Course Instructors
Anne Polen Addicks
Instructor in German
Director of German studies at Chestnut Hill College, Anne Polen Addicks has also taught at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Rosemont Colleges, as well as the University of Pennsylvania, where she received her master’s degree in German and finished her doctoral studies. In addition to her academic background, Mrs. Addicks is uniquely qualified to teach German to singers: trained as a singer by the late Martial Singher, she appeared in the United States and Canada in concert as well as on television and radio, and as a leading singer with Kentucky Opera Association and the music festivals of Aspen and Marlboro. She lived in Germany for eight years, singing over three hundred performances of leading roles in opera and operetta in the State and Municipal theaters of Regensburg, Kiel, Bern, Mannheim, and Hamburg. Mrs. Addicks last appeared in AVA’s productions of The Three Penny Opera as the Street Singer and Suor Angelica as Mother Abbess.
Annick Tanguy Applewhite
Instructor in French
Annick Tanguy Applewhite is a native of Paris, France, where she received her doctoral degree from the University of Paris. Mrs. Applewhite has taught at the Sorbonne in Paris and in various American colleges and universities, including Haverford College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Swarthmore College, where she has been teaching for fourteen years. She was a translator for UNESCO in Paris and an interpreter for both Ministère de la Jeunesse et des Sports and Office de la Radio et Télévision Françaises in Paris. In 1991 Mrs. Applewhite translated for Valéry Giscard D’Estaing at The World Affairs Council in Philadelphia. She has coached French for a production of Carmen at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and for a production of Werther at Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit. Mrs. Applewhite has been on the faculty of The Academy of Vocal Arts since 1987.
Robert Baxter
Instructor in Opera History / History of Singers
Robert Baxter holds both a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction and a PhD. in Classics from Stanford University. A well-known opera critic, Mr. Baxter has won numerous prizes for critical writing, including two First Prizes from the New Jersey Press Association. Mr. Baxter was an instructor and Assistant Professor of Classics at Smith College, and taught opera classes at The University of Pennsylvania College of General Studies. He is the co-founder and president of the Opera Club of Philadelphia, hosting over one hundred and fifty programs featuring opera scholars and performers.
Since 1979, Mr. Baxter has been arts writer and critic for the Camden Courier Post, writing more than 6,000 reviews, columns, features, and news stories. He has also done freelance work for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Atlanta Constitution and other publications, including Opera Magazine (UK), Opera News, Opera Quarterly, Musical America, Ovation, Fugue, and Horizon.
In addition to his writing and teaching skills, Mr. Baxter is also an experienced broadcaster, having hosted radio programs at WFCR-FM in Amherst, Mass., and WHYY-FM in Philadelphia.
Charles Conwell
Instructor in Stage Combat
In addition to teaching stage combat for The Academy of Vocal Arts, Charles Conwell is an associate professor at The University of the Arts where he teaches stage combat, script analysis, and directing. A certified member of the Society of American Fight Directors, he has directed violence for every professional theater company in Philadelphia as well as for the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Conwell is also frequently employed at the Hartford Stage Company in Connecticut, where he directed the fencing match for Hamlet starring Richard Thomas in the title role. In 1993 he staged the combat scenes for the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere of I Lombardi, directed by Mark Lamos.
Debra DeVries
Instructor in English as a Second Language
Debra DeVries holds a graduate degree in international business from the University of Michigan and has had a career in management in international corporate finance. Ms. DeVries received her Cambridge University certification in ESL instruction in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has taught English as a second language in Europe and the U.S. She has taught English at the Academy of Vocal Arts since 2001.
Thor Eckert
Professional Development Coach
Author and opera consultant Thor Eckert has been a regular guest quizmaster on the popular Opera Quiz intermission feature of the Toll Brothers/Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network broadcasts since 1988. He was chief music critic of The Christian Science Monitor for fifteen years. In addition to his work for the Monitor, he contributed cover stories and other feature articles for such publications as Opera News, Opera, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Business Week. A former artists’ manager, Mr. Eckert served on numerous judging panels, including the George London Foundation Awards, the Greater Buffalo Opera International Competition, the Opera Index Vocal Competition, and the Richard Tucker Music Foundation (RTMF), for which he served as chairman of the Juries and Awards committee and continues to serve as a board member. Mr. Eckert specializes in consulting with young singers on career development.
Valentín Fernández
Instructor in Spanish
A graduate of the University of Puerto Rico and The Academy of Vocal Arts, Valentín Fernández is included in the book 150 Years of Zarzuela in Puerto Rico and Cuba. Besides singing the premieres of several works by Puerto Rican and Cuban composers, he has an extensive song repertoire. Mr. Fernández is also an experienced translator, diction coach and Spanish instructor. He has served as a bilingual/bicultural consultant for several organizations.
Teresa Butini Hanes
Instructor in Italian
Teresa Butini Hanes is a native of Italy’s Tuscany region. Mrs. Hanes graduated from the University of Rome, where she studied the classics. She has taught Italian at The University of the Arts and Bryn Mawr College, Latin at Germantown Friends School, and English at the School for Interpreters in Bologna, Italy. In 2008 she was the Italian coach at Glimmerglass Opera, working with both the protagonists of Giulio Cesare in Egitto and I Capuleti e i Montecchi and with the Young American Artists program. Mrs. Hanes currently teaches Italian Literature at the America-Italy Society of Philadelphia.
Robin Marcotte
Stage Techniques
Robin Marcotte has extensive stage experience as a performer, director, and choreographer. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Theatre Performance from Plymouth State University, N.H., where he was a four-year University Talent Grant recipient. Mr. Marcotte began serving there as an artist-in-residence and is now a member of the adjunct faculty in physical acting styles.
Mr. Marcotte received a scholarship to the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, Calif. Upon completion of the program, he was invited to Philadelphia to perform in Mum Puppettheatre’s production of Equus, for which he was honored with a Rocky Award for Dance Performance and Choreography, as well as a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Play. He appeared in several Mum Puppettheatre productions as a collaborating artist, including Séance, Swan Lake, A Christmas Carol, and the award-winning From the Ashes. In 2005 Mr. Marcotte performed in Utopia, Ltd. at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England.
Since 2001 Mr. Marcotte has served as Executive Director/Co-artistic Director of Hotel Obligado Physical Theatre, where he has created and performed many original works, including Catulli Carmina, which he directed and choreographed, and his solo play, Dottie. Mr. Marcotte also served as choreographer for Hotel Obligado’s Beauty Is. The play was named A Top Ten Production by the Philadelphia Weekly and Mr. Marcotte received their Award for Best Choreography in 2006–2007.
Mr. Marcotte has taught physical acting, Commedia dell’Arte, mask performance, ensemble creation, and contact improvisation for the Pennsylvania State University, Ramapo College, Washington and Jefferson College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and several high schools in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.
Mr. Marcotte joined AVA’s faculty in 2008, where he is also Development Associate and Box Office Manager. He serves as a voter for the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre.
Lisa Lovelace
Instructor in Stage Movement and Dance
Lisa Lovelace received her Master of Fine Arts in Choreography and Performance from Temple University. In her seventeen years as a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer in the Philadelphia area, Ms. Lovelace has traveled the world with her husband, internationally acclaimed opera tenor, Richard Troxell (AVA class of ’92). As an independent choreographer, she has performed all over Philadelphia and the five-county region. Ms. Lovelace collaborates with opera singers and performs extensively with children of all ages. She is currently on the faculty at West Chester University and has been a guest artist at Eastern College and St Joseph’s University, where she has been commissioned to create dances, hold workshops, and conduct master classes. Formerly a member of Dance Conduit, Danceteller, and co-director of Sacred Ways Dance Company, Ms. Lovelace is in her eighteenth year teaching modern technique at Feet First Dance Studio.
Robert Thayer Sataloff, M.D., D.M.A.
Head of Voice Science Department
Dr. Robert Sataloff is a graduate of Haverford College with a degree in music theory and composition; the Jefferson Medical College, the Otorhinolaryngology Residency and Neurotology Fellowship of the University of Michigan; and Combs College of Music (D.M.A. in Voice). Currently, Dr. Sataloff is professor of otolaryngology at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University; adjunct professor in the department of otolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania and at Georgetown University; chairman of the department of otolaryngology at Graduate Hospital; chairman of The Voice Foundation; and chairman of the American Institute for Voice and Ear Research. He is also on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Dr. Sataloff is the author of more than five hundred publications, including twenty-three textbooks, and has lectured extensively on the voice throughout the world. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Voice and on the editorial boards of the Journal of Singing, Ear Nose and Throat Journal, and numerous other professional publications. Dr. Sataloff has also served as conductor of the Thomas Jefferson University Choir since 1970. He adds a special dimension to the AVA faculty as the only otolaryngologist in the United States who is a fully trained professional singer, voice teacher, and conductor.
