The Teachers
“This was the best instruction I have received in 20+ years of professional training.”
In 1993, we combined our skills as musicians, actors, singers and teachers to create an annual artistic singing retreat. Inspired by sources such as the Roy Hart Theater, the Cabaret work of Martha Schlamme, the Acting and Voice work of Mark Rittenberg and Penny Kreitzer, we designed a summer program where individuals could experience the power of voice and body as a celebration of the human spirit. We shared the belief that music and especially singing can inspire transformations in people’s lives, and that artistic work enhances the ability to be fully present in the world.
“The teachers created such a wonderful learning environment. I felt safe to experiment and learn, finding parts of my voice and myself that I didn’t know existed. They were an inspiration”
Please Note: Not all teachers teach at every workshop
BELLE LINDA HALPERN (Vocal Technique & Songs) a cabaret singer and actress, has taught singing since 1986 in Boston, San Francisco, Italy and France. Belle has performed at clubs and theaters in New York, San Francisco, Paris, Munich, Jerusalem, and Bombay. She has taught at Harvard University and the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. Her influences include cabaret singer Martha Schlamme (cabaret), Penelope Kreitzer (acting), Edwin Gray (musical theatre), and Christa Ludwig (opera). Belle is co-founder of the Ariel Group (www.arielgroup.com) and co-author of the best-selling Leadership Presence, a book about leadership and dramatic performance. She is also the founder of the non-profit Inspiring Educators, helping schools inspire, so students succeed. Most recently she created the critically acclaimed show: CRAVINGS — Songs of Hunger & Satisfaction a funny and thought-provoking look at our search for what feeds us. The Boston Globe and Jewish Advocate named it their Best Theater of the year and it was nominated for an IRNE Award. Belle and music Director/accompanist, Tuscany Projects own Ron Roy are excited to announce their recording Cravings is available on Spotify. Click here to see video of Belle in the Studio.
During the workshop, Belle will focus on the art of cabaret: connecting performers to their song and to their audience through feelings and life experiences.
Here is a link of Belle performing in Moon Over Dark Street, a show with the jazz-hot tunes of Kurt Weill that tracks the devastation of the Second World War and the McCarthy Era.
ANJA STRUCHHOLZ (Movement & Performance Presence) has studied and taught theater, movement and voice for the past 35 years throughout Europe and the US. Her work is informed by approaches ranging from the voicework of the Roy Hart Theatre, Kristin Linklater and Romeo Alavi Kia, from Classical Ballet and New Dance to various acting approaches, improv theater and Ruth Zaporah's Action Theater. Anja has sung in choirs and a cappella quartets, has performed her One-Woman-Show "Wanted" and sung in clubs with a guitarist. Anja's interest as an artist and teacher is in discovering the deeper potential of each individual by changing old habits and exploring new ways of expression and making them “safe”. Through the curious dance of our body, voice, imagination and emotion we deepen our authenticity as a singer and find more ease in working moment to moment. Anja's classes focus on connecting body, breath, voice, text and imagination, and the ability to be present on stage with awareness, aliveness and confidence. Anja is also a coach and facilitator for Leadership Presence and Communication (http://www.anja-struchholz.de), and a certified Somatic Experience Practitioner (www.somaticexperiencing.com).
RON ROY (Songs, Musical Style) has been working with singers for most of his life. Trained as a classical pianist, with a degree in piano performance, Ron naturally defaulted to the singing voice and has kept that romance alive to the present day. He is an arranger, musical director, vocal coach, and performer. Ron, recently retired, was an Assistant Professor of Theater at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee in Boston, Massachusetts. There he helped to prepare young singers for a career in musical theater. In addition, he co-directed students in the Graduate program, coaching them in the development and performance of their final musical cabaret thesis. Ron takes great delight in supporting the singer, always encouraging a path towards unearthing one’s own musical voice, rhythm, and style.
He has traveled internationally as accompanist and musical director for a wide variety of shows and artists. Ron brings his ’joie de vivre’, his exceptional talent and passion for music in working on a broad range of styles, from classical and opera, to pop and jazz. Ron will be co-teaching with Belle, working on a song, exploring, and creating an arrangement that works uniquely for you and encouraging you to sing from a place of joy. He will also offer individual coaching sessions allowing you time to work one on one on shaping your song and gaining confidence as a performer, be it amateur or professional.
Ron can be heard on the following links;
With Belle Linda Halpern 'Cravings"
With Shepley Metcalf, a Tuscany Project 2005 alumni.:
SHAYNEE RAINBOLT (Administrator/Sometimes Vocal Technique & Coach) is an award-winning jazz vocalist/recording artist with a B.A. in Music Theater (S.F. State University), an M.A. in Arts Administration (Golden Gate University), and extensive training in vocal technique & performance from a diverse array of instructors. A three-time Tuscany Project Alumni, Shaynee credits the Project with giving her the tools and encouragement to follow her dream and return to the stage after a long absence. Since her first project in 2000, she has recorded four CD’s & performed extensively in the US & abroad at performing arts centers, festivals and clubs. Shaynee is also a freelance arts manager and consultant. Please visit www.shaynee.com for complete details.
“No other word than MARVELOUS!”
Additional Founders and Guest Teachers
BENTZION (B.Z.) GOLDBERG (Vocal Exploration & Song Interpretation) B.Z. has worked with the human voice for the past twenty five years, exploring a range of approaches from experimental work to opera. His influences and teachers include Penelope Kreitzer, Mark Rittenberg, James Toland, Seth Riggs, Kaya Anderson, and a number of members of the Roy Hart Theatre. B.Z. has worked in a variety of styles from highly experimental music to opera to a three-year stint singing gospel music with the Glide Ensemble in San Francisco. He has taught in the USA, Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. B.Z.’s teaching often includes vocal exploration and the deep connections between the voice and the body while exploring a wide range of techniques of approaching individual songs. B.Z. is also a filmmaker and director of the Academy Award nominated film Promises, as well as the climate change film project 8 degrees and 34 minutes East.
DR. PHILLIP WOODS (Group singing and other delights) Born into a family of North Carolina preachers and singers, Phillip credits his early exposure to Gospel for his passion for music and its ability to transform lives. An acclaimed pianist, arranger, and choir director for church, community and theater groups for 30 years, Phillip’s extraordinary talent is known throughout the U.S.A. and abroad. He has recorded several CDs, and his vocals have been heard on national TV. His original music was featured as part of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company’s suite Frames, and he has starred in numerous theatrical productions, including A New Brain, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Songs For a New World. Singers are consistently moved by his spirited teaching, by his depth of passion and commitment to music, and by his lively sense of humor!
Find out more about Phillip at phillip-woods.com.
Previous GUEST TEACHERS
Arina Isaacson
Dorte Koch
Hobart Yates
Ingvar Bengtsson
Johannes Theron
Marie-Paule Marthe
Paul Crabtree
Penelope Kreitzer
Steve Sweeting
Susan Robbins
Terese Genecco