Music Department

Voice Faculty:

*Stephen Bryant, Area Coordinator
Professor Stephen Bryant is a Grammy nominee with a distinguished career in concert and opera that has taken him around the world, with acclaimed performances in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Of his performance of Giulio Cesare, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote "Stephen Bryant sings Caesar's music with a solid baritone sound that contains enough metal (and mettle) to suggest the strength of a great warrior." In 2010 Prof. Bryant performed in the opera "Flora" at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolinal. He is scheduled to return to Spoleto this season as well. In 2008/2009 he performed the role of Dante in Tan Dun's Marco Polo at De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, the recording of this performance was responsible for the Grammy nomination Prof. Bryant received. Other recent engagements include Messiah with the Peniel Concert Choir in Avery Fisher Hall, Mendelssohn's Elijah with Canterbury Choral Society and A Sea Symphony with Asheville Choral Society. Season 07/08 brought a slew of oratorio performances. He sang Messiah with the Pensacola Symphony and the Eugene Concert Choir, and the Mozart Requiem with Princeton Pro Musica and the Verdi Requiem with the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. He also performed at Carnegie Hall in Mahler's 8th Symphony with Canterbury Choral Society and appeared with the symphonies of Charleston, Bozeman and Pioneer Valley. Mr. Bryant has sung with the New York City, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Indianapolis, and other opera companies of renown. In performance with major orchestras from The New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra, to the Israel Philharmonic and Japan Philharmonic, Bryant has delighted audiences with a repertoire spanning from Mozart and Verdi to Virgil Thomson and Stewart Wallace. "Bryant stormed the heavens with his large and commanding instrument," said New York Newsday of his performance in Handel's Messiah. His numerous appearances in Handel's Messiah include collaborations with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Musica Sacra at Carnegie Hall. The Bass-baritone's frequent performances of Mendelssohn's Elijah include appearances with the New York Philharmonic under Maestro Kurt Masur, and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Wolfgang Sawallisch. A premiere interpreter of the works of Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun, Bryant created the role of Dante in the world premiere of the opera Marco Polo. He reprised the role at London's Barbicon Center for a performance broadcast by the BBC. Performances include appearances at the Munich Biennale, the Holland Festival in Amsterdam, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, New York City Opera, the Japan Philharmonic in Tokyo, Settembre Musica in Italy, and at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in Scotland. The Times of London referred to the " . . . unearthly overtone singing, brilliantly accomplished by Stephen Bryant." Stephen holds degrees from Oberlin and the University of Michigan, and is on the voice faculty at William Paterson University.

*Nan Guptill Crain
B.M., M.M. Univeristy of Wisconsin. Advanced vocal study with Vera Rozsa, Cynthia Hoffmann, Bruce Norris. Advanced repertoire study with Martin Katz, John Wustman, Hugues Cuñod, Peter Pears. Soprano specializing in recital repertoire. Four world premiers: Lennox Berkeley's Sonnet, Aldeburgh, England; Pallas Athena in Samuel Belich's opera Trojan Women, New York City; Donato Fornuto's Songs of Innocence and Experience, Town Hall, New York City; Songs of Gerald Ginsburg, Merkin Recital Hall, New York City. Active in NATS; Clinician in vocal repertoire: University of Wisconsin; SUNY-Albany; Valparaiso University; Penn State; University of Indiana Pennsylvania; Westerly, Rhode Island; Eastern Regional NATS Conference.

Karen Born-Cafaro
[bio coming soon]

Nils Neubert
B.M., The Juilliard School; M.A., Columbia University Teachers College; D.M.A. studies ongoing, City University of New York, Graduate Center; additional training at the Mozarteum, Caramoor, the Festival de Musica Clasica in Puigcerda, Spain, and Italian language studies at the Scuola Leonardo Da Vinci in Florence, Italy; vocal studies with Dr. Robert C. White, Jr., Patricia Thom, and Robert F. White; studies in voice pedagogy and voice science with Dr. Jeanne Goffi-Fynn, and Dr. Thomas Murry; masterclasses with Phyllis Curtin, Marcello Giordani, Sanford Sylvan, Carol Vaness, and Edith Wiens; 1st Prize, Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition; winner, Friday Woodmere Vocal Competition; grant recipient, Gerda Lissner Foundation; finalist, Liederkranz Foundation Vocal Competition and the Oratorio Society of New York’s Lyndon Woodside Solo Competition.

Tenor Nils Neubert performs regularly in opera, oratorio, and recital. He has sung in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He serves on the faculties at William Paterson University, the Kaufman Music Center, the Summit Music Festival, and the International Academy of Music in Italy. He is former faculty at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, and the Burgos International Music Festival in Spain. He is an active member of NATS, NYSTA, and NAfME. For more information, please visit www.nilsneubert.com.

Claire Stadtmueller
Soprano Claire Stadtmueller made her Carnegie Hall debut in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Egon Stadelman wrote for the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung: "Of the solo quartet, soprano Claire Stadtmueller was by far the most outstanding. She enjoyed a star moment and took advantage of it to the loudly exclaimed enthusiasm of the audience."  Maestro David Randolph of the St. Cecilia Chorus and Orchestra immediately reengaged her for Mozart's Mass in C Minor and Requiem, about which Mr. Stadelman wrote: "Of the soloists, Claire Stadtmueller stood out considerably; her timbre and demeanor reminded me of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf." She has since performed at Carnegie Hall in Handel's Israel in Egypt, Mendelssohn's Second Symphony, Bach's Christmas Oratorio and St. Matthew Passion, and Orff's Carmina Burana. She will perform with the Richard Tucker Foundation this season in New York.

Ms. Stadtmueller has appeared at Lincoln Center 's Avery Fisher Hall, and on National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion and WGBH Boston's Classics in the Morning.

Opera roles she has performed include the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, the Mozart roles of Pamina (The Magic Flute), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte) and Miss Silverpeal (The Impresario); Rosario in Granados' Goyescas, the Mother in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors and the Dew Fairy in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.  She created the leading role of Persephone in the world premiere of Geoffrey Gibbs' opera Potnia.

As a recitalist, Ms. Stadtmueller has performed at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, at New York City's Trinity Church, and on numerous concert series programs on the east coast. Her solo CD, Sweet Peace, is a collection of international songs that celebrate peace or express the tragedy of war. It has been heard on WGBH Boston, WBAI New York and WHJJ Providence.