Mitchell Piper's far-reaching accomplishments have positively influenced the careers of young performers for over two decades.
Meet Our Faculty
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Directors
Robin Blauers Piper
Artistic/Stage Director
Robin Blauers’ directed the European Premiere of Mark Adamo’s Little Women at the Stadsschouwburg in Bruges, Belgium.
J. David Jackson
Music Director/Conductor
Maestro Jackson recently conducted Massenet’s Werther, and Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess at the Metropolitan Opera.
Maddalena Deichmann
Director of Production and Artistic Administration
Maddalena’s management experience embraces all areas of live and filmed entertainment.
Opera & Voice
Mitchell Piper
Founding Executive Director
Mitchell Piper's far-reaching accomplishments have positively influenced the careers of young performers for over two decades.
Robin Blauers Piper
Artistic/Stage Director
Robin Blauers’ directed the European Premiere of Mark Adamo’s Little Women at the Stadsschouwburg in Bruges, Belgium.
J. David Jackson
Music Director/Conductor
Maestro Jackson recently conducted Massenet’s Werther, and Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess at the Metropolitan Opera.
Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet
Master Teacher/Voice
Dramatic soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet has established herself as a leading force in the German and contemporary repertoires.
Jonathan Beyer
Master Teacher/Voice
Jonathan Beyer has taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and the Chautauqua Institution.
Neal Goren
Conductor
Conductor Neal Goren was the founder and Artistic Director of Gotham Chamber Opera.
David Gately
Stage Director
Stage director David Gately is known for his vivid story-telling and his lively and clever productions.
Patrizia di Paolo
Stage Director
Stage director Patrizia di Paolo began her musical career as a pianist and violist.
Jane Robinson
Vocal Coach
Jane Robinson is Head of Vocal Coaching and Development at English National Opera, London.
Peter Nilsson
Vocal Coach
Peter began as repetiteur with the Illinois Opera Center and Bowen Park Opera, and later worked at the Lyric Opera Center for Young American Artists.
Lachlan Glen
Vocal Coach
Australian pianist, conductor and voice coach Lachlan Glen performs around Australia, Europe, and the United States, at venues including Wigmore...
Tim Ribchester
Vocal Coach/Conductor
Berlin based conductor, Tim Ribchester is acclaimed for his “passionate commitment to the composer and score".
Alexandra Naumenko
Vocal Coach
Alexandra Naumenko has served on the music staff of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, Florida Grand Opera, Palm Beach Opera.
Luba Podgayskaya
Vocal Coach/Pianist
Luba is a Russian pianist and harpsichordist, working and living in the Netherlands and Central Europe.
Chamber Music
Jaroslaw Lis
Director Chamber Music, Master Teacher – Violin
Jaroslaw (Jarek) Lis received his M.A. summa cum laude from the Frederic Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland.
Tobias Gossmann
Master Teacher – Violin
Tobias Gossmann received his professional training at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria.
Paul Cortese
Master Teacher – Viola
Paul Cortese graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with the famed violist Joseph de Pasquale.
Guillaume Paolett
Master Teacher – Cello
As a member of the Bartholdy Trio, he has been extremely active, winning four major international prize.
Valentina Ciardelli
Master Teacher – Double Bass
Valentina lives in London and is a faculty member with Leon’s Bosch class at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and young artist of Talent Unlimited.
Nicolas Duchamp
Master Teacher – Flute
Nicolas Duchamp is an internationally acclaimed performer and teacher, in the tradition of the Paris Conservatory French school of flute playing.
Evan Ocheret
Master Teacher – Oboe
He currently performs all along the the East Coast with groups including Opera Philadelphia, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Knights Chamber Orchestra.
Curt Blood
Master Teacher – Clarinet
Mr. Blood has held the principal clarinet chair in the Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO) since 1982.
Nanci Belmont
Master Teacher – Bassoon
Bassoonist Nanci Belmont, praised as “outstanding” by the New York Classical Review, is a dynamic musician enjoying a diverse career as a performer, educator, and arts advocate.
Guglielmo Pellarin
Master Teacher – Horn
A founding member of the Italian Wonderbrass Quintet and of the Kalamos Wind Quintet, Guglielmo has obtained accolades in both Europe and North America.
Cindy Scaruffi-Klispie
Master Teacher – Trumpet
An accomplished performer, Cindy has played with the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Elgin Symphony, and many other ensembles in the USA.
Sun He
Master Teacher – Trombone
As a brass instrument technologist, he designs, builds, and repairs brass instruments and has served musicians from the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Beijing Symphony and the China National Symphony.
Dimitri Fiorin
Master Teacher – Percussion
Dimitri is an honor graduate from Udine Conservatory and has been percussion faculty in several iItalian conservatories.
Yaniv M. Cohen
Resident Artist – Viola
Yaniv has performed with the Broadway Cast of Evita during their national tour, and with the National Moravian Society across Germany and the Czech Republic.
Christine Mello
Resident Artist – Cello
Christine is a cellist and educator passionate about bringing the power and beauty of classical music to wider and more diverse audiences.
Musical Theater
Robert Meffe
Music Director/Conductor
Robert Meffe, Head of the SDSU MFA Musical Theatre Program, spent twenty-two years in New York City as a professional conductor, music director, keyboardist, orchestrator, arranger and music copyist.
Vince DeGeorge
Stage Director
Vince is on the faculty of University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) as the Joseph Weinberger Chair of Acting for the Lyric Stage in Musical Theater and Opera.
Linda Goodrich
Stage Director/Choreographer
Linda is an accomplished director and choreographer whose directing credits include Bat Boy, and Smokey Joe’s Café for Theatreworks.
Jamie Rae Reed
Conductor
Jamie is Assistant Professor of Practice of Musical Theatre at University of Arizona.
Priscilla Bagley
Master Teacher – Voice
Priscilla enjoys a successful career including over 20 years of performing internationally in opera, musical theatre, concertizing with orchestras, and in cabarets.
Choral
Christian Ciuca
Conductor
Christian Ciuca began playing the violin at the age of 6 at the Lycée George Enescu in Bucharest.
Séverine Busnel
Sports coach specialized for Singers/Dancers & Choreographer
Passionate dancer, sportswoman, overflowing with vitality, Séverine Busnel is a graduate of state of jazz dance and fitness trades.
Carol Ann Manzi
Master Teacher – Voice
Carol Ann Manzi is a graduate of the Yale University and has enjoyed an extensive performing career.
Production Staff
Maddalena Deichmann
Director of Production and Artistic Administration
Maddalena’s management experience embraces all areas of live and filmed entertainment.
Diana Duri
Events Coordinator
Diana has been a professional in Performing Arts Education for over a decade; she has worked with students of all ages and levels of experience.
Michele Trotter
Technical Director
Michele discovered his love for theatre and theatre education after a career as a photographer, which brought him around the world, including Africa and the Middle East.
Elena Sueri
Costume & Props Coordinator
Elena earned her degree in set design from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna and has studied costume design at the Verona Accademia per L’Opera Italiana.
Ljupka Jakimovska
Stage Manager/Assistant Director
Ljupka obtained her Bachelors’s degree in stage direction in Bulgaria at the New Bulgarian University under Pavel Gerzhikov.
Ryan Davy
Head Stage Manager, Musical Theatre
Ryan Davy trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow and holds a degree in Production Technology and Management.
Becky Fitzpatrick
Head Stage Manager, Opera
Becky is a graduate from the University of British Columbia where she got a degree in Theatre Design and Production.
Andjela Bizimoska
Stage Manager/Assistant Director, Opera
Andjela obtained a Bachelor Degree in Music and Performing Arts and a Master’s Degree in Musicology at the University of Bologna.