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Instructor Bios:

Linda Mule’ Switzer was a prizewinner in the Florida District Metropolitan Opera Auditions and a prizewinner in the Atlanta Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions.  She holds a Master of Music degree in voice performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Longwood College in Farmville, Va.  Mule’ is active as a performer in regional opera, zarzuela and musical theater.  She has performed roles with Opera Tampa, Sarasota Opera, Orlando Opera, Florida Lyric Opera, The Florida Orchestra, Treasure Coast Opera, Pensacola Opera and Spanish Lyric Theatre.  Mule’ felt extremely fortunate to have a role in the world premiere of Anton Coppola’s Sacco and Vanzetti, under the baton of Maestro Coppola.  She most recently performed the role of the widow in the Spanish version of the Merry Widow, entitled La Viuda Alegre, for Spanish Lyric Theatre.  Mule’ owns The Florida Arts School, is an adjunct professor of voice at St. Petersburg College, and is a vocal instructor at Ruth Eckerd Hall.  She is proud of many of her students who have gone on to have major careers on Broadway and in television and film.  On Broadway, Linda’s students have performed in Annie, Matilda, Les Miserables, The Grinch, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Regionally, her students have performed at the Asolo Theatre, American Stage, freefall Theatre, Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, St. Petersburg Opera, and Opera Tampa.  In film and television, students have appeared in Law and Order, Hairspray, Gran Torino, The Good Wife, Sex and the City, American Dreams, The B---- in Apartment 23, Desperate Housewives, and 1 weatherman on Augusta, GA television.

 

Stefanos Koroneos, Baritone, made his debut in La Bohème at the Staatsoper in Freiburg, Germany.  He has since then performed in theatres such as Teatro alla Scala, the Rossini Opera Festival (Pesaro, Italy), The Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow),Palm Beach Opera, Teatro Reggio di Parma,Connecticut Opera, Giglio Rovigo, Livorno, Ravenna Lucca, Osnabrück Theater,  Verdi Busetto, Sociale, Pisa (Italy), and the Athens Concert Hall (Greece). He has worked with conductors such as R. Bonynge, G. Carella, A.Coppola, P. Steinberg, J. Cura, P. Olmi, G, Neuhold B. Aprea, Cor. Rovaris and M. Stefanelli and with directors such as F. Zeffirelli, P. L. Pizzi and E. Sagi. Recordings include Dynamic Records I Vespri Siciliani,live recording from Busseto, RAI Television (performance with Monserrat Caballé) and three operas for Sky International Channel. Future engagements include concerts in Die Berliner Philharmonie (Germany)and in San Gallen (Switzerland ), El Gatto con Las Bottas with Gotham Chamber Opera and Respighi's Belfagor with Opera Grattacielo in New York.

Doris Lea Gibson has spent her life in music.  She received a Bachelor's degree from USF in French Horn Performance and was part of the USF Orchestra and USF Wind Ensemble.  She teaches instrumental music and music theory at the Florida Arts School, Tampa, FL.
In the Musical Theatre/Opera genres, she performed as a vocalist/actor in “Bye, Bye Birdie”, “HMS Pinafore”, the operas “Cavalleria Rusticana”, “Pagliacci”, and “Carmen” with Opera Tampa; and the Island Singers; and as a Horn player for the Second Winds. Also, she is a charter member of the Awesome Original St. Petersburg Second Time Arounders Marching Band traveling to places like Portland, Oregon; San Antonio, Texas; Dublin, Ireland; 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, NY; Calgary, Canada;  and Washington, D.C.

Nick Gaswirth made his Broadway debut in the original company of A Christmas Story: The Musical. Along with frequent workshops and readings of new works in New York, Nick has appeared regionally in Secondhand Lions (Seattle 5th Ave), Yeast Nation (FringeNYC), James and the Giant Peach (Goodspeed), Minnie's Boys and Knickerbocker Holiday (York Theatre), The Full Monty (Westchester Broadway), Candide and A Year With Frog and Toad (Arden Theatre Co.), and Finding Nemo: The Musical (Walt Disney World). Most recently, Nick was featured in Douglas J. Cohen’s The Gig at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He has a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!), and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Along with his performing career, Nick co-owns Roundhouse Designs (roundhouse-designs.com), a boutique web design firm based in New York and Los Angeles.

Tina Kieffer-Mars, Dancer, Choreographer,is a former student, performer, and choreographer of Linda Switzer’s “Project Entertainment”. She has taught dance in various studios and choreographed for Community theaters in the Bay area. Some of the musicals she has choreographed Include: South Pacific, Mame, Bells Are Ringing, My Fair Lady, Follies, The Wizard of Oz, and Gigi. Tina was a professional dancer at Busch Gardens Tampa for a span of twenty years. In The Desert Grill Theater she performed in “American Beat”, “Christmas Celebration”, “International Celebration”, and “The German Show”. In The Marrakesh Theater she performed in “Rock A Doo Wop”, and “Let’s Get Loud”. At The Stanleyville Theater, Tina was the feature dancer in “The Big Band Show”. She was a belly dancer and a snake charmer. Tina was also a stage manager for “Let’s Get Loud” and “Christmas From The Heart”. She is so happy to be working with Linda again because of Linda’s positive influence on the lives of her students.

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