Course Instructors
Anne Polen Addicks
Instructor in German
Director of German studies at Chestnut Hill College, Mrs. Addicks has also taught at Bryn Mawr, Haver-ford, 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. She has taught at the Sorbonne in Paris and in various American colleges and universities, including Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Applewhite was a translator for UNESCO in Paris and was an interpreter for both Ministère de la Jeunesse et des Sports and Office de la Radio et Télévision Françaises in Paris. In 1991, she translated for Giscard D'Estaing at The World Affairs Council in Philadelphia. In June of 1995, Mrs. Applewhite coached French for a production of Carmen at the Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. She has been teaching French at AVA since 1987 and recently joined the faculty at Swarthmore College.
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, 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. She 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 AVA 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 for 15 years chief music critic of The Christian Science Monitor. 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 has been invited to serve on numerous judging panels, including the George London Voice Competition, the Greater Buffalo Opera International Competition, the Opera Index 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, Mr. 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. She graduated from the University of Rome, where she studied the classics. She has taught Italian at the Philadelphia College of Art, Latin at Germantown Friends School, and English at the School for Interpreters in Bologna, Italy. Mrs. Hanes has also taught Italian at Bryn Mawr College and currently teaches Italian at the America-Italy Society of Philadelphia.
Lisa Lovelace
Instructor in Stage Movement and Dance
Lisa Lovelace received her master of fine arts degree in dance from Temple University, where she also served on the faculty. As a member of Ann Vachon/Dance Conduit from 1990-1992, Ms. Lovelace has performed extensively in the Philadelphia area. She also toured for three years with Dance-teller in their production of A Christmas Carol, and was assistant director of Brandi Floreen and Dancers from 1993 to 1995. She was a teaching artist for the Institute for Arts in Education for six years in conjunction with the Annenberg Center. She is currently a codirector for Sacred Ways Dance Company, and is in her ninth year teaching at Feet First Studio in Phoenixville, PA. She was the 1998 recipient of the highly prestigious Ellen Forman Memorial Scholarship Award. Her husband, tenor Richard Troxell, graduated from AVA in 1992.
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, he 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.
