OIO is pleased to announce that Dr. Cody Garner will be returning for a series of two master classes on July 5th and 6th. Singers wishing to schedule private voice lessons with Dr. Garner will have the opportunity to do so during his time with OIO.
We're also pleased to announce that Dr. Elvia Puccinelli, head of the collaborative arts and vocal coaching department and the University of North Texas, will be joining OIO for two master classes on July 12th and 13th. The planned focus of her classes will be on French Operatic Repertoire and Accompanied Recitative.
OIO is delighted to have Erick Wolfe returning again this season to teach stage combat.
Dr. Cody Garner
Dr.Cody Garner is retired Professor Emeritus of Voice in the College of Music at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. His other tenures include the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Stephen F. Austin University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at San Antonio, and for 10 years Chair of the Vocal Division at North Texas.
Dr. Garner, bass, holds degrees from Baylor University, the University of North Texas and the doctorate from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. He has an enviable record in the fields of solo singing and conducting and for the past 47 years has built voice studios which have produced singers who are now singing professionally in the United States and Europe and those also who are teaching in colleges and universities throughout the nation.
Garner counts many opera roles to his credit, a few being: Zuniga, Lodovico, Commendatore, Dandini, Marquis dObigny, Baron Douphol, Elder Ott, Bonzo, Bartolo, Balthazar, and Don Pasquale. Conducting credits are: Gianni Schicchi, Madama Butterfly, Carman, La Traviata, Don Giovanni and Faust.
Besides numerous solo recitals, Garner has been engaged by the following symphony orchestras: New Orleans, Ft. Worth, Dallas, Houston, Mobile, Oklahoma City, Kalamazoo, Lansing, El Paso, Little Rock and San Antonio.
Dr. Elvia Puccinelli
Dr. Elvia L. Puccinelli is Associate Professor of Music at the University of North Texas College of Music, where she has served on the faculty since 2004 as vocal coach and professor of collaborative piano. A dedicated educator in the field of collaborative arts and a specialist in vocal literature, she has held previous appointments with Baylor University and the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California. She has been a clinician or guest teacher at universities throughout the country, including holding a residency at the University of Southern California. Many of her former students have won positions with prestigious training programs, are now employed at houses such as Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Opera Utah, or are on staff or faculty at universities throughout the country.
Alongside her teaching, Dr. Puccinelli is active as a collaborative pianist, vocal coach, and chamber musician. She has appeared in song and chamber music recitals at venues from Los Angeles to New York City, and throughout Europe. A frequent presenter at a number of national and international conferences and congresses, her broad professional experience embraces such diverse performance events as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Chamber Concert Series, Placido Domingo's Operalia Competition, the International Trumpet Guild Conference, the National Opera Association Competition and regional and national NATS conventions. She has appeared in recital with members of the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Also an accomplished organist and harpsichordist, Dr. Puccinelli enjoys a wide variety of repertoire in her collaborations, from Baroque to twenty-first century literature.
An alumna of San Francisco Opera's Merola Program, Dr. Puccinelli spends her summers coaching professional and aspiring singers at the AIMS program in Graz, Austria and at the OperaWorks program in Los Angeles. She was twice invited to serve as rehearsal pianist for Seiji Ozawa at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Dr. Puccinelli, who holds a Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California, has a special interest in language: she also holds an undergraduate degree in French, and has served as language consultant for Martha Gerharts series Italian Song Texts from the 17th through the 20th Centuries for Leyerle Press. A published author on topics of song literature and collaborative piano techniques, Dr. Puccinelli completed her piano and collaborative studies under Alan L. Smith, with additional studies at the Music Academy of the West, with Gwendolyn Koldofsky.
Erick Wolfe
Erick Wolfe has been training professional actors and performers for over 10 years, and has worked with top rated performers from all around the world. His fight credits include Opera, Ballet, Theatre, Commercials, Television, and Film. Erick Wolfe is a Certified Teacher with the British Academy of Stage Combat and a national representative of stage combat with the Association of Theatrical Movement Educators. Erick currently teaches stage combat at Oklahoma City University. www.erickwolfe.com
Zeffin Quinn Hollis
Baritone Zeffin Quinn Hollis has sung over 70 leading roles at many of the countrys most significant opera houses including Dallas Opera, New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Pacific, Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Delaware, Toledo Opera, New Orleans Opera, Dicapo Opera Theater, and also at Hungarys Szeged & Pécs National Theaters. Mr. Hollis has had the pleasure of many orchestral appearances as a soloist with the Brooklyn Philharmonic; Lincoln Centers Little Orchestra Society of New York; Westfield Symphony; Palm Beach Opera Orchestra; Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra; Owensboro Symphony; Bear Valley Music Festival Orchestra and Romes International Chamber Orchestra. His signature operatic roles include Scarpia (Tosca), Escamillo (Carmen), and Jack Rance (La Fanciulla del West). In the fall of 2008, Mr. Hollis represented the USA as John Proctor in the award-winning production of The Crucible broadcast to 46 countries on Mezzo Television.
In addition to a rigorous performing career, Mr. Hollis has also been the principal associate vocal technician to world renowned master clinician Joann C. Zajac for the past nine years. Joann C. Zajac has been teaching her precise and reliable method to singers for over forty years at ZajacStudio (www.zajacstudio.com). Known for unearthing talent; building voices from inception; and guiding and managing the well trained singers through the inherent difficulties of a performing career: ZajacStudio has earned a coveted reputation for providing a meticulous regimen that builds a strong and consistent singer with a complete package ready to take on the difficulties and rewards of a major career. Students have traveled from as far as Hong Kong to work with these down to earth and practical technicians and they encompass every genre including pop, musical theatre, and opera. Using Ms. Zajacs exceptional approach, clients have garnered both critical and popular success working on Broadway, London's West End, and in opera houses all over the world. The ZajacStudio client list also includes recording artists and a long list of top celebrities