Members at Large
Emily Alvarez
Soprano Emily Alvarez enjoys a career consisting of both teaching and performing. She received her Master of Music in Vocal Performance at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and Bachelor of Arts in Music and History from Luther College, where she graduated summa cum laude and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Full roles performed by Alvarez include, Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Wife (The Music Shopby Richard Wargo), La Rose (Le Petit Prince), Mae (The Pajama Game), and Lady Thiang (The King & I) in addition to many scenes from operas and musicals. She was featured as the soprano soloist in the world premier of Stephen Paulus’ Luther Mass at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, MN to celebrate the sesquicentennial of Luther College. Alvarez participated in the Welsey Balk Institute for Opera/Musical Theater singers in Minneapolis, and continues to perform solo recitals of operatic, oratorio, musical theater, and art song repertoire. As a choral soloist, Alvarez performed Carmina Burana and John Rutter’s Gloria with the Lakeshore Chorale in Sheboygan, WI.
Alvarez is currently Instructor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Lakeland University, directing the Lakeland Choir, teaching applied voice and other music courses, in addition to maintaining a private voice studio. Her students have received professional contracts with the Skylight Opera Company in Milwaukee, WI, and KIDS From Wisconsin. Also from her studio was a first place winner in the NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) District auditions in both the Classical and Musical Theater divisions. Teachers and coaches to note include Connie Haas, Janna Ernst, Jeanine Wagner, David Dillard, Rachel Ware Carlton, Margaret Simmons, Jessica Paul, Tim Fink, and Kevin Smith.
You can contact Emily directly by clicking this link: alvarez.emilyk@gmail.com
Full roles performed by Alvarez include, Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Wife (The Music Shopby Richard Wargo), La Rose (Le Petit Prince), Mae (The Pajama Game), and Lady Thiang (The King & I) in addition to many scenes from operas and musicals. She was featured as the soprano soloist in the world premier of Stephen Paulus’ Luther Mass at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, MN to celebrate the sesquicentennial of Luther College. Alvarez participated in the Welsey Balk Institute for Opera/Musical Theater singers in Minneapolis, and continues to perform solo recitals of operatic, oratorio, musical theater, and art song repertoire. As a choral soloist, Alvarez performed Carmina Burana and John Rutter’s Gloria with the Lakeshore Chorale in Sheboygan, WI.
Alvarez is currently Instructor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Lakeland University, directing the Lakeland Choir, teaching applied voice and other music courses, in addition to maintaining a private voice studio. Her students have received professional contracts with the Skylight Opera Company in Milwaukee, WI, and KIDS From Wisconsin. Also from her studio was a first place winner in the NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) District auditions in both the Classical and Musical Theater divisions. Teachers and coaches to note include Connie Haas, Janna Ernst, Jeanine Wagner, David Dillard, Rachel Ware Carlton, Margaret Simmons, Jessica Paul, Tim Fink, and Kevin Smith.
You can contact Emily directly by clicking this link: alvarez.emilyk@gmail.com
Jennifer Conrad-Proulx
A native of Milwaukee, Jennifer Conrad-Proulx opened her studio in 2001 and has since served on the voice faculty at the Community Music School in Buffalo, NY and the All Newton Music School in Newton, MA before returning to Milwaukee in 2013 to open an independent studio.
Her students have been seen singing backup on tour with folk legend Joan Baez and opening for artists such as The Indigo Girls and Rusted Root. Studio alumni have been seen Off-Broadway and touring in National Broadway Tours in addition to many local performance organizations such as First Stage Theater (Milwaukee, WI), Milwaukee Children's Choir (Milwaukee, WI), Boston Children's Theater (Boston, MA) and Boston Children's Chorus (Boston, MA).
Alumni of the studio have continued their studies in colleges across the United States, including but not limited to the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, SUNY Purchase, and Georgetown University.
A member of NATS since 2007, Jennifer was one of fourteen national award winners of the 2016 Joan Frey Boytim Award for Independent Teachers.
Performing credits include Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Annina in Der Rosenkavalier and the North American Premiere of Oedipe as Merope with Sinfonia da Camera. In recital, Jennifer remains a champion of contemporary song and women composers. She has premiered works of local and regional composers throughout her career. A winner of the Wisconsin Public Radio’s Neale-Silva Competition, she appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Live from the Elvejem in recital. Jennifer may be heard on Albany Records recording of George Enescu 's opera Oedipe.
Jennifer holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and BFA from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, with additional studies at La Musica Lirica and La Scuola Italia in Italy.
You may find more information at www.jenniferconradproulx.com
You can contact Jennifer directly by clicking this link: jl_proulx@hotmail.com
Her students have been seen singing backup on tour with folk legend Joan Baez and opening for artists such as The Indigo Girls and Rusted Root. Studio alumni have been seen Off-Broadway and touring in National Broadway Tours in addition to many local performance organizations such as First Stage Theater (Milwaukee, WI), Milwaukee Children's Choir (Milwaukee, WI), Boston Children's Theater (Boston, MA) and Boston Children's Chorus (Boston, MA).
Alumni of the studio have continued their studies in colleges across the United States, including but not limited to the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, SUNY Purchase, and Georgetown University.
A member of NATS since 2007, Jennifer was one of fourteen national award winners of the 2016 Joan Frey Boytim Award for Independent Teachers.
Performing credits include Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Annina in Der Rosenkavalier and the North American Premiere of Oedipe as Merope with Sinfonia da Camera. In recital, Jennifer remains a champion of contemporary song and women composers. She has premiered works of local and regional composers throughout her career. A winner of the Wisconsin Public Radio’s Neale-Silva Competition, she appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Live from the Elvejem in recital. Jennifer may be heard on Albany Records recording of George Enescu 's opera Oedipe.
Jennifer holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and BFA from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, with additional studies at La Musica Lirica and La Scuola Italia in Italy.
You may find more information at www.jenniferconradproulx.com
You can contact Jennifer directly by clicking this link: jl_proulx@hotmail.com
Anna Hersey
Hailed by critics as a “force of nature,” soprano Anna Hersey enjoys performing a wide range of vocal repertoire. A native of Minnesota, Dr. Hersey has performed throughout the United States and Europe, appearing with Palm Beach Opera, Florida Chamber Orchestra, Hispanic-American Lyric Theater, Skylark Opera, The Minnesota Opera, and Theatre de la Jeune Lune (at Berkeley Repertory Theater), among others.
A noted expert on Scandinavian vocal literature and diction, Dr. Hersey was a Fulbright Scholar at the Kungliga Musikhögskolan (Royal College of Music) in Stockholm, where she collaborated with pianist Matti Hirvonen. Dr. Hersey also conducted research at Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium (Royal Danish Academy of Music) and Københavns Universitet (University of Copenhagen), thanks to a post-doctoral fellowship from the American Scandinavian Foundation.
Dr. Hersey’s articles have been published in the Journal of Singing, VOICEPrints, and The Opera Journal, and her translations have been published by Carnegie Hall. Her first book, Scandinavian Song: A Guide to Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish Diction and Repertoire was released by Rowman & Littlefield in September 2016. Her recital performances have been sponsored by Finlandia Foundation, American Scandinavian Foundation, Sons of Norway, The Lief Eriksson International Festival, and The Grieg Society.
Dr. Hersey holds master’s degrees in performance and musicology from the University of Minnesota, and pursued advanced studies at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. She earned a doctorate from the University of Miami, where she was a Smathers Fellow. She is Associate Professor of Voice at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
You can contact Anna directly by clicking this link: herseya@uwosh.edu
A noted expert on Scandinavian vocal literature and diction, Dr. Hersey was a Fulbright Scholar at the Kungliga Musikhögskolan (Royal College of Music) in Stockholm, where she collaborated with pianist Matti Hirvonen. Dr. Hersey also conducted research at Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium (Royal Danish Academy of Music) and Københavns Universitet (University of Copenhagen), thanks to a post-doctoral fellowship from the American Scandinavian Foundation.
Dr. Hersey’s articles have been published in the Journal of Singing, VOICEPrints, and The Opera Journal, and her translations have been published by Carnegie Hall. Her first book, Scandinavian Song: A Guide to Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish Diction and Repertoire was released by Rowman & Littlefield in September 2016. Her recital performances have been sponsored by Finlandia Foundation, American Scandinavian Foundation, Sons of Norway, The Lief Eriksson International Festival, and The Grieg Society.
Dr. Hersey holds master’s degrees in performance and musicology from the University of Minnesota, and pursued advanced studies at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. She earned a doctorate from the University of Miami, where she was a Smathers Fellow. She is Associate Professor of Voice at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
You can contact Anna directly by clicking this link: herseya@uwosh.edu
