Sophie Amelkin is a New York City based theater crossover artist. In the past several years Sophie has worked Off-Broadway, and toured with a GRAMMY-winning rock band, playing nightly to thousands of fans at major arenas, festivals, and televised shows around the world. On the classical stage, Sophie made her Carnegie Hall solo debut as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass. She also joined GRAMMY-nominated Skylark Vocal Ensemble for a number of concert cycles and recently recorded with them as a soloist on their album La Vie en Rose. Sophie blessed Chanson Voice & Music Academy with her many gifts as vocalist, instructor and enthusiastic participant and supporter of the school and The Vertical Voice Method.

An accomplished bassist, keyboardist, vocalist, drummer, composer, arranger, engineer and producer, Tony Axtell can be heard playing around the Twin Cities, MN any night of the week in jazz, funk, R&B and gospel groups or touring with international artists including Donny Osmond, David Sanborn, Ricky Peterson, and Garrison Keillor. Tony is also a sought-after Recording and Sound Engineer, serving as the “Front-of-House” Engineer for the Prairie Home Companion tours. He has generously lent his many skills to my coaching studio and student recording and performance projects for many years.

For four decades, Dan Chouinardhas been the pianist and accordionist of choice for a who’s who of Twin Cities performers, an director of community sing-alongs, a writer of hit shows for public radio, concert halls, and theatrical stages, and a founding member of Chronofon Productions. Several times since the turn of the millennium, Dan Chouinard has traveled by bicycle through Europe with his accordion in tow and come home to write and perform about it in a series he calls Cafe Europa, which he has performed at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul and broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio. Dan has been a powerful musical force and a gentle, compassionate friend who also enjoys warm, musical gatherings with delicious food!!

Jill Dawe is a native of Newfoundland, Canada, and a graduate of Eastman School of Music (M.M. & D.M.A.). She enjoys a career that combines solo and collaborative performance with teaching and cross-disciplinary projects. Ms. Dawe has performed as a soloist and as a chamber musician in Canada, England and the United States and has taught on the faculties of the Chautauqua Institute, Oberlin Conservatory, and Lenoir-Rhyne College before making Augsburg University in Minneapolis her teaching home. Jill was my VERY patient piano teacher at Augsburg and a mentor in the creative performance arts. What a deeply soulful person on the earth!

Lyric soprano, Jean del Santo, has distinguished herself nationally on both the concert and operatic stage. Critics have noted her outstanding vocal and dramatic qualities in reviews stating: “She has a voice that is rich, resonant, true, pleasing and effortless in its projection-the kind of voice that sounds as if there is no end to it.“. She recently retired from her position as Associate Professor of Voice and Vocal Division Chair, University of Minnesota where she was hugely influential in the vocal and artistic development of her many appreciative students. I was introduced to Jean through Chanson Voice & Music Academy instructor, Justin Spenner and we became friends and colleagues.

Desmond Child and Rouge was formed in New York City in 1975 between best friends which soon became a second family to us.. and still is. We played nearly every club in NYC, developing a cult following which led to a recording contract with Capitol Records. We released two albums in 1979, toured the country, appeared on SNL and wrote and performed a track forThe Warriors film. We parted ways as a band but continued workin on many projects together through the years. “A vocal quartet featuring Desmond Child, Maria Vidal, Diana Grasselli and Myriam Valle, DC&R released two albums at the tail-end of the ‘70s that feature some of the most amazingly vivid lyrics and intricate vocal harmonies ever committed to vinyl.”- Dave Reynolds, LouderSound

A Metropolitan Opera audition winner and Studio Artist Faculty at Augsburg University, Mezzo-soprano, Susan Druck has been a featured soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Chorale, VocalEssence, Lyra Consort, Dale Warland Singers, the St. Mark’s Music Series, and the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra. Susan’s voice outsizes her petite frame and what a gorgeous sound. She was on of my voice instructors at Augsburg College and in addition to the many important skills she taught me, I was able to find a richer resonance in my own voice simply from listening her sing!

Janet Gottschall Fried is a Minnesota-based soprano and Studio Artist staff member at Augsburg University since 1998, known for performing with Zeitgeist, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, and the Minnesota Opera. She has recorded vocal works for composer Phil Fried and is featured on the Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble’s album I Dig. Janet was one of my amazing voice coaches at Augsburg University from whom I gained many valuable skills and wisdom. I loved working with her.

Bradley Greenwaldhas performed opera, theater, music-theater, concert and recital repertoire with Twin Cities’ arts organizations such as Jungle Theater, Theater Latté Da, Open Eye Figure Theatre, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Guthrie Theater, 10,000 Things Theater, and is a founding member of Chronofon Productions. Bradley adapted Madeleine L’Engle’s novel A Wrinkle in Time into a libretto for Libby Larsen’s opera, and wrote the book and lyrics for C., an adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. He is a hard-working, in-demand singer, actor, writer and director and good friend from and with whom I have learned and enjoyed so much through the years.

Vocalist/writer/producer and founding member of Chronofon Productions, Prudence Johnson has been among the most beloved vocalists in Minnesota. She has recorded six albums - three with jazz group, Rio Nido and three with Red House Records, one of which earned her a 1992 Grammy Award nomination. In 2005, Johnson produced, directed, and performed in a musical production about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald  titled Ten November. Prudence was my first friend in Minnesota. She welcomed me into her life with open arms and we ended up doing many wonderful projects together to boot, including three Weill/Brecht projects!

Praised for her “captivating and sensual” sound (Riptide Magazine), Anika Kildegaard is quickly distinguishing herself as one of the most promising American vocalists specializing in new music and concert repertoire. Equally at home as a chamber musician as well as a soloist, Kildegaard has performed with ensembles across the United States in a variety of repertoire, spanning from baroque oratorio to world premieres written for her voice. Anika was a wonderful instructor, board member and grant writer for Chanson Voice & Music Academy. I am always impressed by her strength of purpose, creative vision and the artistic value she brings to her work.

Grammy nominated, Country Music Award winner, screenplay writer and critically acclaimed lyricist Robin Lerner creates songs and scripts for film, theater, and recording artists worldwide. She has had songs recorded by artists including Faith Hill (#1 This Kiss), Randy Travis (#1 Out Of My Bones), Tim McGraw (#1 She’s My Kinda Rain), Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, The Backstreet Boys and Martina McBride. I’ve known Robin since the 80’s in Los Angeles, both being NYC transplants at the time. We have worked together in the past and have many friends in the business in common. She has always been a life-long friend and advocate for me and my work.

Ben Lohrberg is a Minneapolis-based director, educator, composer, performer and arts leader. As a director, Ben creates artistic spaces which are safe, collaborative and completely joyful. He is specifically interested in emerging texts which empower young voices and his aesthetic is minimal, intentional, and wildly imaginative. Ben is affiliate faculty at the University of Minnesota / Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program, Director of Intermediate Musical Theatre at Interlochen Arts Camp, and an Instructor of Voice & Songwriting at Chanson Voice & Music Academy in St. Paul, MN. Ben was one of my freshman voice students in the University of Minnesota Actor Training Program. We worked for several years and then I mentored him in to the CVMA teaching roster and he just took off. Nothing was going to stop this powerhouse creator!

As an award-winning songwriter with hits across many genres, Karen Manno’s multiplatinum selling songs have topped the Billboard charts. Karen heads two music publishing companies and is co-founder of ASCAP's Mentorship program. In addition, her plays "The Miracles of May" and "Service" are published by Samuel French, Inc. and she has produced and directed musical theater in New York City. Karen and I have been friends since the beginning of our careers in NYC. She is the most elegant, kind-hearted woman I know but with a wicked sense of humor. She has always been there like a sister to lend support for me and my projects, including TVV.

Purple Orange/Jelloslave is a Minneapolis cello-centered duo with drums and percussion. Members include: cellists, Michelle Kinney and Jacqueline Ultan; drummer, Greg Schutte; and percussionist, Gary Waryan. Together they make astonishingly interesting, beautiful and poignant experimental music. I was blessed to have done some wonderful projects with them together and individually and I consider them to be among my dearest friends.

Columbia recording artist and MN Music Hall of Fame inductee Gary Rue is a theatrical composer/lyricist and songwriter and creator/co-creator of 95 (and counting) music theater scores with over 2000 local, regional, national and  international performances. He is a busy guitarist for many projects around the Twin Cities and beyond, Including Lush Country and Rue and Sabien. Gary was the one of the first friends I made in Minnesota and I have loved knowing and working with him through the years.

Mae Rukavina is a lovely contralto singer, model, athlete, marketing specialist and a mom. She was the lead singer for the Minnesota-based Americana band, The Maeflies, who recorded and performed around the Twin Cities for two decades. Currently she is working with some of the same musicians in her new project, Mae and the Guys. She came to me years ago as a student and we soon became good friends. She is a strong and beautiful, creative woman with wonderful values all around and someone I am proud to call a friend.

Greg Schutte is an internationally recognized composer, producer and drummer based in Minneapolis MN. Over the past 20 years he as performed with and written for with a wide variety of artists/groups, including: The Mickey Hart Band, Chastity Brown Band, Todd Clouser's A Love Electric, The Hornheads, Jelloslave, Lori Line, Anthony Cox, and the Ananda Dance Group. He is the owner and Chief Recording Engineer of Boom Island Recording Studio in N.E. Minneapolis where I have recorded many projects including The Vertical Voice Method Audio Book.

Tatyana (Tanya) was a gifted singer/songwriter, athlete, writer, photographer and world traveler. I had the wonderful opportunity to mentor her beginning at age 14 and continuing through her travel years, working remotely all over the world. I was very close to her mother, Maya Winterherd and they were both active participants in and supporters of my school at the time, Chanson Voice & Music Academy, as well as for TVV. The tragic news of the unfortunate cycling accident that claimed Tanya’s life at age 28 was a devastating and life-altering event for us all. She continues to sing in all the hearts who were blessed to have known her and her unstoppable spirit.

Baritone, Justin Spenner’s self-produced work addresses mental illness, human connection, and inherited trauma. This includes 10+ years of tinkering with Schubert's Die Winterreise through various practices, including dance, film, and meditation. A Teaching Artist with An Opera Theatre's Opera Immersion program, Justin produces the podcast Is This Music?!?! with Joey Crane, featuring chats with local and international performers and composers. Justin was one of the first voice instructors at my school, Chanson Voice & Music Academy and he was as passionate about voices as I was precipitating almost daily “shop talks” about voices and singing, in between bouts of laughter brought about by his inimitable humor.

Sonja Thompson enjoys a varied career as a chamber, church and theater musician, conductor, vocal coach and educator.  Having received her formal education at the University of Minnesota and The Juilliard School, she has spent decades teaching, performing, improvising, collaborating, and assisting with the development of new works. In addition to being one of the most brilliant pianist/accompanies in the region, Sonja was a powerful mentor to me during my studies at Augsburg University, Minneapolis, and I will be forever grateful for the wisdom and depth of purpose I learned during my time with her.

An Opera Theater Founder/Producer Kelly Turpin was praised by the Star Tribune for having “thrown a gauntlet down to those inclined to think opera consists mainly of prima donnas, pretty tunes and preening.”  Originally planning on a career in opera performance, she quickly tired of the stale and pompous US opera culture and invested in creating a space for greater transparency and honesty in the art form. AOT was founded on this vision of social action and community inspired through opera. I met Kelly through one of my teaching collaborators, Justin Spenner and she has been a wonderful supporter of all people and things creative and musical!

As a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and multifaceted professional, Jacob Warren’s experience spans all phases of production. Directly assisting executive producers, directors, and A-list talent, Jake has worked alongside industry giants like Netflix, 20th Century Studios, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max. “My approach to collaboration is rooted in the belief that we are shaped by the company we keep.” Jake came to me as a student with a gorgeous, buttery lyric baritone voice and through our work over the years, became very good friends. He is definitely company one wants to keep. He is creative, smart, sensitive, elegant and principled and everyone who meets him wants to know him.

Maya Winterherd is a writer, photo essayist, project manager, communicator, heart-opener and sunshine-thrower in human form. There is no one who crosses paths with her that doesn’t want to keep walking along in her presence. She has been a dear friend, confidant and advisor to me and my music projects for over 20 years. Her love, support and steadfast friendship through the years have been nourishment on all kinds of levels, especially since she loves to throw lavish and delicious dinner parties for all her closest friends and family!