador, Greece, Japan, Australia, Germany and South Korea. She prepared several programs with the world-renown pianist,
Sviatoslav Richter (Grieg, Britten, Szymanowski, Methner) and appeared with him in Russia, France, Poland and Germany from 1980
until the death of Richter in 1997, and at the annual Sviatoslav Richter music
festival,"December Nights". Her roles in opera include: Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Iolanthe (Iolanthe),
Manon (Manon), Mimi and Musetta (La Boheme), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Suzanne (Le Nozze di
Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Micaela (Carmen) and Governess in
Britten‘s The Turn of the Screw. For seven years, she appeared with Komische Oper (Berlin) in
Felsenstein‘s Carmen (Micaela).
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 orchestral repertoire. 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, among
others. 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.
Dean Southern, Lyric Baritone
Voice teacher and Special Lecturer,
Henry Pleasants Lecture Series,
"Vocal Artistry Through the Centuries"
Keeper of the Historic Singers Audio Library.
BA, Luther College; MM (voice), U of Akron; MM (piano), U of Missouri; DMA (ABD) Cleveland Institute of Music. Currently Professor of Voice, Cleveland Institute of Music. Previously, Visiting Asst Prof of Voice and stage director of opera, U of Miami Frost School of Music (Coral Gables FL).. 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 (Le nozze di Figaro),
Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), 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 for Singers and performed on two tours throughout the Southwest. 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.
Deborah Williamson, Soprano
BM in vocal performance, Baylor U; MM in voice and Artist Diploma in opera, U of Cincinnati College-Conservatory; DMA, U of North Texas.
Currently, Assoc Prof of Voice at Baylor U.
Recent performances include Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, and Frasquita in Carmen with Lyric Opera
of Waco; Mendelssohn‘s Elijah and Barber‘s Knoxville Summer of 1915 with Baylor Symphony Orchestra and Choral Union; a concert of
Gershwin and Porter with Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, Christmas Medley with Waco Symphony Orchestra, Valencienne in The Merry
Widow with Longview Opera and The Three Hermits with The Opera Project in Dallas. She has received acclaim for the purity and
brilliance of her lyric voice coupled with a rare sense of involvement in her dramatic portrayals.
Williamson has appeared in concerts with The Little Orchestra Society in New York at Lincoln Center, as Christine in the Phantom of
the Opera European tour and the World Premiere of Kalmanoff and Lewis‘ Insect Comedy: The World We Live In for the Center for
Contemporary Opera in NYC; as Alexandra in Regina and Frasquita in Carmen with Des Moines Opera, Nannetta in
Falstaff and Frasquita in Carmen with Central City Opera, Frasquita in Carmen, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and Alice in Count
Ory with Chautauqua Opera. She has sung principal roles in Die Zauberflöte and Der Rosenkavalier with Opera Columbus and The
Gondoliers and Offenbach‘s The Island of Tulipatan with Columbus Light Opera, Valencienne in The Merry Widow with Abilene Opera
and Die Fledermaus with West Virginia Symphony. Her performances of Monica in The Medium and the title role of Huston‘s The Blind Girl
were telecast on PBS-Cincinnati.
On the concert stage she has performed the works of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Barber, Poulenc and Rossini. She has
sung with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops and toured Europe as soloist with the Cincinnati May Festival Chorus. She
toured the southern U. S. as soloist in performances of James Syler‘s Storyville and has performed at the Brevard Music Festival,
Cleveland Art Song Festival, and with the Garland, Las Colinas, Waco, Southeastern Ohio and Northeast Texas symphony orchestras.
She is a noted interpreter of the works of French and American composers and recently appeared in recital in Graz (Austria),
Indiana, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas. She and Elvia Puccinelli have performed recitals together several times.
Awards and Honors include winner of the Met Southern Ohio District Auditions (1991), NATSAA Ohio Regional
Competition (1990), NATSAA North Texas District Competition (1998), the Winspear Music Scholarship (U of North Texas
- 1999), Corbett Fdn Award (1986-1989) and Concerto Competition at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
MUSICAL PREPARATION
Evangeline Noël-Glass, Soprano
Please see Biographies of presenters in "Special Events" on this web site.
ITALIAN and FRENCH DICTION Carolyna Cotchett, Soprano
David DiGiacobbe, Flute/Orchestra Manager Yuriy Bekker, Concertmaster Mimi McShane, Cello/Lower Strings Coordinator Thomas King, Tenor Robert Thieme, Co-Artistic Director and Dean of Students; Henry Sauls, M.D., Director of AIMS Operations (USA and Graz); Treasurer,
AIMS Board of Directors; Medical Advisor 1995-present. Sarah Schumann-Halley, Mezzo-soprano, Administrative Director 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: Bursar, Housing, Computer support, Webmaster, Concert program production, Czech diction. Emil taught middle school math and science and coached athletics in the Czech Republic until 1992 when he moved to Austria. Brian Bridges, Assistant to Director of Operations Tracy Brighty, Soprano, General Librarian Justin Fyala, Baritone, Operations Manager Kathy Kuczka, Administrative Assistant Severin Prassl, German Intern Manfred Stangl, Piano Technician Chuck Thomas, Assistant to Director of Operations 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.
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). Currently coach and accompanist for the voice division at Towson U and 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 (2005), 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 and conductor for the Annapolis Opera, Maryland Lyric Opera, Brevard Music Festival, Opera Americana (VA), the Washington Savoyards, Rep Stage and the Cumberland Valley (PA) Chamber Orchestra. From 1995 to 2004, she was director of Choral Activities at Hood College (Frederick, MD), collaborating annually with the US Naval Academy Glee Clubs in conducting Messiah; with Nathan Carter and the Morgan U Choir in 1998
conducting an all-Gershwin program; and with Towson U Choirs in 2004 conducting an all-Beethoven program. In 1999, she made her Lincoln
Center (NYC) debut conducting an all-Charles Loeffler program. Ms. Amato accompanied and
guest-conducted the Children‘s Chorus of Maryland, touring internationally, recording, and performing on television. She accompanies
the Annapolis Chorale, Goucher College Chorale, Johns Hopkins U Chorale, Baltimore Choral Arts, Baltimore Symphony Chorus, Baltimore Opera,
Young Audiences of Maryland KinderOper Theatre, Annapolis Opera and The Met competitions. Ms. Amato performed The Carnival of the Animals
with the Maryland Symphony in 2005.
She is featured as pianist on recordings, including Music I Heard With You, with mezzo Gwendolyn Lentz, Italian
Love Songs, with tenor Ray Hornblower, and Instruments of Peace, with the St. Thomas More Contemporary Music Ensemble.
She conducts the Hood College Choirs, US Naval Academy Glee Clubs, orchestra and soloists on The 50th
Anniversary Messiah, and A Dream Within a Dream, Chamber Music of Charles Loeffler (Koch Int‘l).
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, Jōrg 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 both
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/Pianist
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, has been heard on WGBH Radio (Boston). 
Nico De Villiers, Opera Coach
BM (Honours) in piano performance, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD).
He 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 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 mezzo-soprano Jane Irwin.
In collaboration with colleagues from RSAMD, Nico founded the De Villiers Ensemble and performed in Sweden and the UK. He is
also an asst faculty member at the Int‘l Music Academy in Pilsen, Czech Republic. He has performed for the Scottish
Executive, the 2005 Grieg Exhibition (Edinburgh), and at Ann Arbor Hill Auditorium and the U of Michigan Museum of Art. In
February 2007, he made his Kennedy Center debut in Washington DC at the 2007 Conservatory Project. Nico is now at The
Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) under a full tuition scholarship for the Master of Music Accompanist course.
Beaumont Glass, Opera Coach, Lecturer on Lieder Composers
Degree from US Naval Academy, further graduate studies at UC/Berkeley. Began professional career in opera in 1956 with the
Northwest Grand Opera in Seattle. Has been equally involved in the musical and dramatic sides of opera as coach and stage director.
Nineteen years as coach and eventually Studienleiter at the Züricher Opera. Coach and recital accompanist, Festival of
Aix-en-Provence. Stage director, Int‘l Opera Center, Zürich. Director of Opera at U of Iowa for 18 years; staged over 50
different operas in US and Europe, and accompanied Lieder recitals in the Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, and Holland Festivals
for such artists as Grace Bumbry, Martina Arroyo and Simon Estes. Was assistant to and biographer of Lotte Lehmann and
studio accompanist for Maggie Teyte. Has published complete song texts of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, and Strauss,
with word-for-word translations, IPA pronunciation, and commentary. His latest book, The Memoirs of an Opera Bug, was
published in 2006 by Leyerle Publications. Stage director of four productions for Maine Grand Opera, 2001-2004. In 2007, was stage
director of The Crucible and in 2008 of Carmen for Chamber Opera Chicago. Host of weekly opera program broadcast on WRFR, Rockland ME.
Studied opera and Lieder with Lotte Lehmann and Dusolina Giannini.
Operatic roles ranged from Musetta to Isolde, via the Figaro Countess, the
Marschallin, Nedda, Santuzza, Marguerite, Thaìs and Jenny, in opera houses of
Naples (San Carlo), Cologne, Brussels, Geneva, Zürich, Bern, and Koblenz. Sang
the role of “Vita Mondana” in the premiere of Rappresentazione di anima e di
corpo in the Salzburg Festival. Active as recitalist in the U.S. and Europe. Assists Prof
Glass as coach of Chamber Opera Chicago productions. The Glasses maintain a coaching studio and
give master classes at various universities. At AIMS they coach as a team.
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.
Jacqueline Konya, Opera Coach
Born in England, Ms. Konya studied piano with John Barstow at the Royal College of Music, London, while also attending
Else Mayer-Lismann’s Opera School for singers and coaches. Having worked as a coach on a production of Richard Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot
at the Jugendfestspiel in Bayreuth, Germany in 1972, she took a position as repetiteur at the Vereinigte Bühnen Krefeld-Mönchengladbach,
followed by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf) and the Gärtnerplatztheater (Munich). In 1981 she left Germany to become
the Studienleiter at the Graz Opera.
Six years later, she began a teaching career in the Opera School of the University of Music and Dramatic Arts, Graz,
her current position. While in Graz she has been involved in several productions of the summer festival, Styriarte, working as a pianist
and as musical assistant to Nikolaus Harnocourt. Besides her teaching activities she also coaches and performs with professional singers,
runs a madrigal group and performs chamber music. 
JoAnn Kulesza, Lieder Coach
BM, Western Michigan U; MM, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Currently, Music Director, Opera Program,
Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins U.; formerly on faculty of U of Connecticut Storrs and Hochschule Mozarteum,
Salzburg, Austria. At the Mozarteum she worked with Prof. Paul Schilhawsky, well-known lieder coach, and also with
Martin Katz. Throughout her career she has coached lieder and opera. She also has accompanied master classes given by Moser,
Walter Berry, Placido Domingo and Renata Scotto. Guest faculty residencies include: Auburn U, Birmingham Southern College,
Ohio U, College of New Jersey, SUNY Fredonia, Marywood College and Western Michigan U. She has worked with major opera
companies in Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Baltimore, Utah and at Wolf Trap. Conductor: Die Weisse Rose,
Mahagonny Songspiel, Three Penny Opera, The Reunion; Werther, L´Italiana in Algieri, Turn of the Screw and
Amahl and The Night Visitors. World Premieres: Clara (Robert Convery; U of Maryland) The Alien Corn (Thomas Benjamin; Peabody Opera Theatre),
The Yellow Wallpaper.
Also worked on Lorin Maazel´s Turn of the Screw production;
as ass´t conductor, Rape of Lucretia, Chateauville Chamber Opera Project (Maazel), as coach with Compania Lirica
Nacional (Costa Rica), as a Lieder and opera coach/conductor at Fairbanks (Alaska) Summer Arts Festival, ´06-´08,
and conductor for Arundel Vocal Arts Society. In 2004, she was honored with the Johns Hopkins U Alumni Association
Excellence in Teaching award. Upcoming engagements as vocal coach/conductor include Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival
(Orpheus in the Underworld), Opera Vivente (Albert Herring), American Opera Theatre (Le Tragedie de Carmen).
Robert Mills, Coach
BA in Music, U of Maryland; MM and DMA in Accompanying, Arizona State U, and JD, Brigham Young U. Currently,
ass’t professor of Music and vocal coach/accompanist, Arizona State U’s Lyric Opera; formerly, ass’t vocal
coach and accompanist, Opera Institute at Boston University. Dr. Mills has collaborated with vocal artists,
technicians and composers, e.g. Ingo Titze, Phyllis Curtain, Ariel Bybee, and David Conte, in concerts,
workshops and master classes and has performed with the Baltimore, Phoenix and Mesa symphony orchestras.
A frequent guest artist with the Phoenix Bach Choir and the Three Tenors of Mexico, he is in demand as a
coach/accompanist in the Phoenix area. Recently, Mills premiered vocal works by the composers David Conte
and Judith Cloud and will record new works by both Judith Cloud and Virko Baley. He has taught at AIMS
since 2005.
John Mueter, Lieder Coach
John Mueter holds degrees in piano from the Hartt School of Music and in composition from Washington State
University 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
(Schroon Lake, New York). His compositions have been performed in many venues in the United States and
Europe, including Alice Tully Hall and Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in
Washington D.C. In the fall of 2007 his one-act opera ��Everlasting Universe�� premiered in Kansas City.
Thomas Otten, Lieder Coach
BM (summa cum laude), U of Maryland (solo studies - Nelita True; vocal accompanying - Martin Katz); MM and DMA,
U of So California (piano studies - John Perry; vocal accompanying - Gwendolyn Koldofsky; chamber music studies - Gabor Rejto
and Donald McInnes; two-time winner of Podolsky Prize for outstanding keyboard performer. Additional training at Hochschule
für Musik (Munich): solo studies - Ludwig Hoffmann; Liederseminar - Erik Werba; Lieder coaching - Ernst Haefliger.
Dr. Otten has appeared at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall,
National Press Club, German Embassy, Munich Gasteig, Teatro Nacional Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and at the Chautauqua
and Brevard Summer Festivals. The New York Times hailed Otten as "an extremely original player who puts a formidable technique
at the service of his ideas."
He has collaborated with renowned chamber groups, such as the Miami and Vega String Quartets, and soloists such as violinists
Andres Cardenes and Richard Luby, baritones Gordon Hawkins and Hector Vasquez, tenor Stafford Wing, and sopranos Alessandra Marc,
Barbara Peters, Terry Rhodes and Ellen St. Thomas. He has received national and int´l prizes, including 1st prize in the
Joanna Hodges Int´l Piano Competition, the Palm Beach Invitational Int´l Piano Competition, the Int´l Masters Piano Competition,
and the USIA Artistic Ambassador Competition. Otten is in demand as a performer and clinician, giving recitals, master classes
and workshops throughout the U.S.
He has performed at the national conventions of the Conductors Guild, the National Federation
of Music Clubs, the World Piano Pedagogy Conference and the American Liszt Society.
His debut CD, Tristan und Isolde: Piano Transcriptions of Franz Liszt, has been released by MSR Classics.
He is currently Assoc Prof, U of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), where he teaches both solo and collaborative piano.
From 1997-2002, he was head of piano at Kent State U (Ohio), where he co-founded the Kent Piano Seminar and taught at the
Kent/Blossom Music Festival. His students have won competitions throughout the U.S. and abroad, and have received
scholarships for both solo and collaborative study at major universities. Also an accomplished baritone,
Dr. Otten has performed art song recitals on both coasts and the Midwest.
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. He was assistant 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.
Robert Thieme, Coach, Co-Artistic Director
At West Virginia U, Prof of Music, Director of the Opera Theatre and Coordinator of Vocal Studies.
Has worked as a collaborative artist with singers and instrumentalists in the US and
in Europe. Frequently performs as keyboardist with the Wheeling Symphony. Has worked with
the West Virginia and Corpus Christi Symphonies, and the Augusta, Chautauqua, Columbus and
Orlando Opera companies. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Opera
Association and currently the Editor of the NOA Opera Journal. He has been on the
faculty of AIMS since 1987 as Studienleiter, and since 2003 serves as Co-Artistic Director.
He also is a member of the AIMS Board of Directors.
Wei-Zhi Weng, Opera Coach
Studied conducting and piano at Central Conservatory (Peking), at U of So California
and at Indiana U. Was invited by Seiji Osawa and Leonard Bernstein to Tanglewood and to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute
to continue his conducting studies. Also worked with Herbert von Karajan from 1983 to 1989 in Berlin, Salzburg
and Vienna. Engaged as a coach and accompanist at various German theaters and opera houses including Dresden,
Frankfurt am Main, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Osnabrück, and the Kassel State Theater.
Has given solo performances at Theater Halberstadt, Braunschweig State Theater, with the Neubrandenburger Philharmonic
and at Carnegie Hall. Has conducted at numerous opera houses including Staatstheater Darmstadt (Falstaff), Landestheater
Stendal (Bartered Bride), Prague State Opera (Madame Butterfly and Die Walküre) and
Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin and with orchestras including Taiwan Symphony, Central Philharmonic Orchestra (China),
Hong Kong Philharmonic and Luxembourg Philharmonic. To visit his website click here.
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, Opera Coach
Currently, Assoc Professor of Opera and Musical Theater, Kennesaw State U and a vocal coach, accompanist, and conductor. BM (Music History)
Baylor U; 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 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 U of Miami
in Salzburg, and serves as Musical Director for "Solfest" - a summer opera seminar in Key West.
STAGE ARTISTRY
Dale Dreyfoos, Tenor
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 Company, 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 the 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 Company, 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. & Mrs. Bach, which have received over 2,000 performances in the U.S.
Dale has coached Stage Artistry at AIMS for many summers. 
Bodo Igesz, Stage Director
Born in Amsterdam, where he studied drama, musicology and stage direction.
In 1955, Igesz became assistant to Franco Zeffirelli at the Holland Festival.
In 1958, moved to New York for further study in stage direction at Juilliard
School of Music; appointed Asst Stage Director on the faculty in 1959. In 1960,
returned to Amsterdam as asst stage director for Netherlands Opera; also assisted
Goeran Gentele at Holland Festival. His career became international in scope with
positions at the Salzburg, Holland, and Edinburgh Festivals, and with numerous
productions in Europe and South America. He served 27 years as Staff Director at
The Metropolitan Opera (1963 until 1990). Recent engagements include productions at
Teatro de la Opera in San Juan, Teatro Teresa Carreno in Caracas, Austin Lyric Opera,
Greensboro Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Mississippi Opera and Music Academy of the
West, where he was Director of Opera from 1986 - 1990. He was appointed Artistic
Director of Greensboro Opera in 1994.
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.
SPECIAL EVENTS & MASTER CLASSES
PIANO
Lynn Rice-See, Piano Teacher
BM, Peabody Conservatory (Walter Hautzig); MM, Juilliard School
(Beveridge Webster); DMA, U of California (John Perry). From 1989-2005, she taught piano at East Tennessee State U
and currently is Prof of Piano at Middle Tennessee State U (Murfreesboro). She has worked as an opera coach in
Muenster and Essen (Germany) and at Michigan Opera and Dayton Opera in the U.S. Prior to this, she taught at Manhattan
School of Music and at William Carey College.
Dr. Rice-See debuted at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1982 and has appeared as recitalist, concert soloist and chamber
musician in the U.S. and Europe. She appeared three times with the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic)
and as a soloist with the symphony orchestras of Biloxi (MS), Huntsville (AL), Johnson City (TN) and Kingsport (TN).
In 1992, she was a recitalist in Brussels (Belgium) and her 1993 recital tour of Germany was sponsored by the
German-American Institute in Saarbrücken. She was a member of the Tennessee touring roster from 1991-1994.
Dr. Rice-See has two compact discs to her credit.
Charlene Harb, 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 2003-2006, Senior Lecturer, Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt U.
AUDITION TRAINING
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
Holds degrees from U of Kansas, Indiana U, the Mozarteum (Salzburg), and the U of Mississippi.
Now 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 Co-Artistic Director and a member of the AIMS Board of Directors.
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.
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. This is his
tenth summer since 1987 to teach at AIMS.
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. Currently, responsible
for the German program at Gonzaga College High School, Washington, DC. He has been a member of the Development Committee for the Advanced
Placement Exam in German and a regular member of the AIMS faculty since 1981.
Rebecca Thomas
BA and MA in German from UCLA; PhD, Ohio State; Editorial/Admin Asst to Editor of German Quarterly
at OSU; Distinguished Student Award, UCLA; 1982 Scholarship Award to Freie Universität Berlin.
Currently Assoc Professor of German, Wake Forest U (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 and has been
a frequent instructor for AIMS since 1988. She has published numerous articles on contemporary Austrian literature and culture,
and is currently writing a book on Austrian literature and politics since 1986.
DICTION
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 20 years of experience as a teacher of German language and literature in the UK and USA
(U of Tennessee, Knoxville); as an announcer and programmer for public radio in the U.S. and with the BBC World Service;
as a translator/interpreter; and as a research and creative resource for The Learning Company creating and testing software
for computer-assisted language learning. She is a dual citizen of the UK and USA and currently lives in Leeds, England.
She is fluent in English and German, and has knowledge of French and Italian.
Wolfgang Lockeman, Diction and "Poetry of 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 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. Has taught at AIMS for many summers.
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.
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.
AIMS ORCHESTRA
Nicolas Carthy, Conductor
Currently Opera Music Director, U of Colorado at Boulder. Studied at Guildhall School of Music (London)
with Mary Peppin and John York and at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Hans Leygraf. After completing his
studies he was named Kapellmeister at the Landestheater in Salzburg. During this time he was also
an assistant at the Salzburg Festival, working closely with both Bernard Haitink and Sir Georg Solti.
From 1990 until 1993 he was assistant to Daniel Barenboim, working with him in Berlin, Chicago, Paris
and Bayreuth. In June 1992, Carthy was appointed Musical Director of the Orchestra della Svizzera
Italiana and with this orchestra performed at the Lucerne Festival, the Concertgebouw and Musikverein
in Vienna.
Carthy has conducted opera productions in Vienna, Salzburg, Oslo, Stockholm,
Winterthur, Milan, Rome, Naples, Eugene (Oregon) and Tel Aviv. His repertoire ranges from Mozart to
the contemporary. He conducted the first performances of Thomas Adès ´Powder Her Face´ in
Sweden, Israel, Switzerland and Italy.
As a guest conductor Nicholas Carthy has worked with orchestras in Italy at Torino, Naples, the Piemont,
Rome, Padua and Milan; in Austria with Camerata Academica Salzburg, the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg and
the Wiener Volksoper orchestra; and also in Israel, Winterthur, Prague, Slovakia and Slovenia. He has
worked with distinguished soloists including Radu Lupu, Alicia de Larrocha, Natalia Gutman, Viktoria Mullova,
Waltraud Meier, Daniela Barcellona, Robert Dean Smith and Wolfgang Holzmair.
Nicholas Carthy has performed in many of the great halls of the world as an accompanist, such as Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall,
Wigmore Hall, Bolshoi Theatre, Kölner Philharmonie, Wiener Konzerthaus, La Scala, La Fenice, Santa Cecilia,
Gewandhaus Leipzig and the Berlin State Opera. He has also performed at festivals including Salzburg, Bad Kissingen, München,
Schleswig-Holstein and the Schubertiade in Hohenems.
As a musical educator, he has been a guest professor at the opera school in Stockholm,
Musical Director of the Portland State U Summer Program, a visiting tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music, given master classes throughout Europe and the U.S.A. and conducted youth orchestra seminars in Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Norway.
Mark Flint, Conductor
Currently, Augusta Opera Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Mark Flint has led many of the orchestras in symphony
halls and opera houses in the USA and Canada. He has guest conducted Orchestre National de Lyon, L´Orchestre Metropolitan
de Montreal, Detroit Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, among others. Maestro
Flint frequently guest conducts with New York City Opera, Opera Pacific, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Florida Grand Opera,
Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Arizona Opera, Kentucky Opera, Central City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Columbus and other
companies. In 2007, Maestro Flint orchestrated and conducted the new David DiChiera-Bernard Uzan opera Cyrano, at Michigan
Opera Theatre. Additional engagements this season include The Merry Widow with Florentine Opera (Milwaukee), Roméo et Juliette
with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Il Trovatore with Nashville Opera, La Traviata with Lake George Opera, and La Tradegie de Carmen and
I Pagliacci for Augusta Opera.
Noted engagements include the world premiere of Ned Rorem´s Our Town at Lake George Opera, and the int´l premiere of Tobias
Picker´s Thérese Raquin at L´Opera de Montreal, where he also has conducted Die Zauberflöte, Susannah, La Bohème, Rigoletto,
La Fille du Régiment, Orphee aux Enfers, La Cenerentola, and La Traviata. For Nashville Opera he has conducted Madama Butterfly,
Faust, Tosca, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Traviata, Carmen and Salome; and for Hawaii Opera Samson et Dalila, Rigoletto, Carmen,
The Merry Widow and The Flying Dutchman. With Michigan Opera Theatre, he has conducted Roméo et Juliette, Les Pêcheurs de Perles,
Lakmé and Faust, and for Orlando Opera Roméo et Juliette and Carmina Burana and I Pagliacci; for Fort Worth Opera, Pirates of
Penzance, and for Lake George Opera, I Pagliacci.
Alexander Kalajdzic, Conductor
Formerly resident conductor of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and the German National Theatre in Weimar. Currently resident conductor, Mannheim Opera.
Born in Croatia, he is a popular guest conductor with the Zagreb Philharmonic and with orchestras throughout Europe
including Switzerland, Italy, and Belgium and in the United States and Mexico. Conducts on a regular basis in South Africa,
where he is the permanent guest conductor of the Cape Town Philharmonic. Also a noted chamber music pianist.
Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
Charleston Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
ADMINISTRATION
Co-Artistic Director and Dean; President, AIMS Board of Directors
(See bio under Audition Training)
Member, AIMS Board of Directors (See bio under Musical Preparation)
Dr. Sauls career included academic pediatrics at the U of Minnesota Medical School and
directing medical research in nutrition and pharmaceuticals at Abbott Laboratories. Now retired, he lives near Sarasota FL
and works full-time for AIMS.
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.
High School special education teacher, Shreveport LA.
AIMS Concert Studio, 2007; degree in Music Education (with Distinction), Pennsylvania State University. Also studied at U of Sussex, Brighton, England.
Now, a Performing Arts Associate, Kennedy Center, Washington DC.
Freelance writer and journalist living in Atlanta GA.
A native of Graz, currently a theology and voice student in Vienna
Trained as a piano builder at the Streif Piano manufacturing firm in Graz,
Manfred now supports AIMS as a piano technician.
Professor of History, Georgia Southern University (Statesboro).
Dr. Thomas is expert in Austrian and Graz history.
