National Association of Teachers of Singing Central Region

National Association of
Teachers of Singing

Governor

Anne Petrie

Anne Pietrie Anne Petrie is professor of music at Central College, where she teaches voice, diction for singers and vocal pedagogy. She was a student of Sean Daniel at the University of Oklahoma, where she received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, and of Grace Wilson and Dodi Protero at the University of Illinois. She completed further vocal study with Paula Boire at the University of Iowa, Mary Creswell at Iowa State University, and Andrei Mikhailovich Sedov at the Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) State Glinka Conservatory.

In addition to her work in opera and oratorio, Petrie is a frequent recitalist, with concert performances in the United States, Russia and Romania. An accomplished performer of contemporary music, she sang the world premiere of John Melby's Three Wordsworth Songs for soprano and computer-synthesized sounds in 2005. She has a particular interest in Russian vocal literature, with a research emphasis on the songs of Soviet composer Yuri Shaporin.

Governor Elect

Mary Jane Wilder-Hardee

Past Governor

Sarah Holman

630-752-5844

Mezzo-Soprano Sarah Holman has appeared with Chamber Opera Chicago, Opera Southwest, City Opera of the Quad Cities, Lyric Opera Cleveland, DuPage Opera, Muddy River Opera, and Kansas Opera. As a featured soloist she has sung with the New Philharmonic, Rockford, Liberty, and Fox Valley Symphony Orchestras. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart's Coronation Mass under the direction Simon Carrington. Her recent opera performances include VanesseaChamber, a tribute to Gian Carlo Menotti, under the stage direction of Francis, Menotti, Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, The Mother in The Consul, Katisha in The Mikado, Lady Jane in Patience, Meg Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Beatrice in Beatrice and Benedict, and the title role of Regina. She enjoyed a long tenure as the mezzo-soprano voice of the Dean Wilder Singers, a vocal quartet and piano ensemble, which toured throughout the United States, Mexico, and Southern Korea performing a variety of opera, oratorio, and sacred literature. During the summer of 2009 Dr. Holman was a featured teacher of the Asian Opera Project in Taipei Taiwan. In 2007 Dr. Holman was awarded a Goldovsky Opera Directing Internship with Harrower Opera in Atlanta, Georgia. Currently, she serves as the Central Regional Governor for National Association of Teachers of Singing and is an Associate Professor of voice at Wheaton College Conservatory where she also directs the opera program.

Illinois District

Governor - Illinois

Kathleen Van De Graaff

847-675-0892

Kathleen Van De Graff Soprano Kathleen Van De Graaff has proven herself versatile in both opera and oratorio. She has sung with Chicago Opera Theater, Milwaukee Opera Company, Louisiana Philharmonic, Jackson Symphony, Racine Symphony, Chicago String Ensemble, Music of the Baroque, Washington/Idaho Symphony, Chicago Chamber Opera, North Shore Choral Society, South Shore Orchestra among others. Her operatic repertoire includes Gilda in "Rigoletto", the Queen of the Night in "The Magic Flute", Constanze in "The Abduction from the Seraglio", Antonia in "The Tales of Hoffmann", and the title roles in "Martha" and "Lucrezia Borgia". She recently returned from China where she had been invited by the Cultural Ministry to judge a voice competition, give master classes and present a solo recital. On the concert stage, some of Miss Van De Graaff's highlights include Rossini's Stabat Mater, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Mass in Time of War and The Creation, Mozart's Solemn Vespers, Bach's St. Matthew Passion, Saint-Saens' Christmas Oratorio, Beethoven 9th Symphony, Elijah among others. Kathleen and her husband have traveled throughout Europe obtaining scores of early 18th Century chamber operas called "intermezzi". They have subsequently gained notoriety as specialists in this area, performing them throughout the United States, Costa Rica and Asia as well as on live broadcasts over WFMT, Chicago, and have given the modern premieres of many intermezzi by Domenico Sarri, Leonardo Leo, Giuseppe Orlandini and Giovanni Bononcini. Two of these intermezzi, Mirena e Floro and Moschetta e Grullo, were released in 2007 on Naxos International Record Label. A third opera, Miride e Damari can be heard on the Naxos website. They have performed in twenty seven states and have participated in such festivals as the St. Louis Early Music Festival, the Costa Rica International Music Festival, the Bloomington Early Music Festival, the Teton Festival in Jackson, WY, for Music of the Baroque and at the Manitou Music Series in Michigan. They have published three books: Italian Arias from 18th century comic chamber operas for the soprano voice and the baritone/bass voice as well as Italian Duets from 18th century comic chamber operas which contain highlights from some of the music found in these intermezzi. Performances for the 2010 include singing in Hawaii, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Michigan and China. Miss Van De Graaff has earned a bachelor's and master's degree in voice from Brigham Young University. She is lecturer of music at Lake Forest College and is the author of a several instruction books and CDs on singing: Winning Warm-Ups for the Voice and More Winning Warm-ups for the Voice and Winning Warm-ups for the Young Singer and A Systematic Approach to Voice Exercises which are selling in North and South America and Europe.

Central Illinois Chapter

Sangeetha Rayapati, President

Sangeetha Rayapati, is Associate Professor of Music at Augustana College where she teaches voice, pedagogy and diction, courses on music and culture, and coordinates offerings of the Shellhouse Center for Singing. She performs regionally and is a frequent collaborator with contemporary composers. An active national scholar, she has presented at national and regional conferences for the College Music Society (CMS), Music Educators National Conference (MENC), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Her book "Sing Into Your Sixties and Beyond" will be released this year through Inside View Press. Dr. Rayapati holds undergraduate degrees in vocal performance and nursing from Valparaiso University, and graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota. During the summers she has been a member of the vocal faculty at Lutheran Summer Music, a national music festival for talented high school musicians and a music leader and teacher at Holden Village, Chelan, Washington.

Chicago Chapter

Victoria Holland, President

www.chicagonats.org

Dr. Victoria Holland actively performs and teaches in the USA and abroad. Currently a faculty member of the Musical Offering in Evanston IL and Music in the Marche (Italy), Victoria has served on the voice faculties of Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University, and Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music (Appleton, WI). Education: D. Mus. (Voice and Opera Performance), Northwestern University; MM, Northwestern University; BA, Rhodes College (Memphis, TN). Notable solo performance venues include the Aldeburgh Festival in England, Parma Conservatory of Music in Italy, the Ravinia Festival's Martin Theater, and Chicago Symphony Hall. Upcoming engagements can be found on her website:www.victoriaholland.info.

Northern Illinois Chapter

Catherine Caccavallo, President

(630) 302-0393
http://web.me.com/catherine05/NICNATS/Welcome.html

Catherine Caccavallo is on the faculty of the DePaul University School of Music and has had an active independent voice studio for the last fifteen years in Chicago and the suburbs, successfully teaching all ages from junior high to adult professionals. She teaches music theory, diction, class voice, and organizes many recitals and master classes with invited guest artists. In addition to NATS, she is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and Actors' Equity. Catherine studies piano with Dr. Kit Bridges in her elusive quest to perfect her accompanying skills.

She enjoys adjudicating auditions and competitions, giving master classes and directing many musical theatre works with young people. Her students have successfully sung in competitions and taken leading roles in numerous musical theatre productions, received countless university scholarships and grants, and been awarded first place in quite a few NATS Vocal Auditions, local, state and regional.

Catherine did her Masters studies at Northwestern University in Vocal Performance in Opera, where she first began vocal studies with Norman Gulbrandsen, continuing until his retirement. She also has an undergraduate degree in music education.

Along with a thorough grounding in vocal technique, Catherine brings a great deal of performing experience to her teaching. Her stage roles include the Broadway role of "Carlotta" in Webber's Phantom of the Opera on tour with Michael Crawford and later Robert Guillaume, "Konstanze" in The Abduction from the Seraglio on tour with Sarah Caldwell's Opera New England, "Violetta" in La Traviata, "Gilda" in Rigoletto, the "Rosalinde" in Die Fledermaus, the title role in Louise, "Musetta" in La Boheme, the "High Priestess" in Aida for Milwaukee's Florentine Opera, and "Clorinda" in La Cenerentola, among many others.

Her concert engagements include solo performances with the Chicago Symphony (i.e. Stravinsky's Les Noces), Rockford Symphony (Brahms' Requiem), Peoria Symphony (Beethoven's Ninth Symphony), Music of the Baroque (Purcells' The Fairy Queen) and Apollo Chorus and Orchestra (Verdi's Requiem). She has also appeared on WTTW-TV in Hansel and Gretel, as the "Dew Fairy" and "Sandman."

Recently, Catherine was instrumental in launching a new local chapter of NATS with seven colleagues: the Northern Illinois Chapter based in suburban Chicago.

Iowa District

Governor - Iowa

Leanne Freeman-Miller

Leanne Freeman-Miller, soprano, is an Associate Professor of Voice at Drake University, teaching studio voice, vocal pedagogy, diction and vocal literature. This production of Cabaret is her musical directing debut at Drake University. In May 2006, she received the Madelyn Levitt Teacher of the Year award, Drake’s highest honor awarded to faculty for teaching. Ms. Freeman-Miller has appeared frequently as a soloist with many performing groups in the Midwest region and is a performer on the national scale. She performed with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra in Shanghai, China in August, 2010, including the opening ceremony gala concert at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center for the International Youth Festival. She has been featured as soprano soloist for numerous performances of oratorio, including Handel’s Messiah and has appeared as soloist for such works as Vivaldi’s Gloria, Poulenc’s Gloria, Mozart’s Mass in C and Regina coeli, Haydn’s Nelson Mass and The Seasons, Bach’s Magnificat, Honegger’s King David, Schubert’s Mass in G, Brahms’ Requiem, and Mozart’s Requiem, among others. Most recently, she was the soprano soloist for Stephen Paulus’ To Be Certain of the Dawn at the Des Moines Civic Center. She has also appeared on the Salisbury House Chamber Music series, Onstage at the Des Moines Art Center and has extensive musical theatre experience in both performing and musical direction. An active recitalist, Ms. Freeman-Miller and her accompanist, Michelle Havlik-Jergens, have performed numerous recitals locally, regionally and nationally, including venues in the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, Texas, Seattle, Washington, and San Diego, California. An active proponent of contemporary vocal repertoire, Ms. Freeman-Miller and Ms. Havlik-Jergens recently completed a compact disc entitled Letters from the Garden…contemporary songs by female composers. She has twice been a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, national honorary music society. Ms. Freeman-Miller is also a renowned teacher in the region. Her students are frequent winners of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) competitions, Quad Cities Opera Young Artist Competition, and have been semi-finalists in the Singer of the Year Competition, sponsored by Shreveport Opera. Students have also been accepted to national and international summer programs, including Seagle Music Colony in New York, University of Miami, Salzburg, AIMS in Graz, Austria, Oberlin in Italy, La Musica Lyrica, the Intermezzo program in Belgium, and have performed roles with Cedar Rapids Opera, Shreveport Opera, New Jersey Opera, among others. Her students have been accepted into the country’s top graduate schools, including Indiana University, Cincinnati Conservatory, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and New England Conservatory, NYU, and two students have been members of the internationally famous male a cappella ensemble, Chanticleer. She is a past president of the Iowa NATS Chapter and is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician.

Iowa Chapter

Beth Ray Westlund

563-387-2132

Dr. Beth Ray Westlund, mezzo-soprano, is associate professor of music at her alma mater Luther College, where she teaches studio voice, diction, and serves as Associate Department Head. Previous to this, she was assistant professor of voice at Ithaca College School of Music in Ithaca, New York. She earned the M.M. and D.M.A. degrees at the University of Texas at Austin, studying with Rose Taylor and Terry Lusk.

In 1999, she was one of twelve voice teachers selected nationwide to participate in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program. An article based on her doctoral treatise, "Dominick Argento's Casa Guidi: A Character and Musical Study" appeared in the December 2007/January 2008 issue of Journal of Singing.

Dr. Ray is active as a recitalist, oratorio soloist, and clinician, appearing recently in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montana, Illinois, and New York. Solo professional performances with orchestra include: the Angel in Sir Edward Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, J. S. Bach Magnificat, St. John Passion, Christmas Oratorio, and Mass in B minor; Handel Messiah and Belshazzar; Haydn Missa Sanctae Caecilae, Missa in tempore belli and Heligmesse; Beethoven Symphony no. 9, Mozart Requiem and Vesperae Solennes; Durufle Requiem, Vaughan Williams Mass in g minor; and Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light, performed with Anonymous 4.

Opera performances include the title role in Dido and Aeneas, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutti, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Mrs. Grose in Turn of the Screw.

Lewis and Clark Chapter

Gail Dooley, President

712-274-5208 (home)

Dr. Gail Dooley, soprano, joined the music faculty at Morningside College in 1995 and currently serves as the chair of the Music Department. Dr. Dooley received her doctorate in vocal performance with an emphasis in vocal pedagogy from Florida State University. Her Bachelor and Master degrees in vocal performance are from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dr. Dooley teaches Applied Voice, Diction for Singers, and Song Literature. She is an active performer in the Siouxland community and has appeared as soloist with the Sioux City Symphony, the Morningside College Choir, the Siouxland Master Chorale, the Sioux County Oratorio Society, the Morningside College String Quartet, the Morningside College Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and at area churches. She also presents a solo recital each year on the campus of Morningside College. Her most recent performances include lecture-recitals in which she tells the story of the development of the mountain dulcimer and performs Appalachian folksongs, accompanying herself on the mountain dulcimer. Dr. Dooley's college and high school students are successful performers. They have placed as finalists in regional, state, and local competitions, including the National Association of Teachers of Singing student auditions, the Arts Recognition and Talent Search, and the Iowa High School Solo Contests. Dr. Dooley was awarded the Sharon Walker Faculty Excellence Award at Morningside College in 2005 and served as the President of the Faculty at Morningside from 2004 - 2008. She is a charter member of the Lewis & Clark Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and is currently serving as president of the chapter. Before coming to Sioux City, Dr. Dooley lived and taught in Chattanooga, Tennessee for a number of years where she performed roles with the Chattanooga Symphony Opera and solos with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and the Chattanooga Bach Choir.

Missouri District

Governor - Missouri

Christopher Goeke

573-651-2544

Christopher Goeke, tenor, is currently Professor of Music at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO. The tenor holds both the D.M.A. and M.M. Degrees from the University of Iowa, where he studied with Albert Gammon and Robert Eckert. Other teachers include Leo Goeke, Margery Ryan, and Doris Yarick-Cross. Goeke has been a member of NATS since 1992, and has been the Missouri Governor since 2006. He is also a member of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), and is a delegate with the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). Dr. Goeke has performed with many companies including Central City Opera in Colorado, the State Repertory Opera of New Jersey, Westchester Opera in New York, the Light Opera of Manhattan, Santa Fe Desert Choral, Cedar Rapids Symphony, and the Bach Society of St. Louis. His operatic roles include Almaviva in Il Barbieri di Siviglia, Tamino in The Magic Flute, and Alfred and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. He has been featured as tenor soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Magnificat, and St. John Passion, as well as Handel's Messiah, and The Creation by Haydn. Currently, Dr. Goeke is Chair of the Department of Music at Southeast where he also teaches applied voice and assists with operas and musicals, either conducting or directing. Goeke lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri with his wife, Lori Shaffer, who is an active soprano and teacher, and their two daughters.

Kansas City Chapter

Raymond Feener

A native of Bremen, Ohio, Raymond has performed throughout the United States, Holland, Austria, and Italy. Raymond made his professional stage debut in 1995 with the Columbus Light Opera as Giuseppe in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Gondoliers. His International debut was with the Opera Theatre of Lucca in Lucca Italy in 1998 in the title role of Giuseppe Gazzaniga's version of Don Giovanni. Since that time he has made a home in the operatic, oratorio, concert and art song repertoire, and is known for his beautiful lyric voice and outstanding acting ability.

An example of his operatic repertoire ranges from Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Marcello in Puccini's La Boheme to the Man with a Shoe Sample Kit in Argento's Postcard from Morroco, Silvio in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, and Strephon in G & S's Iolanthe.

In 2000 Raymond was accepted into the Sarasota Opera Studio Artist Program where he sang the role of Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and covered the role of Zurga in Les Pecheurs de Perles. That same year, Raymond was also accepted into the Lake George Opera Festival Apprentice Program where he had the opportunity to work with Maestro Daniel Beckwith, stage director Mark Verzatt, and Metropolitan Opera coach Craig Ruttenburg, as well as perform several operatic scenes with fellow apprentice artists, cover the role of Guglielmo in Cosi Fan Tutti, and perform the role of Prince Yamadori in Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

His solo, concert, and recital work has taken him across the country to Alabama, Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Dakota, Missouri, Ohio, Hawaii, and The Netherlands where he perform for the 40^th Anniversary of N.A.T.O. in Brunssum, Holland. His lecture recital entitled, The Evolution of Everyman, is his own multi-media semi-staged production of Frank Martin's work, Sechs Monologue aus Jedermann, using his own English translation as well as text from Hugo von Homannstahl's play, Jedermann. He has recently been seen performing the baritone solos for the Brahm' Ein deutsches Requiem at UMKC under the direction of Dr. Joseph Flummerfelt.

From 2001 to 2005 Raymond served as Assistant Professor of Voice at Ohio University where he taught applied voice, Opera Workshop, and directed the 80 voice male ensemble, The Singing Men of Ohio. The ensemble toured throughout the United States and was invited to perform for the 2002 MTNA National Conference Opening Session in Cincinnati, Ohio and the 2004 Ohio Music Education Association Professional Conference in Columbus Ohio.

In 2002 Raymond served on faculty at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria where he was a stage director for the AIMS Festival. In 2003 Dr. Feener was selected as an intern for the prestigious NATS Internship which was held in Fredonia, New York, where he had the opportunity to work with several Master Teachers including Jerrold Pope and Judith Nicosia. Since 2005 Dr. Feener has served on the voice faculty as Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. Raymond also currently serves on the voice faculty of the Bay View Summer Music Festival in Bay View Michigan..

Raymond received his Bachelors degree in Choral Education and Masters Degree in Vocal Performance from Ohio University. During that time Dr. Feener placed first in the Advanced Men Category in 1996 at the State and Regional NATS Competition as well as a winner of the 1996 NATSAA State Competition. He earned his doctoral degree from the Florida State University School of Music in Vocal Performance/Opera Emphasis. While attending FSU, he was awarded the Gallagher Memorial Award for outstanding performance and academic achievement as well as reaching the finals of the McAllister Award Competition.

He has had the opportunity to work with such vocal coaches as, Lorenzo Malfatti, Douglas Fisher, Timothy Hoeckman, and Natalia Rivera, as well as in Master Classes with Stanford Olsen, Phyllis Curtin, and Marilyn Horne.

Dr. Feener has had several students place at the local and state level for the National Association of Teachers of Singing as well as most recently at the District and Regional levels for the Metropolitan Opera Auditions.

He is currently serving on voice faculty at the Bay View Summer Music Festival in Bay View Michigan.

Ozark Chapter

Carol Chapman, President

417-836-5648

Carol Chapman, soprano, has garnered praise as a versatile singer of oratorio, recital and opera through engagements with the Bach Society of St. Louis, Masterworks Chorale, American Kantorei, the Liberty Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Webster Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Ozarks, Drury-Civic Orchestra and Springfield Regional Opera. She has performed a wide variety of literature from Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Mass in Time of War, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Mozart's C Minor Mass to Mahler's Symphony No. 8. Critics described Ms. Chapman's performance in Handel's Judas Maccabeus with the Bach Society as, "exquisite...a stellar performance." She has been featured in recital at the Salle Cortot, Paris and the Paris Conservatory as well as numerous university recitals including Evangel University, William Jewell College and Missouri Southern State University: operatic roles include Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Pamina in The Magic Flute, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Elvira in the Italian Girl in Algiers, Fiordiligi in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte and several performances of Puccini's Madame Butterfly with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Recently Ms. Chapman has sung Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with the Mid-America Singers and Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with the Webster Symphony. She earned a B.S. Degree in Vocal Performance from William Jewell College, and a Master of Music Degree in Voice Performance from Webster University. She has studied under the tutelage of Dean Wilder, Edward Zambara, Carole Gaspar and Inci Bashar. Currently she is a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance where she studies with Raymond Feener. Ms. Chapman serves on the faculty of Missouri State University as Instructor of Voice.

St. Louis Chapter

Amy Garces, President

618-660-6806

A graduate of the University of Illinois, School of Music. Amy is a former National Vocal Competition Winner of the Society of American Musicians. She has done graduate study at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where she studied with Sarah Turner. Amy directed Children's Choirs at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Belleville, IL for several years. She enjoys her work as a private vocal teacher and has many excellent students in the area. Amy has been a featured soloist for many Community groups and churches. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity and sings with the St. Louis Symphony Chorus under the direction of Amy Kaiser. Amy and her husband, Archie, are the parents of three children.