Faculty
Carrie-Ann Matheson, vocal coach
Canadian pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson is an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and is a member of the MET’s select full time regular music staff, where she works as pianist, prompter and vocal coach. She has assisted such renowned conductors as James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Daniel Barenboim, Daniele Gatti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, James Conlon, Marco Armiliato, and Louis Langrée, among many others. Particularly interested in the development of emerging artists, she was Staff Coach of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program;; a position that was created for her upon the completion of two years as apprentice coach/pianist.
An active performer, Ms. Matheson has collaborated in recital with some of the world’s most prominent artists, including Jonas Kaufmann, Piotr Beczala, Joyce di Donato, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni, Eric Owens, Toby Spence, Barbara Bonney, Ruth Ann Swenson and Marilyn Horne. A long-standing Marilyn Horne Foundation artist, she has appeared numerous times at Carnegie Hall under their auspices. Her chamber music credits include performances with members of the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
She has served on the coaching staff of the Los Angeles Opera, the Cincinnati May Festival and on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival. Through her association with the International Vocal Arts Institute, she coached and performed in programs held in Israel, Italy, France, Japan, Canada and Puerto Rico. She is a sought after clinician, giving master classes at universities and colleges across Canada and the United States, and has had a long association with the Music Academy of the West, as an alumna and a faculty member.
Ms. Matheson is a featured pianist and vocal coach in the Metropolitan Opera’s film “The Audition”, which documents the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition, and makes a cameo appearance, as herself, in the MET’s HD release of Bellini’s "La Sonnambula”.
In 2011, she was the inaugural recipient of the “Inspiring Young Alumna” award from the University of Prince Edward Island, and received the 2012 Alumni Achievement Award from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
The 2013-2014 season finds Ms. Matheson involved in Metropolitan Opera productions of Così Fan Tutte, Tosca, Falstaff, Der Rosenkavalier, L’Elisir d’Amore, Werther, La Sonnambula and La Cenerentola. In summer of 2014, she will be involved in projects at the Lyric Opera of Chicago Ryan Opera Center, The Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan, and in September 2014, will join the conducting and coaching staff of Opernhaus Zürich.
Canadian pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson is an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and is a member of the MET’s select full time regular music staff, where she works as pianist, prompter and vocal coach. She has assisted such renowned conductors as James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Daniel Barenboim, Daniele Gatti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, James Conlon, Marco Armiliato, and Louis Langrée, among many others. Particularly interested in the development of emerging artists, she was Staff Coach of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program;; a position that was created for her upon the completion of two years as apprentice coach/pianist.
An active performer, Ms. Matheson has collaborated in recital with some of the world’s most prominent artists, including Jonas Kaufmann, Piotr Beczala, Joyce di Donato, Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni, Eric Owens, Toby Spence, Barbara Bonney, Ruth Ann Swenson and Marilyn Horne. A long-standing Marilyn Horne Foundation artist, she has appeared numerous times at Carnegie Hall under their auspices. Her chamber music credits include performances with members of the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
She has served on the coaching staff of the Los Angeles Opera, the Cincinnati May Festival and on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival. Through her association with the International Vocal Arts Institute, she coached and performed in programs held in Israel, Italy, France, Japan, Canada and Puerto Rico. She is a sought after clinician, giving master classes at universities and colleges across Canada and the United States, and has had a long association with the Music Academy of the West, as an alumna and a faculty member.
Ms. Matheson is a featured pianist and vocal coach in the Metropolitan Opera’s film “The Audition”, which documents the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition, and makes a cameo appearance, as herself, in the MET’s HD release of Bellini’s "La Sonnambula”.
In 2011, she was the inaugural recipient of the “Inspiring Young Alumna” award from the University of Prince Edward Island, and received the 2012 Alumni Achievement Award from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
The 2013-2014 season finds Ms. Matheson involved in Metropolitan Opera productions of Così Fan Tutte, Tosca, Falstaff, Der Rosenkavalier, L’Elisir d’Amore, Werther, La Sonnambula and La Cenerentola. In summer of 2014, she will be involved in projects at the Lyric Opera of Chicago Ryan Opera Center, The Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan, and in September 2014, will join the conducting and coaching staff of Opernhaus Zürich.
Nathan Brock
Resident Conductor of Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal
Nathan Brock is Resident Conductor of the internationally acclaimed Montreal Symphony, with whom he performs regularly in their new home, La Maison Symphonique.
Aside from his busy schedule in Montreal, Brock is in demand internationally performing in the US, Europe as well as in Canada. In the 2012-13 season he leads l’Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Washington National Opera orchestra, and has return engagements in Toronto with the National Ballet of Canada.
The Arts Councils of Ontario and Canada have honoured Brock with two top conducting awards in recognition of his outstanding work in Montreal. He has also received the Quebec Music Council’s Prix Opus for his innovative educational programming.
His tenure in Montreal began when he won the position of assistant conductor to Kent Nagano in 2009. Since then, he has worked as associate producer on numerous critically acclaimed Montreal Symphony recordings for Sony, Analekta, and CBC Radio and Television. His expertise was also critical in the “tuning” of the Montreal Symphony’s acoustically adjustable new concert hall.
In addition to his continuing work in Montreal, future engagements include l’Orchestre National d’Ile de France in Paris and Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax. He has performed with the Toronto and Quebec Symphony orchestras as well as with renowned soloists Maxim Vengerov and Jian Wang.
Originally from Toronto, he began conducting in 2003 at the renowned Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Maine. He also studied with David Zinman for two summers at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. Further masterclasses were undertaken with Finnish Maestro Jorma Panula in Vaasa, Gennady Rozhdestvensky in Moscow, Bernard Haitink in Lucerne and Michael Tilson Thomas in Miami. Brock completed his studies at the Hochschule der Künste in Zürich, Switzerland, where, prior to finishing, he also taught conducting. He has an Advanced Certificate in cello Performance from the University of Toronto and an honours degree in History/International Relations and French.
In 2007 he created the Aaron Brock Foundation in memory of his brother, accomplished classical guitarist Aaron Brock. The foundation supports a number of educational initiatives and performances in Toronto.
Resident Conductor of Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal
Nathan Brock is Resident Conductor of the internationally acclaimed Montreal Symphony, with whom he performs regularly in their new home, La Maison Symphonique.
Aside from his busy schedule in Montreal, Brock is in demand internationally performing in the US, Europe as well as in Canada. In the 2012-13 season he leads l’Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Washington National Opera orchestra, and has return engagements in Toronto with the National Ballet of Canada.
The Arts Councils of Ontario and Canada have honoured Brock with two top conducting awards in recognition of his outstanding work in Montreal. He has also received the Quebec Music Council’s Prix Opus for his innovative educational programming.
His tenure in Montreal began when he won the position of assistant conductor to Kent Nagano in 2009. Since then, he has worked as associate producer on numerous critically acclaimed Montreal Symphony recordings for Sony, Analekta, and CBC Radio and Television. His expertise was also critical in the “tuning” of the Montreal Symphony’s acoustically adjustable new concert hall.
In addition to his continuing work in Montreal, future engagements include l’Orchestre National d’Ile de France in Paris and Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax. He has performed with the Toronto and Quebec Symphony orchestras as well as with renowned soloists Maxim Vengerov and Jian Wang.
Originally from Toronto, he began conducting in 2003 at the renowned Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Maine. He also studied with David Zinman for two summers at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. Further masterclasses were undertaken with Finnish Maestro Jorma Panula in Vaasa, Gennady Rozhdestvensky in Moscow, Bernard Haitink in Lucerne and Michael Tilson Thomas in Miami. Brock completed his studies at the Hochschule der Künste in Zürich, Switzerland, where, prior to finishing, he also taught conducting. He has an Advanced Certificate in cello Performance from the University of Toronto and an honours degree in History/International Relations and French.
In 2007 he created the Aaron Brock Foundation in memory of his brother, accomplished classical guitarist Aaron Brock. The foundation supports a number of educational initiatives and performances in Toronto.
Soprano, Cynthia Lawrence
Cynthia Lawrence has sung on five continents and is hailed as one of America’s most exciting singing actresses. She is a regular guest of leading opera companies around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera; The Royal Albert Hall, London; the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin; New Israeli Opera; Opera Pacific; Opera Colorado; Deutsche Staatsoper; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Paris Opera, Prague’s National Theater; Grand Theatre de Geneva; Vlaamse Opera, Belgium; Castleward Opera, Belfast, Ireland; Opera Columbus; Dayton Opera; Minnesota Opera; Opera Ontario; Athens Festival, Theater Megaron; New York City Opera; Lake George Opera Festival; Opera Omaha; Central City Opera; Colorado Opera Festival; and Opera Memphis.
Recently Cynthia performed Mimi in La Boheme with the National Symphony of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic
as part of their 40th Anniversary celebration. Last fall she sang one of her favorite roles as Madame Butterfly in
Anthony Minghella’s production, to a sold out crowd at the Guangzhou Opera House in China. In previous years Ms.
Lawrence appeared as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with the National Symphony of Santo Domingo under the baton of
Maestro Antonio Molina as well as singing Tosca at Opera North Carolina and with Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera. She has appeared yearly in the Alltech Celebration of Song, and was a featured soloist in the World Equestrian Games which was held in Lexington, Kentucky and broadcast worldwide.
Her Lady Macbeth at Palacio Das Artes, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and was a smash sell-out and she was a featured performer in the 75th Anniversary Gala of Florentine Opera in Milwaukee. In the fall of 2008 she was honored to be a selected soloist and speaker in the just released DVD “A Tribute to Pavarotti: One Amazing Weekend in Petra”. The previous December Cynthia sang the Gala Concert with Opera Fort Collins and was also in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she sang four concerts at the “Journey Through Time” festival and exhibition and starred in a gala concert in Lima, Peru. During the past several seasons, she sang Madame Butterfly with the Lithuanian Nation Opera in Spain and Opera Carolina, Maddelena with Ben Heppner as Andrea Chenier with CulturArte de Puerto Rico, Lady Macbeth, with the Metropolitan Opera and the Florentine Opera. The year before she sang Tosca with The Royal Albert Hall, London as well as with The Vancouver Opera. In previous seasons at the Metropolitan Opera she sang as Madame Butterfly and Tosca. She also sang Elettra in Idomeneo at The Washington Opera, Cio-Cio-San for Connecticut Opera
and Tosca for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. She also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Candace in A Wedding,
and Opera Carolina, Atlanta Opera and Portland Opera as Tosca.
She has appeared over 70 times in concert with Luciano Pavarotti; touring cities and countries such as Doha, Qatar;
Italy; Chile; Venezuela, Argentina; Germany; Norway; Japan; China; Malaysia; England; Canada; SouthAfrica, and throughout the United States.
Cynthia Lawrence has sung on five continents and is hailed as one of America’s most exciting singing actresses. She is a regular guest of leading opera companies around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera; The Royal Albert Hall, London; the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin; New Israeli Opera; Opera Pacific; Opera Colorado; Deutsche Staatsoper; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Paris Opera, Prague’s National Theater; Grand Theatre de Geneva; Vlaamse Opera, Belgium; Castleward Opera, Belfast, Ireland; Opera Columbus; Dayton Opera; Minnesota Opera; Opera Ontario; Athens Festival, Theater Megaron; New York City Opera; Lake George Opera Festival; Opera Omaha; Central City Opera; Colorado Opera Festival; and Opera Memphis.
Recently Cynthia performed Mimi in La Boheme with the National Symphony of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic
as part of their 40th Anniversary celebration. Last fall she sang one of her favorite roles as Madame Butterfly in
Anthony Minghella’s production, to a sold out crowd at the Guangzhou Opera House in China. In previous years Ms.
Lawrence appeared as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with the National Symphony of Santo Domingo under the baton of
Maestro Antonio Molina as well as singing Tosca at Opera North Carolina and with Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera. She has appeared yearly in the Alltech Celebration of Song, and was a featured soloist in the World Equestrian Games which was held in Lexington, Kentucky and broadcast worldwide.
Her Lady Macbeth at Palacio Das Artes, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and was a smash sell-out and she was a featured performer in the 75th Anniversary Gala of Florentine Opera in Milwaukee. In the fall of 2008 she was honored to be a selected soloist and speaker in the just released DVD “A Tribute to Pavarotti: One Amazing Weekend in Petra”. The previous December Cynthia sang the Gala Concert with Opera Fort Collins and was also in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she sang four concerts at the “Journey Through Time” festival and exhibition and starred in a gala concert in Lima, Peru. During the past several seasons, she sang Madame Butterfly with the Lithuanian Nation Opera in Spain and Opera Carolina, Maddelena with Ben Heppner as Andrea Chenier with CulturArte de Puerto Rico, Lady Macbeth, with the Metropolitan Opera and the Florentine Opera. The year before she sang Tosca with The Royal Albert Hall, London as well as with The Vancouver Opera. In previous seasons at the Metropolitan Opera she sang as Madame Butterfly and Tosca. She also sang Elettra in Idomeneo at The Washington Opera, Cio-Cio-San for Connecticut Opera
and Tosca for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. She also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Candace in A Wedding,
and Opera Carolina, Atlanta Opera and Portland Opera as Tosca.
She has appeared over 70 times in concert with Luciano Pavarotti; touring cities and countries such as Doha, Qatar;
Italy; Chile; Venezuela, Argentina; Germany; Norway; Japan; China; Malaysia; England; Canada; SouthAfrica, and throughout the United States.
Megan Marino, Mezzo-Soprano
Metropolitan Opera
Hailed by the Washington Times for her “considerable range and
confidence, navigating lower notes with impressive clarity yet also
managing considerable leaps into the higher range as well, exhibiting a
warm, plummy tone throughout,” Megan Marino makes her Metropolitan
Opera debut as a Voice of an Unborn Child in Die Frau ohne Schatten in
the 2013-14 season. She also joins the company for its productions of
Rusalka, Werther, and Rigoletto. Upcoming engagement include Handel’s Messiah with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Angelina in La Cenerentola with Green Mountain Opera. In coming seasons, she will also be joining the roster or the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Last season, she sang Angelina for Palm Beach Opera in special family performances of La Cenerentola. While a young artist with the company, she also sang roles in mainstage performances including Ein Page der Herodias in Salome, Mrs. Grose in The Turn of Screw, and Shifrah Puah in the workshop of Ben Moore’s Enemies: A Love Story. Other credits include Mercédès in Carmen with Opera Coeur d'Alene and Bach’s St. John Passion with American University of Beirut, Lebanon where she also joined tenor Lawrence Brownlee and conductor Antony Walker for a concert program of bel canto arias and duets. Ms. Marino was also a member of Santa Fe Opera's prestigious Resident Artist Program whereshe sang excerpts of Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri and joined the company for its production of Le nozze di Figaro.
Metropolitan Opera
Hailed by the Washington Times for her “considerable range and
confidence, navigating lower notes with impressive clarity yet also
managing considerable leaps into the higher range as well, exhibiting a
warm, plummy tone throughout,” Megan Marino makes her Metropolitan
Opera debut as a Voice of an Unborn Child in Die Frau ohne Schatten in
the 2013-14 season. She also joins the company for its productions of
Rusalka, Werther, and Rigoletto. Upcoming engagement include Handel’s Messiah with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Angelina in La Cenerentola with Green Mountain Opera. In coming seasons, she will also be joining the roster or the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Last season, she sang Angelina for Palm Beach Opera in special family performances of La Cenerentola. While a young artist with the company, she also sang roles in mainstage performances including Ein Page der Herodias in Salome, Mrs. Grose in The Turn of Screw, and Shifrah Puah in the workshop of Ben Moore’s Enemies: A Love Story. Other credits include Mercédès in Carmen with Opera Coeur d'Alene and Bach’s St. John Passion with American University of Beirut, Lebanon where she also joined tenor Lawrence Brownlee and conductor Antony Walker for a concert program of bel canto arias and duets. Ms. Marino was also a member of Santa Fe Opera's prestigious Resident Artist Program whereshe sang excerpts of Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri and joined the company for its production of Le nozze di Figaro.
Daniel Helfgot, director
Daniel Helfgot's credits include well over 200 productions of a repertoire of over 100 operas, operettas and zarzuelas from the Baroque to the contemporary. His international credits include productions for the National Opera of Albania, the famed Teatro Colón as well as the Teatro Argentino in Argentina, National Opera of Costa Rica, Aaland in Finland, Dortmund in Germany, Opera Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico, with extended work in Austria, Canada, Sweden, Israel, France, and Italy. In the US he has directed productions for companies from Guam to Maine and from Montana to Florida including such opera companies as Baltimore, Festival Opera (California, Pennsylvania, and Utah), Chattanooga, Eugene, Virginia Opera, Knoxville, Memphis, Shreveport, Orlando, Sacramento, Spring Opera and Western Opera Theater of San Francisco, and Utah Opera, among many others.
At age 23, Helfgot joined the resident staff at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina where he went on to direct several major productions. He also held artistic and production positions for the Opera, Ballet and Symphony seasons at the Teatro Argentino in La Plata where he also directed a wide repertoire from Mozart to Puccini. He was also Producer and Director for the Pennsylvania Opera Theater in Pittsburgh, PA., and as Resident Director and Director of Production for Opera San José, he established all its technical departments, participated in the renovation of its performance venues and created 60 productions in an 18 years tenure.
His work also includes writing, performing, and staging dance, and cabaret shows.
Helfgot directed broadcasts of his own operatic productions for television in Argentina and an award winning production for PBS in the US and he also produced several opera series for Argentine radio networks.
He is also the author of the libretto for the opera The Tale of the Nutcracker, based on a tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann, with music by Craig Bohmler, which premiered in 1999.
He has received an Opera Director of the Year award from the Classical Singer Magazine, an Artist Laureate award from Arts Council Silicon Valley and has been honored with the Koret Israel Prize.
Mr. Helfgot is the author of The Third Line: The Opera Performer as Interpreter followed by a revised edition titled The Third Line: The Singer as Interpreter, with a third edition in production, a book widely used by individuals, universities and conservatories.
His teaching record includes a guest professorship at the Musikhochschule of the Vienna University, Austria and the leadership of the Vocal and Vocal Accompanying Programs at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. He is constantly in demand throughout US campuses, besides international appearances at the National Academy of the Arts in Taipei, Taiwan; the Instituto Superior de Arte, Teatro Colón, Argentina; the Academy of Music in Åland, Finland, etc.
He has just celebrated the 200th birthdays of Verdi and Wagner with three consecutive productions of Otello, a revival of Rigoletto, and a new production of Tannhäuser. Upcoming projects include a production of Halevy’s La Juive for a Hungary-Israel co-venture and Barber’s Vanessa for the Utah Festival Opera.
Daniel Helfgot's credits include well over 200 productions of a repertoire of over 100 operas, operettas and zarzuelas from the Baroque to the contemporary. His international credits include productions for the National Opera of Albania, the famed Teatro Colón as well as the Teatro Argentino in Argentina, National Opera of Costa Rica, Aaland in Finland, Dortmund in Germany, Opera Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico, with extended work in Austria, Canada, Sweden, Israel, France, and Italy. In the US he has directed productions for companies from Guam to Maine and from Montana to Florida including such opera companies as Baltimore, Festival Opera (California, Pennsylvania, and Utah), Chattanooga, Eugene, Virginia Opera, Knoxville, Memphis, Shreveport, Orlando, Sacramento, Spring Opera and Western Opera Theater of San Francisco, and Utah Opera, among many others.
At age 23, Helfgot joined the resident staff at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina where he went on to direct several major productions. He also held artistic and production positions for the Opera, Ballet and Symphony seasons at the Teatro Argentino in La Plata where he also directed a wide repertoire from Mozart to Puccini. He was also Producer and Director for the Pennsylvania Opera Theater in Pittsburgh, PA., and as Resident Director and Director of Production for Opera San José, he established all its technical departments, participated in the renovation of its performance venues and created 60 productions in an 18 years tenure.
His work also includes writing, performing, and staging dance, and cabaret shows.
Helfgot directed broadcasts of his own operatic productions for television in Argentina and an award winning production for PBS in the US and he also produced several opera series for Argentine radio networks.
He is also the author of the libretto for the opera The Tale of the Nutcracker, based on a tale by E.T.A. Hoffmann, with music by Craig Bohmler, which premiered in 1999.
He has received an Opera Director of the Year award from the Classical Singer Magazine, an Artist Laureate award from Arts Council Silicon Valley and has been honored with the Koret Israel Prize.
Mr. Helfgot is the author of The Third Line: The Opera Performer as Interpreter followed by a revised edition titled The Third Line: The Singer as Interpreter, with a third edition in production, a book widely used by individuals, universities and conservatories.
His teaching record includes a guest professorship at the Musikhochschule of the Vienna University, Austria and the leadership of the Vocal and Vocal Accompanying Programs at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. He is constantly in demand throughout US campuses, besides international appearances at the National Academy of the Arts in Taipei, Taiwan; the Instituto Superior de Arte, Teatro Colón, Argentina; the Academy of Music in Åland, Finland, etc.
He has just celebrated the 200th birthdays of Verdi and Wagner with three consecutive productions of Otello, a revival of Rigoletto, and a new production of Tannhäuser. Upcoming projects include a production of Halevy’s La Juive for a Hungary-Israel co-venture and Barber’s Vanessa for the Utah Festival Opera.
Katherine Olsen, Agent
Encompass Artists
Katherine Olsen is one of the most famous and sought-after opera coach/accompanists in
the world today. Throughout her professional career she has been involved with every
aspect of singer development and career counseling. With the creation of Encompass
Arts, Ms. Olsen embarks upon the logical next step in her career path.
Her opera credits include positions at many companies in both the United States and
Europe including, but are not limited to: Knoxville Opera, Orlando Opera, Boston Lyric
Opera, Tulsa Opera, Virginia Opera, Palm Beach Opera, The Opera of Macao, China and
the Opern Air Festival in Gars, Austria.
In 1998 she accepted the position of Artistic Administrator for Orlando Opera, a company with which she continues to work closely. In 2001 she was offered the position of Principle Coach and Artistic Administrator for Baz Luhrmann’s Tony Award-winning production of Puccini’s La Bohème. She worked closely with the company in both the pre-production phase and during the performance runs in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Ms. Olsen was part of the casting team responsible for hiring both principle artists and chorus. Several of the young artists she selected for La Bohème have gone on to further operatic achievements including: Operalia-winner Joe Kaiser, who portrays Tamino in Kenneth Branaugh’s upcoming film The Magic Flute, conducted by James Conlon; Ben Davis who portrays Papageno in the same film; and David Miller, now a recording artist with the group Il Divo.
Ms. Olsen has played for and adjudicated many prestigious vocal competitions including: The MacAllister Awards, The Puccini Competition, The George London Awards, The Richard Tucker Foundation, The Reyfuss Competition, The United Negro Spiritual Foundation, and Voci Verdiane-Busetto, Italy. As a pianist she has collaborated with such artists as: Ben Heppner, Leona Mitchell, Sherrill Milnes, Cheryl Studer, Gary Lakes, Barbara Daniels, Harolyn Blac
Encompass Artists
Katherine Olsen is one of the most famous and sought-after opera coach/accompanists in
the world today. Throughout her professional career she has been involved with every
aspect of singer development and career counseling. With the creation of Encompass
Arts, Ms. Olsen embarks upon the logical next step in her career path.
Her opera credits include positions at many companies in both the United States and
Europe including, but are not limited to: Knoxville Opera, Orlando Opera, Boston Lyric
Opera, Tulsa Opera, Virginia Opera, Palm Beach Opera, The Opera of Macao, China and
the Opern Air Festival in Gars, Austria.
In 1998 she accepted the position of Artistic Administrator for Orlando Opera, a company with which she continues to work closely. In 2001 she was offered the position of Principle Coach and Artistic Administrator for Baz Luhrmann’s Tony Award-winning production of Puccini’s La Bohème. She worked closely with the company in both the pre-production phase and during the performance runs in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Ms. Olsen was part of the casting team responsible for hiring both principle artists and chorus. Several of the young artists she selected for La Bohème have gone on to further operatic achievements including: Operalia-winner Joe Kaiser, who portrays Tamino in Kenneth Branaugh’s upcoming film The Magic Flute, conducted by James Conlon; Ben Davis who portrays Papageno in the same film; and David Miller, now a recording artist with the group Il Divo.
Ms. Olsen has played for and adjudicated many prestigious vocal competitions including: The MacAllister Awards, The Puccini Competition, The George London Awards, The Richard Tucker Foundation, The Reyfuss Competition, The United Negro Spiritual Foundation, and Voci Verdiane-Busetto, Italy. As a pianist she has collaborated with such artists as: Ben Heppner, Leona Mitchell, Sherrill Milnes, Cheryl Studer, Gary Lakes, Barbara Daniels, Harolyn Blac
Lauren Sawyer, Soprano
Master Vocal Technician
Founder of Boulder Classical Voice and Boulder Music Institute, Lauren has helped singers achieve their performance goals for over 15 years. Her students are equity singers in NY, are winning international competitions and singing at international opera houses.
Opera houses: Washington National Opera , Central City Opera, Virginia Opera, New York Lyric Opera
International Vocal Competitions: The Metropolitan Opera National, Classical Singer, Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition
Music and Acting Schools: Berklee School of Music, NYU, Julliard, Eastman, Oberlin, The New School of Drama, American Musical and Dramatic Academy
Master Vocal Technician
Founder of Boulder Classical Voice and Boulder Music Institute, Lauren has helped singers achieve their performance goals for over 15 years. Her students are equity singers in NY, are winning international competitions and singing at international opera houses.
Opera houses: Washington National Opera , Central City Opera, Virginia Opera, New York Lyric Opera
International Vocal Competitions: The Metropolitan Opera National, Classical Singer, Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition
Music and Acting Schools: Berklee School of Music, NYU, Julliard, Eastman, Oberlin, The New School of Drama, American Musical and Dramatic Academy
Marie Mannatt
MA/Performance Therapist
Marie is a psychotherapist at Calming the Heart, her private practice in Boulder, Colorado. Her approach is grounded in mindfullness, and assisting clients in welcoming all parts of themselves.
Marie focuses on stress management and anxiety to help performers work more efficiently.
MA/Performance Therapist
Marie is a psychotherapist at Calming the Heart, her private practice in Boulder, Colorado. Her approach is grounded in mindfullness, and assisting clients in welcoming all parts of themselves.
Marie focuses on stress management and anxiety to help performers work more efficiently.