Vocal Arts Performing Academy
Randall Manges
Manges, a native of Pennsylvania, has lived and worked in the Chicago area for the past twenty years. He earned degrees from Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ) and the University of Oklahoma (Norman). He is a sought-after accompanist (organ, piano, harpsichord), and has played in a number of English cathedrals. He is currently Director of Vocal Music at the School of St. Mary in Lake Forest, as well as Organist/Choirmaster for the Highland Park Presbyterian Church.
Patrice Michaels
Michaels has 16 years experience teaching voice and directing opera scenes at the Conservatory of Music at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. A Chicago-based performing artist with 22 commercial recordings to her credit, Patrice apprenticed with renowned stage director Wesley Balk at Minnesota Opera, did post-graduate studies in performance and composition at the Banff Centre in Canada under such greats as stage director Colin Graham, and is herself an invited clinician at such institutions as the Dreyfoos High School of the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach and the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut.
Class Description
Renowned stage director Wesley Balk made his home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, directing for Minnesota Opera and teaching at the University of MN Twin Cities campus from the 1960s through the 1980s. His pioneering approach to acting for singers is detailed in “The Complete Singer-Actor,” “Performing Power” and “The Radiant Performer.” Patrice Michaels will share the training and experience gained during her years as a Balk student. Students will use their songs and arias as a vehicle for creative exploration and expression, experimenting with physical and emotional choices in practice and performance.
