Kathy Pyeatt, Director

Kathy first became involved with the Wisconsin District MONC as a singer, when her teacher and mentor Pat Crump, convinced her she might just be able to sing opera. The first year was a bit nerve racking and Kathy’s main goal was simply not to faint. Luckily she did not and she actually won an award for “most promising female”. Kathy auditioned for four years and won various prizes and places and eventually won the District Auditions in 1996 and placed second at the Upper Midwest Regionals in 1997. She has gone on to sing with leading orchestras and opera companies through out the United States. This season's highlights include Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte) with the Skylight Opera Theatre, the title role in Puccini's Tosca with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Missouri and the title role in Annelies with the Key Chorale in Sarasota, Florida. Kathy joined Pat as Co-Director in 2003 and became sole Director in 2007. She is really enjoying giving back to the organization that gave her a start. Kathy is currently restoring a 100 year old home in Cedarburg along with her husband, Dan Kerkman, 7 year-old daughter Emma, and her chocolate lab, Mocha.

Patricia Crump, Director Emerita

This is Pat's 38th year of service to the Wisconsin District MONC Auditions. She served 7 years as Treasurer, 25 years as Director, and 4 years as Co-Director. Pat's life work was teaching singing. She has many students who are teaching, performing or both and is very proud of them. There is no one of which she is prouder than Kathy Pyeatt, who has not only distinguished herself vocally but has brought the Wis. Met Auditions into the computer age, serving as a model for other districts. Pat is also grateful for the loyal Wis. Met Audition Board. Most are singers also, and give freely of their time and energy to maintain our reputation as one of the best districts in the country. This history would not be complete without giving credit to my right hand helper of these 38 years of Met work (actual years - 53!), my husband Phil. He has helped with every facet of this work from the beginning and is still our chief financial advisor. We wouldn't be where we are without him, nor would I.

Julie Calteaux, Media Coordinator

Helen Ceci, Secretary & Publicity

Helen Ceci is secretary of WI MONC, and is also in charge of publicity. Back in the Dark Ages she sang in the Met Auditions. She graduated from Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a BFA in Vocal Performance, which included a year of study and performance at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She has performed in many local concerts, operas and solo recitals for such groups as Milwaukee Opera Company, Florentine Opera on Wheels, Civic Music Association, Sullivan Chamber Ensemble, Bach Chamber Choir, Ceciliana Quartet, Pike River Musicians. She currently teaches private voice to an enormous number of promising students. She lives on the East Side of Milwaukee with her little dog, Thumbelina, and when she is not teaching she likes to read, cook, camp, hike and sew.

Marguerite Greinke, Treasurer

Marguerite has been involved with the Wisconsin District MONC for over 20 years as a volunteer. She is also a singer, having performed with the Florentine Opera, Milwaukee Choristers, and several church choirs. Marguerite sits on the Board of Directors for the Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Harmony Club and Supporters of Opera Singers. She also belongs to the MacDowell Club, Waukesha Music Club and Harmony Club. Marguerite graduated from UW-Madison and worked as a Medical Technologist at Lutheran Hospital, Fairview Clinical Lab, and Bayshore Lab.

Tanya Kruse Ruck, Assistant Director

Tanya Kruse Ruck was a winner of the Wisconsin Met Auditions in 2002 and went on to receive and Encouragement Award at the Regional level. She won the Joan Kreitzer Snyder Award and placed during other years in the competition. For two years, Kruse received coachings from the Supporters of Opera Singers program as a result of her performances in the competition. She is also a past winner of the Levin Competition sponsored by the Civic Music Association. Kruse is a graduate of Luther College and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She made her European debut as Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte as part of the Opera Theatre of Lucca, Italy. Stateside, she has been seen as The Soprano in Weill’s The Royal Palace, Madama Cortese in Rossini’s Il Viaggio á Reims, Rusalka in Dvořák’s Rusalka, and Angelica in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Kruse made her Skylight Opera debut in the title role in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. She returns to The Skylight in the 2007-2008 season playing Margaret in David Carlson’s The Midnight Angel. Kruse has recorded several companion CDs to Hal Leonard vocal publications, several of which can be heard on the company’s website. Equally versatile on the recital stage, Kruse frequently performs as part of the prestigious Chamber Music Milwaukee series at UWM, in addition to her regular solo recitals. She is currently the vice president for the Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee since 2003. Kruse is delighted to have the opportunity to honor Pat Crump, a mentor of Kruse’s for a number of years, with her service to MONC Wisconsin. She believes that the auditions can be a stepping stone to other opportunities for young singers, as it was to her.

Kelly Anderson, Director of Artistic Admin. at FGO

Kelly Anderson is the Director of Artistic Administrator for Florida Grand Opera. He joined the FGO staff in August of 2010. He is has been a requested judge for the MET National Council Auditions, the McCollum voice competition, the NYIOP Auditions, Classical Singer Competition, and the Young Patronesses Voice Competition. As a performer, he has appeared with opera companies across the United States and abroad, most notably with Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Deutsche Opera Berlin, and Opera Leipzig. Recently, Mr. Anderson sang the role of Ray Cohn in a concert performance of Angels in America with the BBC Symphony at the Barbican Centre in London, which marks the UK premiere of the work. Mr. Anderson performed the role of Lescuat in Manon Lescaut and Escamillo in Carmen with Hawaii Opera Theater. He made his debut with the Tucson Symphony in the World Premiere of Daniel Asia’s Symphony No. 5. Mr. Anderson’s recordings include Hans Foltz and the Night Watchman in Die Meistersinger with Sir Georg Solit and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (London/Decca) and the role of Golfredo in Bellini’s Il Pirata. He has also served on the voice faculties of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bowling Green State University, and Baylor University.

Christopher McBeth, Artistic Director Utah Opera

Christopher McBeth is the Opera Artistic Director for Utah Symphony and Opera and oversees all operations directly related to opera productions including but not limited to choosing repertory, conductors, directors, designers and singers. In addition, Mr. McBeth works closely with the Utah Symphony Music Director in selection of singers for the Symphony Masterworks Concerts. He is director for Utah Symphony and Opera’s Ensemble, a nationally-recognized young artist training program for singers and pianists and holds auditions for the artists. Earlier McBeth held positions as Director of Production/Artistic Administrator for Fort Worth Opera and worked with Houston Grand Opera in Marketing, Production, and Artistic Administration. Mr. McBeth holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Simpson College and a Master of Music degree from Baylor University.

Carol Vaness, soprano, Professor of Voice at IU

Born in San Diego, CA, Carol Vaness launched her professional singing career at the New York City Opera, where she appeared regularly from 1979 to 1983. Since then, she has sung on the world's biggest stages and at premier music festivals, collaborated with today's foremost conductors in operatic and symphonic repertoires, appeared on numerous television broadcasts throughout North America and Europe, and compiled a distinguished catalog of recordings.
Her interpretations of Mozart's dramatic heroines, including Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Elettra in Idomeneo, and Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, have been hailed as definitive, and she has become especially identifiable with the role of Floria Tosca. She performed the title role of Puccini's Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004 opposite Pavarotti in the legendary tenor's final operatic performance.
Vaness made her professional debut as Vitellia for the San Francisco Spring Opera and has been acknowledged as the world's leading interpreter of this role. She has appeared as Vitellia at the Met Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera and Gran Teatro del Liceo and at the Salzburg Festival and other leading theaters.
Among her many celebrated television appearances, she has been featured on the Pavarotti Plus and Pavarotti and Friends telecasts from Lincoln Center, as well as the Richard Tucker Gala and In Performance at the White House with members of the New York City Opera.

Dr. Dana Brown

Dana Brown is a pianist, educator, vocal coach and choral conductor working in Chicago. He is the Associate Professor of Opera and Vocal Coaching at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. At CCPA he musically directs opera, coaches graduate and undergraduates in the vocal performance programs, and teaches singer-specific classes in diction, art song literature and business practices. Several recent productions at CCPA include Ravel/L’Heure Espagnole and L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Poulenc/Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Britten/Turn of the Screw and Albert Herring and Mozart/Le Nozze di Figaro. As a pianist, he has been heard many times on 98.7 WFMT Radio as a collaborator, in addition to performances on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, at the Ravinia Festival, Light Opera Works of Evanston, the Chicago Cultural Center and the Chicago Humanities Festival. As a coach, he has been on the faculty of Northwestern University, the Intermezzo Young Artists Program, the Opera and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy, and most recently the Taos Opera Institute in Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico. He is also a staff pianist for the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Mr. Brown is a dynamic choral conductor. He is the artistic director of With One Voice Community Choir, an auditioned mixed choir which raises awareness and funds to support the ongoing missions of charitable organizations like the Chicago Food Depository, the Night Ministry, and the Lakeview Action Coalition. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he studied with renowned accompanist Martin Katz.

Jamie Johns

Pianist/conductor Jamie Johns is currently a visiting professor of opera and music theater at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, a coach/accompanist with Florentine Opera, and a frequent guest artist with the Skylight Opera Theatre.  Conducting highlights include The Marriage of Figaro, Carmen, Romeo and Juliet, The Coronation of Poppea, and La Traviata. Favorite shows on which Jamie has served as music director are The Last Five Years, Little Shop of Horrors, Cabaret, Archy and Mehitabel, Jacques Brel…, Rent, and The World Goes Round. Accompanying Gary Briggle as Noel Coward, Jamie has performed A Talent to Amuse; an evening with Noel Coward, in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Sarasota, Sacramento, Iowa City and St. Paul.  Other companies that Jamie has worked for include Lyric Opera Cleveland, Orlando Opera, Madison Rep, Milwaukee Rep, Bel Canto, Present Music, Writers’ Theatre (Chicago) and Milwaukee Opera Theatre.<