Solo Contest Judges
Bob Marks
Vocal Coach
Robert (“Bob”) Marks is a voice teacher, coach, conductor, arranger, author and director. He holds a degree in speech and voice pathology, and has taught at the American Musical & Dramatic Academy and the Weist-Barron School in New York. He has been Special Guest Instructor at the Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, The New York Singing Teachers' Association (NYSTA) Professional Development Program at Columbia University, The Voice Foundation Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice, and at NYU's Steinhardt School of Education. He has given workshops, master classes and seminars internationally.His articles have appeared in several publications, including the internationally recognized Journal of Singing.
For several years, he was the host and musical director of the acclaimed Youngstars cabaret performances of professional children in New York City. His music arrangements have been heard on many compact disc releases of the “Revisited” series of recordings on Painted Smiles Records. He also had the honor of directing ragtime legend Max Morath in Ragtime and Again off-Broadway at the York Theatre.
He has been the musical director of over 200 productions across the country, including every style of music, from Kismet to The Rocky Horror Show. He has coached cast members of almost every current Broadway musical, and former students have included Laura Bell Bundy, Kerry Butler, Debbie Gibson, Ariana Grande, Nikki M. James, Ricki Lake, Constantine Maroulis, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman, Christy Carlson Romano, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Britney Spears, and Ashley Tisdale. He was a pianist with the Broadway and national companies of the hit musical Annie, and spent two seasons as the Associate Conductor of the St. Louis Muny Opera, working with such stars as Shirley Jones, Paul Williams, Carol Lawrence, and Vincent Price.
At a time when all styles of non-classical music were mostly ignored and misunderstood by singing teachers, Mr. Marks helped found the seminal Music Theatre Committee of NYSTA, which continues to be a key element in its programs. For over 30 years he has maintained a private voice and recording studio in midtown Manhattan. He is a member of American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP); New York Singing Teachers' Association (NYSTA); National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS); and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS).
He is regarded by many as being one of “the best in the business,” and is committed to bringing his expertise and experience to singers and teachers of singing so that they may reach their vocal performance goals. Recently, he published a book with co-author Dr. Elizabeth Gerbi, 88 Keys to Successful Singing Performances which is available on amazon.com.
Website for more info: https://www.bobmarks.com/
David Henry Hwang
Playwright
David Henry Hwang’s stage works includes the plays M. Butterfly, Yellow Face, Chinglish, Kung Fu, Golden Child, The Dance and the Railroad, and FOB, as well as the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida (co-author), Flower Drum Song (2002 revival) and Disney’s Tarzan. Hwang is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a three-time OBIE Award winner, a Grammy Award winner who has been twice nominated, and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Opera News called him America’s most-produced living opera librettist. Washington National Opera will premiere The Rift, with music by Huang Ruo, in spring 2022. He co-wrote the Gold Record “Solo” with the late pop icon Prince and was a Writer/Consulting Producer for the Golden Globe-winning television series The Affair from 2015-2019. Hwang is currently penning the live-action musical feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Disney Studios and a movie to star actress Gemma Chan. He is Head of Playwriting at Columbia University School of the Arts and sits on the Board of the American Theatre Wing, which he recently Chaired. From 1994-2001, he served by appointment of President Clinton on the President’s Committee for the Arts and the Humanities. Hwang’s newest work, Soft Power, a collaboration with composer Jeanine Tesori, premiered at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre and New York’s Public Theater; it received a 2020 Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album and was a Finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
Website for more Info: http://www.davidhenryhwang.com/bio
David Brunetti
Vocal Coach
David Brunetti is a teacher, musician, and writer in New York City. He teaches ongoing classes in bringing acting technique to songs in New York, and gives annual Master Classes in many locations, including Florida State University, Denmark, Sweden, London, and Brazil. He is the author of a book called Acting Songs, which is used as a textbook in many training programs in the U.S. and internationally.
David has played keyboards and musical directed on and off-Broadway, and played piano on national television as the on-set pianist for the Vicky Lawrence talk show on FOX network. He has served as vocal coach and accompanist for Art Garfunkel, Judy Collins, Michael Feinstein, Jennifer Holliday, Eartha Kitt, Leslie Uggams, Charlotte D’Amboise, Tony Award winners Donna Murphy and Faith Prince, film director Rob Marshall, film actor Paul Giamatti, and Academy Award winner Geena Davis.
Website for more Info: http://www.actingsongs.com/bio/
Dan Callaway
Assistant Professor of Voice at Boston Conservatory
Dan Callaway served on the faculty of Elon University’s music theatre program.
Select theater credits include the Broadway National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera and Where’s Charley? with City Center Encores!, The Pirates of Penzance at the Guthrie Theater, The Caucasian Chalk Circle at the Hangar Theatre, Pippin with Deaf West Theatre at the Mark Taper Forum, My Fair Lady at Sacramento Music Circus, Jesus Christ Superstar at the MUNY, Putting It Together at South Coast Repertory, 1776 and Oklahoma! at Cabrillo Music Theatre, Spamalot and Sweeney Todd (LA Ovation nomination for best featured actor in a musical) with Musical Theatre West, and One Touch of Venus with Lost Musicals at the Royal Opera House.
Callaway also played Logos in Eric Whitacre’s electronic opera Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at the Theatre at Boston Court in Pasadena. With LA's Musical Theatre Guild he performed in Chess, Fade Out – Fade In, The Most Happy Fella, Aspects of Love, Titanic, Edwin Drood, Irma La Douce, Fanny, Shenandoah, and Death Takes a Holiday. He appeared in Carousel, Lombardi, and The Light in the Piazza with Theatre Raleigh as well as Carolina Ballet’s Don Quixote. He also played George in Sunday in the Park with George for North Carolina Summer Rep, and Emile DeBecque in South Pacific and the Padre in Man of La Mancha, both with Triad Stage.
Callaway led a vocal studio in Los Angeles and taught professional music theater workshops. He has several students performing on Broadway, national tours, in the regions, and internationally. He earned a B.F.A. in Music Theatre from Elon College (2000) and an M.M. in Vocal Performance/Pedagogy from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (2017).
He lives in Ashland, Massachusetts, with his wife, Melissa, and sons Noah and Jude. He also teaches regular workshops and lessons in New York City.