Faculty

Alek Shrader is an opera tenor, director, and screenwriter. He has performed Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte with Opera de Oviedo in Spain, sang David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with the San Francisco Opera, and Alfredo in La traviata with Opera Philadelphia, among many other roles. He also appeared in The Audition, a documentary about the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Soprano Andriana Chuchman has appeared at countless international opera houses and concert halls. A graduate of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center and San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, her many accolades include the Opera Theater of St. Louis’s Mabel Dorn Reeder Award and a Sullivan Foundation Encouragement Award.

One of the leading collaborative pianists of his generation, John Churchwell enjoys a career on the concert stage as well as in the nation’s leading opera houses. A champion of American music, John was involved in the world premieres of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby and Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. 

Pianist, Opera Coach and Producer, Ronny Michael Greenberg is a leading innovator in the world of performing arts. A native of Montreal, he has toured internationally, performing in opera houses and concert halls including the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, Montreal’s Place des Arts Theater, and across Italy, New Zealand, and Hawaii.

Maureen Zoltek is an accomplished music professional currently serving as the Head of Music Staff and Music Director for the Sarah & Ernest Butler HGO Studio at Houston Grand Opera since September 2022. Zoltek has been a Vocal Institute Faculty member at the Music Academy of the West since June 2018. 

One of the world’s busiest collaborators, Martin Katz has been dubbed “The gold standard of collaborative pianists today” by the New York Times. He has been in constant demand by the world’s most celebrated vocal soloists for five decades, and has appeared and recorded regularly with Marilyn Horne, Frederica von Stade, Karita Mattila, Samuel Ramey, David Daniels, Lawrence Brownlee, Jose Carreras, Cecilia Bartoli, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Kathleen Battle, just to name a few.

Pianist and vocal coach Grant Loehnig serves as Head of Music Staff at Opera Philadelphia and is a Master Opera Coach on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music. He works regularly on the music staff of Lyric Opera of Chicago and Aspen Opera Theater. He also frequently serves as a district judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack leads the vanguard of a new generation of opera singers, infusing her artistry with a mix of intensity, adventurousness, and effortless charisma. Ms. Mack has appeared in many of the world’s most important opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, English National Opera, Teatro Real, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and the Verbier Festival.

Equally at home in the world of opera, symphonic repertoire and contemporary music, American conductor Ryan McAdams has established a presence on both sides of the Atlantic. A contemporary music advocate, Ryan is the Principal Conductor of the Crash Ensemble, Ireland's foremost contemporary music group. 

Grammy® Award-winning mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor is internationally acclaimed equally in the pillars of the classical music canon, as she is in new works of modern masters. She regularly performs as a soloist with major symphony orchestras, is sought after by many of the most heralded composers of the modern day, and enjoys a vivid recital career.

American tenor Richard Cox has appeared as a soloist with many distinguished organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Glimmerglass Festival, The Wexford Festival Opera, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden, and Oper Frankfurt.