2026 PROGRAM FACULTY - LIEDER
BRIAN MOLL
DIRECTOR OF BERLIN LIEDER ACADEMY & FESTIVAL
LIEDER COACH
Brian Moll is Chair of the Piano and Collaborative Piano departments at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he teaches classes in chamber music, vocal repertory and diction. He is also on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he is instructor or repertoire courses and a coach for the opera department. As a keyboardist he has worked with Emmanuel Music, Boston Baroque, and the Handel & Haydn Chorus and Orchestra and has also served as Assistant Conductor for productions by Boston Lyric Opera, Opera North and Boston Midsummer Opera. He has appeared in the ‘Strings in the Mountains Festival” in Colorado, and at the New Hampshire Music Festival and has been on the summer faculty of the Lied Austria Program in Graz.
A magna cum laude graduate of Hamilton College, Moll earned further degrees from the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria and the University of Michigan School of Music, where he studied with Martin Katz. While in Vienna, he earned diplomas with distinction in piano and organ and also taught as a Fulbright teaching assistant. He has given recitals as a pianist and organist in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Bulgaria, France, and throughout the United States, and has appeared with singers Barbara Kilduff, Barbara Quintiliani, Sheri Greenawald, Wolfgang Brendel, Sir Thomas Allen, Kevin Deas, Yeghishe Manucharyan, and Kelly Kaduce. Moll has appeared in such prestigious halls as Vienna’s Mozartsaal, the Haydnsaal at the Esterhazy Castle in Eisenstadt, Austria, Tokyo’s Lilia Hall, and Boston’s Jordan Hall.
Brian Moll is the Whiting Fellowship Recipient (Harvard University).
DIRECTOR OF BERLIN LIEDER ACADEMY & FESTIVAL
LIEDER COACH
Brian Moll is Chair of the Piano and Collaborative Piano departments at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he teaches classes in chamber music, vocal repertory and diction. He is also on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he is instructor or repertoire courses and a coach for the opera department. As a keyboardist he has worked with Emmanuel Music, Boston Baroque, and the Handel & Haydn Chorus and Orchestra and has also served as Assistant Conductor for productions by Boston Lyric Opera, Opera North and Boston Midsummer Opera. He has appeared in the ‘Strings in the Mountains Festival” in Colorado, and at the New Hampshire Music Festival and has been on the summer faculty of the Lied Austria Program in Graz.
A magna cum laude graduate of Hamilton College, Moll earned further degrees from the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria and the University of Michigan School of Music, where he studied with Martin Katz. While in Vienna, he earned diplomas with distinction in piano and organ and also taught as a Fulbright teaching assistant. He has given recitals as a pianist and organist in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Bulgaria, France, and throughout the United States, and has appeared with singers Barbara Kilduff, Barbara Quintiliani, Sheri Greenawald, Wolfgang Brendel, Sir Thomas Allen, Kevin Deas, Yeghishe Manucharyan, and Kelly Kaduce. Moll has appeared in such prestigious halls as Vienna’s Mozartsaal, the Haydnsaal at the Esterhazy Castle in Eisenstadt, Austria, Tokyo’s Lilia Hall, and Boston’s Jordan Hall.
Brian Moll is the Whiting Fellowship Recipient (Harvard University).
PROF. BYRON KNUTSON
MASTERCLASS FACULTY, BERLIN LIEDER AKADEMIE & FESTIVAL
MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR, DIE WALKÜRE
Byron Knutson studied piano, conducting, composition and acting in his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, and in the United States. After completing the Artist Diploma in Opera Coaching at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Song Interpretation at Albion College in Michigan.
In 1999, Mr. Knutson moved to Germany, where until 2010 he worked in the opera houses in Kiel, Halle and Augsburg, conducting operatic repertoire from baroque to contemporary, including operetta, musicals and ballet.
In 2010, Mr. Knutson took over the musical direction of the young artist program at the Komische Oper Berlin. While at the KOB, Mr. Knutson conducted works by Handel, Mozart, Weill, Ginastera and a critically acclaimed production of Phlip Glass’ Les enfants terribles directed by Felix Seiler.
Mr. Knutson’s has worked with conductors such as Paolo Arrivabeni (Bellini’s La Straniera; Theater an der Wien), Friedemann Layer (Der Rosenkavalier) Johannes Kalitzke (World Premiere, Olga Neuwirth’s American Lulu), Patrick Lange (Rigoletto), Carl St. Clair (Aribert Reimann’s Lear), Sebastian Lang-Lessing (Der Rosenkavalier, National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing), Christian Curnyn (Castor et Pollux), Lü Jia (Tannhäuser, Beijing). Mr. Knutson has also prepared the casts of Reimann’s Lear and Die Gespenstersonate for productions at Theater an der Wien and in Tokyo.
Mr. Knutson frequently gives Masterclasses in North America, Europe and China.
In 2015 Mr. Knutson was appointed Professor of Operatic Studies at the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin.
MASTERCLASS FACULTY, BERLIN LIEDER AKADEMIE & FESTIVAL
MUSIC DIRECTOR & CONDUCTOR, DIE WALKÜRE
Byron Knutson studied piano, conducting, composition and acting in his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, and in the United States. After completing the Artist Diploma in Opera Coaching at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Song Interpretation at Albion College in Michigan.
In 1999, Mr. Knutson moved to Germany, where until 2010 he worked in the opera houses in Kiel, Halle and Augsburg, conducting operatic repertoire from baroque to contemporary, including operetta, musicals and ballet.
In 2010, Mr. Knutson took over the musical direction of the young artist program at the Komische Oper Berlin. While at the KOB, Mr. Knutson conducted works by Handel, Mozart, Weill, Ginastera and a critically acclaimed production of Phlip Glass’ Les enfants terribles directed by Felix Seiler.
Mr. Knutson’s has worked with conductors such as Paolo Arrivabeni (Bellini’s La Straniera; Theater an der Wien), Friedemann Layer (Der Rosenkavalier) Johannes Kalitzke (World Premiere, Olga Neuwirth’s American Lulu), Patrick Lange (Rigoletto), Carl St. Clair (Aribert Reimann’s Lear), Sebastian Lang-Lessing (Der Rosenkavalier, National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing), Christian Curnyn (Castor et Pollux), Lü Jia (Tannhäuser, Beijing). Mr. Knutson has also prepared the casts of Reimann’s Lear and Die Gespenstersonate for productions at Theater an der Wien and in Tokyo.
Mr. Knutson frequently gives Masterclasses in North America, Europe and China.
In 2015 Mr. Knutson was appointed Professor of Operatic Studies at the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin.
CAROL MASTRODOMENICO
VOICE FACULTY
Carol Mastrodomenico maintains an active schedule as a guest soloist with choruses, orchestras and other ensembles. She excels in the interpretation of oratorio, and has appeared recently in Poulenc’s Gloria, Beethoven’s Mass in C and Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Requiem, Mahler’s Second Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Fauré’s Requiem.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is an accomplished recitalist, and has recently performed programs ranging from premieres of contemporary music to cabaret programs involving interaction with the audience. She recently toured England with her production of John Morrison’s Jane Austin’s History of England singing the role of Emce. She premiered John McDonald’s Put this in your Pipe and Speech Made by Music with the Essex Chamber Players, and premiered Ellen Bender’s Five Emily Dickinson Songs during New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Festival. Other noted composers she has worked with include Robert DiDomenica and David Leisner. Ms. Mastrodomenico has a great love for Spanish Repertoire, and enjoys programing Spanish and particularly Argentinian songs to introduce the repertoire to her recital audiences.
A champion of vocal chamber music, she has worked with noted musicians premiering new works at contemporary festivals sponsored by BMOP and composer groups at Tufts University and Longy School of Music of Bard College. She has been invited to perform at the Tanglewood Music Center, Jordan Hall, Faneuil Hall, the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, the Boston Vocal Artists Series, the 1794 Meeting House concert Series in New Salem, and the Music at Noon Concert Series at the Swedenborg Chapel.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is the stage director of both the Tufts University Opera Ensemble and the Longy School of Music of Bard College’s Opera Theater at Longy. Recent productions she has directed include Le Nozze di Figaro, Der Zwerg, L’amico Fritz, Gianni Schicchi, Three Sisters who are not Sisters, Three Penny Opera, Dido and Aeneas, Old Maid and the Thief, Amelia Goes to the Ball, Riders to the Sea, Gallantry, The Telephone and Doctor Miracle. Ms. Mastrodomenico is a passionate advocate for newly composed works. With the Tufts Opera Ensemble, she commissioned and directed the world premieres of Knave of Hearts by Vartan Aghababian in 2013 and No Onions, nor Garlic by Thomas Stumpf in 2014. With the Longy Opera Workshop, she commissioned and directed the world premiere of Jane Austen’s History of England by John Morrison in 2014. It is her hope to commission a new opera work every year.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is just as passionate about vocal pedagogy and teaching voice. She has participated in panel discussions by the Boston NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Chapter on the different elements of "Teaching Men to Sing", and was invited by the Western Massachusetts NATS chapter to give a solo presentation on Teaching Men. Her master classes at the Classical Singer Convention, Regional NATS workshops and area Colleges are widely attended. At her invitation, renowned pedagogue Ken Bozeman spoke in the Boston area about the Pedagogical Applications of Vocal Acoustics for teaching voice. She developed and annually taught a vocal curriculum for string performers at the Heifetz International Summer Institute in Staunton, Virginia, US.
Ms. Mastrodomenico’s students can be heard singing throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. They have been accepted into graduate and undergraduate programs at Julliard, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Miami, Frost School of Music, Michigan State University, University of Maryland at College Park, Ithaca College, Guild Hall and The Royal Academy of Music in London. Her singers regularly attend young artist programs at Houston Grand Opera Outreach Program, Central City, Berlin Song Festival, Edinburgh Music Festival and Halifax Opera Festival.
Ms. Mastrodomenico received her Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy at New England Conservatory of Music. She is on the voice faculties of Longy School of Music of Bard College and Tufts University.
VOICE FACULTY
Carol Mastrodomenico maintains an active schedule as a guest soloist with choruses, orchestras and other ensembles. She excels in the interpretation of oratorio, and has appeared recently in Poulenc’s Gloria, Beethoven’s Mass in C and Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Requiem, Mahler’s Second Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Fauré’s Requiem.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is an accomplished recitalist, and has recently performed programs ranging from premieres of contemporary music to cabaret programs involving interaction with the audience. She recently toured England with her production of John Morrison’s Jane Austin’s History of England singing the role of Emce. She premiered John McDonald’s Put this in your Pipe and Speech Made by Music with the Essex Chamber Players, and premiered Ellen Bender’s Five Emily Dickinson Songs during New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Festival. Other noted composers she has worked with include Robert DiDomenica and David Leisner. Ms. Mastrodomenico has a great love for Spanish Repertoire, and enjoys programing Spanish and particularly Argentinian songs to introduce the repertoire to her recital audiences.
A champion of vocal chamber music, she has worked with noted musicians premiering new works at contemporary festivals sponsored by BMOP and composer groups at Tufts University and Longy School of Music of Bard College. She has been invited to perform at the Tanglewood Music Center, Jordan Hall, Faneuil Hall, the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, the Boston Vocal Artists Series, the 1794 Meeting House concert Series in New Salem, and the Music at Noon Concert Series at the Swedenborg Chapel.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is the stage director of both the Tufts University Opera Ensemble and the Longy School of Music of Bard College’s Opera Theater at Longy. Recent productions she has directed include Le Nozze di Figaro, Der Zwerg, L’amico Fritz, Gianni Schicchi, Three Sisters who are not Sisters, Three Penny Opera, Dido and Aeneas, Old Maid and the Thief, Amelia Goes to the Ball, Riders to the Sea, Gallantry, The Telephone and Doctor Miracle. Ms. Mastrodomenico is a passionate advocate for newly composed works. With the Tufts Opera Ensemble, she commissioned and directed the world premieres of Knave of Hearts by Vartan Aghababian in 2013 and No Onions, nor Garlic by Thomas Stumpf in 2014. With the Longy Opera Workshop, she commissioned and directed the world premiere of Jane Austen’s History of England by John Morrison in 2014. It is her hope to commission a new opera work every year.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is just as passionate about vocal pedagogy and teaching voice. She has participated in panel discussions by the Boston NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Chapter on the different elements of "Teaching Men to Sing", and was invited by the Western Massachusetts NATS chapter to give a solo presentation on Teaching Men. Her master classes at the Classical Singer Convention, Regional NATS workshops and area Colleges are widely attended. At her invitation, renowned pedagogue Ken Bozeman spoke in the Boston area about the Pedagogical Applications of Vocal Acoustics for teaching voice. She developed and annually taught a vocal curriculum for string performers at the Heifetz International Summer Institute in Staunton, Virginia, US.
Ms. Mastrodomenico’s students can be heard singing throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. They have been accepted into graduate and undergraduate programs at Julliard, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Miami, Frost School of Music, Michigan State University, University of Maryland at College Park, Ithaca College, Guild Hall and The Royal Academy of Music in London. Her singers regularly attend young artist programs at Houston Grand Opera Outreach Program, Central City, Berlin Song Festival, Edinburgh Music Festival and Halifax Opera Festival.
Ms. Mastrodomenico received her Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy at New England Conservatory of Music. She is on the voice faculties of Longy School of Music of Bard College and Tufts University.
ALEXANDRA VON ROEPKE
GERMAN LANGUAGE & DICTION COACH
Alexandra von Roepke is a versatile, internationally-recognised mezzo-soprano from Berlin, at home both on opera stages in Europe and Asia, as well as in concert halls such as Leipzig's Gewandhaus and Berliner Philharmonie and other venues including the Vatican.
While training as an actress at the Volksbühne in Berlin she by chance discovered she possessed a rich vocal talent. She spent twelve years in Italy, where she completed an extensive period of study, including at the renowned Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome from which she
graduated with exceptionally high academic and artistic merit, and under the private tutelage of the incomparable Christa Ludwig, Sergio Oliva, a renowned conductor at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, and Francesca Patanè, the world famous soprano. Her ability to intimately identify with a range of musical roles, both vocally and as a performer, is outstanding, as audiences and critics regularly agree to be the case. Her repertoire is extensive, from Pergolesi to Belcanto to Verdi, Mozart to Wagner and Richard Strauss to John Cage, although lately she has focused more specifically upon late romantic and modern repertoire. Alexandra von Roepke has appeared in numerous productions to date, mainly in Italy and Germany (including at Berliner Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin and Berliner Philharmonie), but also outside Europe, including in Japan.
As a writer of librettos she has enjoyed the privilege of collaborating with several composers and won a prize for the Youth Opera „Inside Out“. She has been demonstrating her vast experience of both Italian and German music and language since 1996, when she also began teaching the German language and translating from and to both Italian and English, alongside her already
burgeoning career as an opera singer. She has additionally been a vocal teacher since 1999. During this period she has taught both privately and in language schools (including in partnership with companies such as Bosch, Siemens, Fiat and BMW and with several international embassies, including those of Canada and New Zealand), as well as at Freie Universität Berlin and with music schools and academies in Germany and Italy, and conducted numerous masterclasses, both language-focused and musical. Lately she has directed academic programs in Berlin on the works of Richard Wagner and has given concert lectures on Gustav Mahler’s Lied von der Erde in the United States, in New York City and Concord/NH in 2018 and 2019 respectively. In 2021, she also collaborated with several Japanese universities and conservatoires to provide five intensive courses on the subject of diction and pronunciation in the German Lieder repertoire via Zoom to students and professors alike.
In her teaching she not only aims to convey the words, structures and skills necessary for speaking the German language, but also a deep knowledge of their origins and the reasons for their unique characteristics, to allow her students to profoundly master and own this language, among the most spoken and musically performed languages globally.
GERMAN LANGUAGE & DICTION COACH
Alexandra von Roepke is a versatile, internationally-recognised mezzo-soprano from Berlin, at home both on opera stages in Europe and Asia, as well as in concert halls such as Leipzig's Gewandhaus and Berliner Philharmonie and other venues including the Vatican.
While training as an actress at the Volksbühne in Berlin she by chance discovered she possessed a rich vocal talent. She spent twelve years in Italy, where she completed an extensive period of study, including at the renowned Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome from which she
graduated with exceptionally high academic and artistic merit, and under the private tutelage of the incomparable Christa Ludwig, Sergio Oliva, a renowned conductor at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, and Francesca Patanè, the world famous soprano. Her ability to intimately identify with a range of musical roles, both vocally and as a performer, is outstanding, as audiences and critics regularly agree to be the case. Her repertoire is extensive, from Pergolesi to Belcanto to Verdi, Mozart to Wagner and Richard Strauss to John Cage, although lately she has focused more specifically upon late romantic and modern repertoire. Alexandra von Roepke has appeared in numerous productions to date, mainly in Italy and Germany (including at Berliner Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin and Berliner Philharmonie), but also outside Europe, including in Japan.
As a writer of librettos she has enjoyed the privilege of collaborating with several composers and won a prize for the Youth Opera „Inside Out“. She has been demonstrating her vast experience of both Italian and German music and language since 1996, when she also began teaching the German language and translating from and to both Italian and English, alongside her already
burgeoning career as an opera singer. She has additionally been a vocal teacher since 1999. During this period she has taught both privately and in language schools (including in partnership with companies such as Bosch, Siemens, Fiat and BMW and with several international embassies, including those of Canada and New Zealand), as well as at Freie Universität Berlin and with music schools and academies in Germany and Italy, and conducted numerous masterclasses, both language-focused and musical. Lately she has directed academic programs in Berlin on the works of Richard Wagner and has given concert lectures on Gustav Mahler’s Lied von der Erde in the United States, in New York City and Concord/NH in 2018 and 2019 respectively. In 2021, she also collaborated with several Japanese universities and conservatoires to provide five intensive courses on the subject of diction and pronunciation in the German Lieder repertoire via Zoom to students and professors alike.
In her teaching she not only aims to convey the words, structures and skills necessary for speaking the German language, but also a deep knowledge of their origins and the reasons for their unique characteristics, to allow her students to profoundly master and own this language, among the most spoken and musically performed languages globally.
BRITTA WIELAND, AGENT, Wieland Artists Management
VISITING FACULTY
Britta Wieland completed her vocal studies at the Staatlichen
Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart under Prof. Sylvia Geszty and in Cologne under Prof. Josef Protschka. Master classes with KS Brigitte Fassbaender rounded out her training. Engagements took her to the Staatstheater Nürnberg, Theater Aachen, the Wuppertaler Bühnen, and the Stadttheater Pforzheim. In 2005, she worked as an assistant director at the Theater am Kurfürstendamm and then, from 2006 to April 2009, served as assistant to the artistic director of the Berliner Privattheaters Theater und Komödie am Kurfürstendamm. In 2009, she founded the artist agency WIELAND ARTISTS MANAGEMENT BERLIN. Since 2015, Britta Wieland has been a regular guest at music colleges and vocal academies, providing coaching for young singers who want to optimally prepare for a successful entry into the opera and concert business.
In 2019, she founded the Coaching Academy Voice in Progress!. With the VIP! Academy, Britta Wieland advises and supports young as well as experienced artists as a Coach of Artist Development. In addition to mutual vocal and personality coaching, the academy offers competent, individual advice on career development and career advancement.
Since the summer semester of 2023, Britta Wieland has been a lecturer for „Getting into
Business“/Selbstvermarktung“ at the Universität der Künste Berlin, the Hochschule Luzern und an der Hochschule für Musik and the Theater und Medien Hannover.
The Wieland Artists Management represents up and coming as well as well-established artists.
VISITING FACULTY
Britta Wieland completed her vocal studies at the Staatlichen
Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart under Prof. Sylvia Geszty and in Cologne under Prof. Josef Protschka. Master classes with KS Brigitte Fassbaender rounded out her training. Engagements took her to the Staatstheater Nürnberg, Theater Aachen, the Wuppertaler Bühnen, and the Stadttheater Pforzheim. In 2005, she worked as an assistant director at the Theater am Kurfürstendamm and then, from 2006 to April 2009, served as assistant to the artistic director of the Berliner Privattheaters Theater und Komödie am Kurfürstendamm. In 2009, she founded the artist agency WIELAND ARTISTS MANAGEMENT BERLIN. Since 2015, Britta Wieland has been a regular guest at music colleges and vocal academies, providing coaching for young singers who want to optimally prepare for a successful entry into the opera and concert business.
In 2019, she founded the Coaching Academy Voice in Progress!. With the VIP! Academy, Britta Wieland advises and supports young as well as experienced artists as a Coach of Artist Development. In addition to mutual vocal and personality coaching, the academy offers competent, individual advice on career development and career advancement.
Since the summer semester of 2023, Britta Wieland has been a lecturer for „Getting into
Business“/Selbstvermarktung“ at the Universität der Künste Berlin, the Hochschule Luzern und an der Hochschule für Musik and the Theater und Medien Hannover.
The Wieland Artists Management represents up and coming as well as well-established artists.
PROGRAM LEADERSHIP - PAST & CURRENT
Julie Wyma - Executive Director, Founder
Meredith Bloomfield - Managing Director
Anastasia Inniss - Artistic Director 2019-2025, Founder
Meredith Bloomfield - Managing Director
Anastasia Inniss - Artistic Director 2019-2025, Founder
THE PROGRAM HAS NO AGE LIMIT
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SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
'For a long time I have really really struggled with self belief and nerves, to the point of being physically sick before performing and withdrawing myself from competitions due to immense nerves. Dramatic Voices Program Berlin has given me the support and encouragement I've needed to lessen these severe feelings. The program offered me a safe space to be vulnerable as a performer and gave me the assurance that I am on the right path. I came onto the program a young, scared, pessimistic 25 year old with crippling impostor syndrome who had no idea how the opera world truely worked. And although my constant questions and asking for reassurance from you may have seemed annoying, I felt that you allowed me to ask the questions. This program has helped me in more ways than anything I have attended to date. With your guidance and the team's knowledge I feel incredibly inspired.
I flew back to New Zealand recently and competed in the Lockwood New Zealand Aria Competition over the weekend where out of 47 singers, I made it through to the final where I performed with an orchestra for the first time in my life. Of course there were nerves but without DVP I don't think I would have been able to get through the performances.
I just wanted to thank you for this incredible program. As a young singer with a fuller voice it is always so challenging and you both created a safe space for me to discover my voice and myself as a performer.'
- Ellis Carrington, Soprano
'I just wanted to say thank you again for such an amazing DVP 2024! I can’t believe what we accomplished, and your vision proves that expecting the best from people and believing in us really does bring out our best. I really appreciate your commitment to professionalism and treating artists with respect. I always felt like my time and well-being were important, and your scheduling/organizational prowess is top notch! Getting to see artists at all stages of their lives and careers is invaluable and inspiring, and really promotes much more learning and depth to the experience. Needless to say, DVP is a breath of fresh air, and I’m looking forward to applying again for next year!!'
- Helena Waterous
'It was another amazing experience for me, and a great honor. I loved working with such talented colleagues and faculty, who were also kind and lovely human beings. The Lieder program was a joy! Before 2019 I never imagined singing Wagner or Strauss or any kind of dramatic repertoire. You and DVP showed me that I have more potential than I ever imagined, and you changed the course of my musical life.'
- Margaret O'Connell, Mezzo-Soprano
'I am writing to you to express my gratitude for this year's program! I am so happy to have been given this amazing opportunity to take part in DVP 2024. It was indeed life-changing for me in many ways. I received a lot of encouragement and additional clarity on direction in how to navigate this complex path. It was so nice to meet you both, the rest of the faculty and all of the amazing artists. Everyone was so talented and I really believe all of our paths will cross again in future. I was really impressed by you ability to manage this project! You managed to attract such competent professionals which also massively expanded our networks which I am also very grateful for.'
- Ieva Glinske, Soprano
'Because the program has no age limit, young dramatic voices get to share the stage with seasoned professionals who are participating in the program because they want to sing a particular role or are changing Fachs. I established solid professional relationships with people who are in the industry, and working in the opera houses in Europe. And what I have received in lessons, coachings, masterclasses and performance opportunities, headshots, recordings has been one of the most cost effective investments I have done.'
- Stephanie DePrez, Soprano
'Everything that was promised by the program came through beautifully. The daily coachings were impeccable, the voice teaching was fantastic. I feel like I have arrived at another level. I can add Wagner to my repertoire and I owe this to the Dramatic Voices Program Berlin.'
- Marc Molomot, Tenor
'My favorite part were the coachings and lessons, which were at a very high level - they were specific and always done from an encouraging point of view. I did a lot of artistic growth in an environment that is supportive and encourages risk-taking.'
- Jennifer Carter, Soprano
'The first time I sang a solo hojotoho wth orchestra was a highlight of my LIFE! I also absolutely loved being part of such a supportive and talented cohort. What a great bunch of people. I very much enjoyed having the chance to work on my Lieder as well as the Wagner role, and the Masterclasses were also fantastic.It was a perfectly balanced and well-designed program. I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity.'
- Belinda Patterson, Mezzo-Soprano
'Working with Clay Hilley really gave me practical new insights into vocal technique which was underscored beautifully by Carol Mastrodomenico.'
- Pierre du Toit, Tenor
'I loved getting to work with such talented, experienced, and kind singers! It was so educational for me to have the chance to work with professionals that had more experience with me. Their confidence and control of their instruments allowed for deep musical work and inspired me to improve. I also loved how helpful the program was in terms of finding housing for the program. It made coming to a huge new city in a different country as comfortable as it could be! As said before, I also really appreciated the supportive vibe within the program and how connected everyone felt. Having the chance to get to know colleagues from several continents was so special! The program leaders and staff did a fantastic job of bringing in people who were not only talented, but kind and well-rounded as well. They were also extremely understanding and willing to work with any issues that arose during the program. This attitude of positivity and acceptance is how all music programs should be run and I hope to see more programs adopt it in the future.'
- Noah Stone, Pianist
'I absolutely loved all of the faculty and leadership of the program. I wish I could have absorbed more knowledge and gotten to spend more time with you all.'
- Nick Masiello, Tenor
I flew back to New Zealand recently and competed in the Lockwood New Zealand Aria Competition over the weekend where out of 47 singers, I made it through to the final where I performed with an orchestra for the first time in my life. Of course there were nerves but without DVP I don't think I would have been able to get through the performances.
I just wanted to thank you for this incredible program. As a young singer with a fuller voice it is always so challenging and you both created a safe space for me to discover my voice and myself as a performer.'
- Ellis Carrington, Soprano
'I just wanted to say thank you again for such an amazing DVP 2024! I can’t believe what we accomplished, and your vision proves that expecting the best from people and believing in us really does bring out our best. I really appreciate your commitment to professionalism and treating artists with respect. I always felt like my time and well-being were important, and your scheduling/organizational prowess is top notch! Getting to see artists at all stages of their lives and careers is invaluable and inspiring, and really promotes much more learning and depth to the experience. Needless to say, DVP is a breath of fresh air, and I’m looking forward to applying again for next year!!'
- Helena Waterous
'It was another amazing experience for me, and a great honor. I loved working with such talented colleagues and faculty, who were also kind and lovely human beings. The Lieder program was a joy! Before 2019 I never imagined singing Wagner or Strauss or any kind of dramatic repertoire. You and DVP showed me that I have more potential than I ever imagined, and you changed the course of my musical life.'
- Margaret O'Connell, Mezzo-Soprano
'I am writing to you to express my gratitude for this year's program! I am so happy to have been given this amazing opportunity to take part in DVP 2024. It was indeed life-changing for me in many ways. I received a lot of encouragement and additional clarity on direction in how to navigate this complex path. It was so nice to meet you both, the rest of the faculty and all of the amazing artists. Everyone was so talented and I really believe all of our paths will cross again in future. I was really impressed by you ability to manage this project! You managed to attract such competent professionals which also massively expanded our networks which I am also very grateful for.'
- Ieva Glinske, Soprano
'Because the program has no age limit, young dramatic voices get to share the stage with seasoned professionals who are participating in the program because they want to sing a particular role or are changing Fachs. I established solid professional relationships with people who are in the industry, and working in the opera houses in Europe. And what I have received in lessons, coachings, masterclasses and performance opportunities, headshots, recordings has been one of the most cost effective investments I have done.'
- Stephanie DePrez, Soprano
'Everything that was promised by the program came through beautifully. The daily coachings were impeccable, the voice teaching was fantastic. I feel like I have arrived at another level. I can add Wagner to my repertoire and I owe this to the Dramatic Voices Program Berlin.'
- Marc Molomot, Tenor
'My favorite part were the coachings and lessons, which were at a very high level - they were specific and always done from an encouraging point of view. I did a lot of artistic growth in an environment that is supportive and encourages risk-taking.'
- Jennifer Carter, Soprano
'The first time I sang a solo hojotoho wth orchestra was a highlight of my LIFE! I also absolutely loved being part of such a supportive and talented cohort. What a great bunch of people. I very much enjoyed having the chance to work on my Lieder as well as the Wagner role, and the Masterclasses were also fantastic.It was a perfectly balanced and well-designed program. I cannot thank you enough for the opportunity.'
- Belinda Patterson, Mezzo-Soprano
'Working with Clay Hilley really gave me practical new insights into vocal technique which was underscored beautifully by Carol Mastrodomenico.'
- Pierre du Toit, Tenor
'I loved getting to work with such talented, experienced, and kind singers! It was so educational for me to have the chance to work with professionals that had more experience with me. Their confidence and control of their instruments allowed for deep musical work and inspired me to improve. I also loved how helpful the program was in terms of finding housing for the program. It made coming to a huge new city in a different country as comfortable as it could be! As said before, I also really appreciated the supportive vibe within the program and how connected everyone felt. Having the chance to get to know colleagues from several continents was so special! The program leaders and staff did a fantastic job of bringing in people who were not only talented, but kind and well-rounded as well. They were also extremely understanding and willing to work with any issues that arose during the program. This attitude of positivity and acceptance is how all music programs should be run and I hope to see more programs adopt it in the future.'
- Noah Stone, Pianist
'I absolutely loved all of the faculty and leadership of the program. I wish I could have absorbed more knowledge and gotten to spend more time with you all.'
- Nick Masiello, Tenor