2012/2013 Board Members
David Hoffman, President
Tracey Ford, Vice President
Annie Picard, Vice President of Competitions
Erin Matonte, Membership Secretary
Matthew Ellenwood, Treasurer
Matthew Chellis
Jessica Coe
Robert Heitzinger
Sarah McIntyre
Patrice Michaels
Rebecca Olthafer
Jo Rodenburg
David Hoffman, President
David Hoffman has performed in opera, oratorio and recital throughout the Midwest as well as Lake Placid, Norfolk and Baltimore. He sang the role of the Seeker in the European premier of University of Michigan Composer Stephen Rush's vidGod in Tubingen, Germany. Other highlights include roles inLe Nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, The Girl on the Train, Die Verschworenen, The Telephone, Oklahoma!, Kiss Me Kate and Evita. Here in Chicago, he is a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Opera Interalia. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Chicago Folks Operetta, Sinfonietta Bel Canto, and Da Corneto Opera Company.
In addition to performing, Dr. Hoffman is on the faculty of Lake Forest College and the Old Town School of Folk Music and teaches privately in Chicago. In Ohio he was on the faculties of Hiram College, Cuyahoga Community College and the Beck Center for the Arts. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Michigan.
In addition to performing, Dr. Hoffman is on the faculty of Lake Forest College and the Old Town School of Folk Music and teaches privately in Chicago. In Ohio he was on the faculties of Hiram College, Cuyahoga Community College and the Beck Center for the Arts. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Michigan.
Tracey Ford, Vice President
Tracey Ford is an active teacher and performer throughout metropolitan Chicago. In 2008, she received her D.M.A. in Vocal Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois where she was a recipient of a Graduate Fellowship in Music.
Tracey has performed in recital, oratorio and opera including the roles: “Gretel” in Hansel and Gretel and “Concepción” in L'heure Espagñole, “Guilietta” in I Capuleti ed I Montecchi, “Erste Dame” in Die Zauberflöte, “Lola” in Gallantry and various roles in The Fairy Queen, L'Incoronazione di Poppea and Suor Angelica. In 2001, she was selected to perform at the Austrian American Mozart Academy and in 2007, presented a series of organ and voice recitals in Poland and Sweden with organist, Johnny Kash. Tracey serves as a private voice instructor at the Hinsdale Center for the Arts, Maine West High School and Elk Grove Village High School. Since 2009, she has been an adjunct instructor at Joliet Junior College where she teaches Music Appreciation and Applied Voice.
Tracey has performed in recital, oratorio and opera including the roles: “Gretel” in Hansel and Gretel and “Concepción” in L'heure Espagñole, “Guilietta” in I Capuleti ed I Montecchi, “Erste Dame” in Die Zauberflöte, “Lola” in Gallantry and various roles in The Fairy Queen, L'Incoronazione di Poppea and Suor Angelica. In 2001, she was selected to perform at the Austrian American Mozart Academy and in 2007, presented a series of organ and voice recitals in Poland and Sweden with organist, Johnny Kash. Tracey serves as a private voice instructor at the Hinsdale Center for the Arts, Maine West High School and Elk Grove Village High School. Since 2009, she has been an adjunct instructor at Joliet Junior College where she teaches Music Appreciation and Applied Voice.
Annie Picard, Vice President of Competitions
Lyric soprano Annie Picard is a soloist, chamber musician, and voice teacher whose musical achievements have been widely recognized and rewarded. A multiple award-winner for her work both performing on the stage and teaching in the studio, Annie is equally at home in the realm of opera, oratorio, art song, and chamber music. She has performed with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theatre Saint Louis, Du Page Opera Theatre, and Illinois Opera Theatre, and has sung on concerts throughout the United States, including appearances with John Wustman for his Schubert Lieder recital series. Annie’s great passion is performing art song and chamber music, and she enjoys being musically adventuresome, dedicating herself to creating recitals that explore widely varying themes and genres. Her repertoire ranges from lute songs by John Dowland to Dominick Argento’s Letters from Composers, and she is as compelling in French, Italian, German and Russian as she is in English. Born in Montreal, and raised outside St. Louis, Annie received a Bachelor of Music as a Curator Scholar from the University of Missouri at Columbia; a Master of Music and Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory in Boston, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. Her teachers include voice with Costanza Cuccaro, Susan Clickner and Nicholas Di Virgilio; coaching with George Darden, Margo Garrett, Louis Krasner, Eric Dalheim and John Wustman; opera with John Moriarty and Robert De Simone. Annie Picard joined the music faculties of North Park University and Moraine Valley Community College in 1998. Her unique teaching style strikes a balance between the pedagogical and the “natural”: she instills in her students a thorough understanding of the technical aspects of singing, but with equal emphasis on the kinetic, and on singing freely, both bodily and in expression.
Erin Matonte, Membership Secretary
Mezzo-soprano Erin Matonte is an active vocalist and teacher in Chicago. She earned her Masters of Music in voice performance (with a concentration in operatic study) from New England Conservatory in Boston. Prior to her graduate studies, Erin earned her Bachelor of Music degree in voice performance at Evangel University, where she graduated magna cum laude, and received music awards for her academic and performance excellence. Some of her teachers include Edward Zambara, John Moriarty, Inci Bashar and Annie Picard.
Erin has performed with Brevard Opera Theatre, Springfield Regional Opera, and local Chicago opera companies. Among her opera engagements are the roles of Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Cherubino in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, the mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Second Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Erin Matonte’s choral experience includes performances with ensembles such as the Lutheran Choir of Chicago and the Handel Week Ensemble in Oak Park. She has appeared as a featured soloist in such oratorio works as Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s St. Paul and Elijah, Schubert’s Mass in G, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Haydn’s Paukenmesse. She currently serves as a soprano soloist and section leader at Redeemer Lutheran Church, in Hinsdale.
A dedicated educator, Erin joined the music faculty of Moraine Valley Community College in 2003. There she has taught private lessons, vocal technique and music appreciation. In addition to college instruction, she teaches private voice lessons at Riverside-Brookfield High School. Erin has taught various music classes, and given private instruction, at Saint Xavier University and Morgan Park Academy in Chicago, as well.
Erin has performed with Brevard Opera Theatre, Springfield Regional Opera, and local Chicago opera companies. Among her opera engagements are the roles of Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Cherubino in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, the mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Second Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Erin Matonte’s choral experience includes performances with ensembles such as the Lutheran Choir of Chicago and the Handel Week Ensemble in Oak Park. She has appeared as a featured soloist in such oratorio works as Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s St. Paul and Elijah, Schubert’s Mass in G, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Haydn’s Paukenmesse. She currently serves as a soprano soloist and section leader at Redeemer Lutheran Church, in Hinsdale.
A dedicated educator, Erin joined the music faculty of Moraine Valley Community College in 2003. There she has taught private lessons, vocal technique and music appreciation. In addition to college instruction, she teaches private voice lessons at Riverside-Brookfield High School. Erin has taught various music classes, and given private instruction, at Saint Xavier University and Morgan Park Academy in Chicago, as well.
Matthew Ellenwood, Treasurer
Mathew served as the vocal coach, and assistant conductor of the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus for 10 years. He is the Artistic Director of Terra Mysterium Performance Troupe. Matthew has served as the musical director and conductor for several companies in Chicago including: American Theatre Company, New Tuners Music Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Building Chicago, Transplant Theatre company at the Athenaeum, and Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana. He has presented voice and musical theater technique workshops for diverse institutions such as Lookinglass Theater Company, the Village Players, and Dominican University. Matthew has played harpsichord with the Chicago Sinfonietta at the Symphony Center, and is currently studying Celtic harp. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, and his Masters degree in vocal performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University.
Matthew Chellis, Board Member
Tenor, Matthew Chellis has performed with New York City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Teatro Colon de Bogoto, Shreveport Opera, Calgary Opera, Edmonton Opera, Opera de Quebec, Calgary Opera, Atlanta Opera, Utah Opera, Dallas Opera, Washington Opera Lake George Opera, Opera New Jersey, Tulsa Opera among others. He has also had an equally successful concert career having sung with Boston’s Handel & Haydn Society, the National Symphony Orchestra, Masterwork Chorus at Carnegie Hall among others. He has been with Roosevelt College since 2007.
Jessica Coe, Board Member
Soprano, Jessica Louise Coe is an active performer and educator throughout Chicago and the Midwest. A graduate of Roosevelt University, CCPA, she most recently sang the role of Pamina in Die Zauberflote and Maguelonne in Pauline Viardot's Cinderella. She has appeared with Elgin Opera, The Grant Park Chorus, The Chicago Chorale, and Opera Grand Rapids in her home state of Michigan. Also an accomplished pianist, she accompanies auditions and performances throughout the city, most recently contracted with the Lyric Opera of Chicago's OperaKids program.
Ms. Coe has worked extensively with children as classroom music teacher, choir director, musical theater director and private instructor, and she is on the faculty at The Old Town School of Folk Music, where she teaches piano and voice to children and adults alike. She holds a M.M. from Roosevelt University and a B.M. from DePaul University.
Ms. Coe has worked extensively with children as classroom music teacher, choir director, musical theater director and private instructor, and she is on the faculty at The Old Town School of Folk Music, where she teaches piano and voice to children and adults alike. She holds a M.M. from Roosevelt University and a B.M. from DePaul University.
Robert Heitzinger, Board Member
Robert Heitzinger, baritone, is currently an Assistant Professor of Voice at Northeastern Illinois University. He holds the Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he taught for over 10 years. Robert has performed around the world in concert and operatic venues, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Sinfonietta at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and at the Festival de Musica de Canarias in the Canary Islands, the Grant Park Symphony,Light Opera Works, the Cincinnati Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, and the Milwaukee Florentine Opera. Other credits include the Broadway production and the National and European tours of the Tony award winning musical "Evita", "She Always Said, Pablo" directed by Frank Galati, at the Kennedy Center and the Goodman Theatre, "Forbidden Broadway" at the Gaslight Club and many other musical theatre credits in the Chicago area. He is also a studio musician and spent several delightful holiday seasons touring with the Perry Como Christmas Show. He is an experienced clinician, giving master classes for CCNATS, Music in the Marche (Piobbico, Italy) and several locations in China, among others
Sarah McIntyre, Board Member
Sarah McIntyre, soprano, most recently portrayed Jane Bennett in the Chicago Premiere of Jacob and Baker’s: Pride & Prejudice. Other credits include: Hansel & Gretel (Dew Fairy); Carmen (Frasquita); Vanessa and Amahl & the Night Visitors with Chamber Opera Chicago; Mitislav the Modern (Jou Jou) with Chicago Folks Operetta; the title role of Zaide with the Amadeus Opern Ensemble in Salzburg, Austria; Carmen (Frasquita) with Lexington Opera, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena) and L’elisir d’amore with Sugar Creek Symphony and Song; Die Fledermaus (Adele) with Belmont Opera Theatre; (Sister Catherine) Dialogues of the Carmelites with Converse Opera Theatre; Old Maid & the Thief (Miss Pinkerton), Die Zabuerflöte, and Felice in Test Tube, at which time, she was the first to sing the fully staged role of Milton Granger's Opera.
Sarah has appeared as a soloist on the Chicago Lyric Opera Guild Concert Series; and Northbrook Parisian Salon Series; with the Greensboro Oratorio Society, Metropolis Symphony, Calumet Chamber Musicians, Omnitones Chamber Ensemble, Chicago Chamber Ensemble and the Lira Ensemble. In 2008, she appeared at Orchestra Hall as a guest soloist for the annual Rush Medical Center Fundraiser.
Sarah holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Pedagogy & Performance from Belmont University and Bachelor of Music in Performance from Samford University. In addition to her university education, she has been chosen to participate in numerous opera programs including the International Vocal Arts Institute in San Juan Puerto Rico and Sherrill Milnes’ VOICExperience.
Sarah maintains a private teaching studio at the historic Fine Arts Building and is a teaching artist for the Chicago Lyric Opera’s "OperaKids!" program. She is the director of the Vocal Arts Intensive summer music program as well as the children’s choir director for Sherwood Community Music School at Columbia College. Sarah is a recent recipient of the NATS Independent Teacher Fellowship.
More information can be found at www.fineartsvoice.com.
Sarah has appeared as a soloist on the Chicago Lyric Opera Guild Concert Series; and Northbrook Parisian Salon Series; with the Greensboro Oratorio Society, Metropolis Symphony, Calumet Chamber Musicians, Omnitones Chamber Ensemble, Chicago Chamber Ensemble and the Lira Ensemble. In 2008, she appeared at Orchestra Hall as a guest soloist for the annual Rush Medical Center Fundraiser.
Sarah holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Pedagogy & Performance from Belmont University and Bachelor of Music in Performance from Samford University. In addition to her university education, she has been chosen to participate in numerous opera programs including the International Vocal Arts Institute in San Juan Puerto Rico and Sherrill Milnes’ VOICExperience.
Sarah maintains a private teaching studio at the historic Fine Arts Building and is a teaching artist for the Chicago Lyric Opera’s "OperaKids!" program. She is the director of the Vocal Arts Intensive summer music program as well as the children’s choir director for Sherwood Community Music School at Columbia College. Sarah is a recent recipient of the NATS Independent Teacher Fellowship.
More information can be found at www.fineartsvoice.com.
Patrice Michaels, Board Member
Ms. Michaels has sung with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cleveland Opera, the Shanghai, Czech National, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Minnesota Orchestras, the Maryland Handel Festival, New York’s Concert Royal, Chicago’s Music of the Baroque and the Maverick Festival. She has two dozen critically acclaimed recordings on Cedille, Albany and other labels. Patrice teaches master classes at schools such as the University of Tel Aviv, ISA Havana (Cuba), The Hartt School of Music, and Dreyfoos High School for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. Professor of Music for Lawrence University’s Conservatory for 17 years, she now teaches at the University of Chicago, Merit School of Music and Music Institute of Chicago.
www.patricemichaels.com
www.divasofmozartsday.com
www.patricemichaels.com
www.divasofmozartsday.com
Rebecca Ryan, Board Member
Rebecca (Olthafer) Ryan, mezzo soprano, owns and operates Bravo Music Studio, a private voice and piano studio in the Albany Park neighborhood and works as Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Operations and Music Recruiter at North Park University School of Music. At North Park University Rebecca teaches classes such as music appreciation, the entrepreneurial musician, and fundamentals of music, assists the dean in accreditation and assessment and recruits music majors.
As a performer, Rebecca has appeared with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (chorus), Chicago Symphony Chorus, Florentine Opera, OperaModa, Madison Opera, Milwaukee Symphony, Music by the Lake, Opera for the Young, and UW-Madison Opera. "....Olthafer's performance literally shimmers through a near translucent vibrato." (Capital Times, April 2004). Signature operatic roles include Dorabella, Serse, Hansel, Orlofsky, Flora, Kate Pinkerton, Mercedes, Second Lady, Julia Child, Marcellina and Tisbe. In 2006, Rebecca was awarded 5th place at the 2006 Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Waukesha, WI.
Rebecca holds a bachelors of arts in music from Luther College, masters and doctorate in vocal performance (with a minor in arts administration) from UW-Madison. Rebecca apprenticed with Operafestival di Roma, Opera North and Dorian Opera Theatre and was a NATS intern in 2005 under CCM teacher, Robert Edwin. Prior to moving to Chicago, Rebecca taught private voice as an adjunct professor at Luther College and Viterbo University.
As a performer, Rebecca has appeared with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (chorus), Chicago Symphony Chorus, Florentine Opera, OperaModa, Madison Opera, Milwaukee Symphony, Music by the Lake, Opera for the Young, and UW-Madison Opera. "....Olthafer's performance literally shimmers through a near translucent vibrato." (Capital Times, April 2004). Signature operatic roles include Dorabella, Serse, Hansel, Orlofsky, Flora, Kate Pinkerton, Mercedes, Second Lady, Julia Child, Marcellina and Tisbe. In 2006, Rebecca was awarded 5th place at the 2006 Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Waukesha, WI.
Rebecca holds a bachelors of arts in music from Luther College, masters and doctorate in vocal performance (with a minor in arts administration) from UW-Madison. Rebecca apprenticed with Operafestival di Roma, Opera North and Dorian Opera Theatre and was a NATS intern in 2005 under CCM teacher, Robert Edwin. Prior to moving to Chicago, Rebecca taught private voice as an adjunct professor at Luther College and Viterbo University.
Jo Rodenburg, Board Member
Mezzo-soprano Jo Rodenburg's career in music spans over 30 years, with performances in opera, oratorio and song literature. Her operatic credits include Bizet's sultry "Carmen" and her interpretation of that role garnered praise for her "physical athleticism" and "a voice of stunning beauty." As Prince Orlofsky, she was hailed as a "quiet riot" by the Chicago Tribune, who also took in her performance at last season's Handel Week production of "Rodelinda" (Eduige) and cited her "big, dark, contralto-ish mezzo." on the concert stage she has appeared with Chicago Symphony Orchestra in works by Pergolesi, Corigliano and David Byrne. In New York, Ms. Rodenburg was honored to share program billing with Jose Ferrer in "L'histoire du soldats" and "Pierrot Lunaire." She has appeared in concert with numerous regional companies in music from early Baroque to Contemporary music, but is especially recognized for her affinity for German song literature and concert music. During a concert tour featuring songs of Strauss, Brahms and American folk music, Ms. Rodenburg’s singing was characterized by the German press as "warm, lustrous and heart-rendingly beautiful."
Ms. Rodenburg has enjoyed working with talented young singers for 20 years. She teaches in Chicago at the historic Fine Arts Building and also at her home in Frankfort. She received her formal education at the Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory.
Ms. Rodenburg has enjoyed working with talented young singers for 20 years. She teaches in Chicago at the historic Fine Arts Building and also at her home in Frankfort. She received her formal education at the Manhattan School of Music and the New England Conservatory.
