ABOUT
is an immersive summer program in the heart of Italy, blending world-class music training with rich cultural discovery. Our program offers four integrated components that give students both artistic growth and unforgettable life experiences:
Italian Language Study:
Mornings are dedicated to 18–20 hours per week of Italian language
classes, Monday through Friday, through Lingua Ideale—a program
affiliated with the University of Urbino. Students who successfully
complete the month-long intensive course may be eligible to receive
college credit through the University of Urbino.
Vocal & Dramatic Coaching:
Afternoons are filled with musical and dramatic preparation on
Italian opera arias, duets, opera scenes, and song repertoire. Students
receive at least three personalized sessions each week—including
voice lessons, coaching, and scene rehearsals — tailored to the week’s
concert repertoire.
Performances:
Throughout the month, students take the stage in remarkable venues
across the Marche region—vineyards, piazzas, and historic halls—before
culminating their journey with a captivating performance of opera
scenes in a centuries-old Italian opera house.
Cultural Immersion:
One of the most rewarding aspects of the program is immersing
yourself in Italian culture. For a month, we embrace the community
we call home—sharing in its traditions, flavors, and stories.
Students not only savor authentic cuisine, but also learn to make fresh
pasta at a centuries-old grain mill, tour a multi-generational vineyard,
attend a world-class opera performance at the Arena di Verona,
and explore Italy’s breathtaking historic cities.
Upcoming MNM Season: June 19- July 17, 2027
LEADERSHIP & STAFF
Chuck Chandler
General Director
Award winning teacher and established authority in fitness training and the singing voice, pedagogue Dr. Chuck Chandler is a highly sought after presenter, master clinician, and consultant. His students have performance credits at the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Atlanta Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Santa Fe Opera among others. He has presented sessions at conferences in the United States and abroad on multiple pedagogical topics including The Pedagogy of Pedagogy, Fitness Training and the Singing Voice, and Modern Opera and Pedagogical Updates at the International Congress of Voice Teachers, National Opera Association, and National Association of Teachers of Singing.
His articles “Modern Opera and Film” and “Fitness Training and the Singing Voice: successful strategies for integration” are published in the National Association of Teachers of Singing peer-reviewed Journal of Singing. Chandler has given pedagogical workshops on topics including the use of Voce Vista which offers real-time spectrogram analysis in the studio, teaching TBB voices, the use of progressive vocalise, and many others throughout the United States. Further, his presence as an adjudicator for competitions and as an in-demand master clinician nationwide is strong.
Visit Chuck's website HERE
Ashley Eason
Programs Operation Manager
Scott Ramsay
Artistic Director & Voice Faculty
Praised by Mark Swed of the LA Times for his “stentorian, strong tenor”, Scott Ramsay is highly regarded by
Opera companies and Symphony Orchestras across North America and abroad. Following his debut in Verdi’s Requiem, K. Winters of the Toronto Globe & Mail said; “His Ingemisco and Hostias had a sweetness and modest purity reminiscent of vintage Bjoerling and Simoneau.”
Mr. Ramsay is highly regarded by Opera companies and Symphony Orchestras across North America and abroad for his dynamic performances in varying repertoire include leading roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dublin International Opera Festival, New Orleans Opera, Kentucky Opera, Anchorage Opera, Portland Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Madison Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera Boston, Virginia Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Arizona Opera, Opera New Jersey, Syracuse Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Dayton Opera, San Francisco Opera and Music Artes in Manilla, Philippines among others.
Symphonic engagements include solo appearances with
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, Grant Park and Ravinia Music Festivals and the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra
in Taiwan, to name a few.
Visit Scott's website HERE
Ashley Eason is an American mezzo-soprano whose expanding career demonstrates her diversity as a performer, educator, and arts professional. She is an active soloist and ensemble singer whose repertory encompasses a variety of styles including opera, oratorio, chanson, lieder, art song, and world music. Ms. Eason is a longtime member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus based in Chicago, Illinois singing under the baton of CSO Music Director Riccardo Muti, and many other internationally leading conductors. Ms. Eason’s recent season highlights include Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cavalleria Rusticana with Lakeland Opera, Verdi’s Aida with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Brahms Requiem with CSO at the highly acclaimed Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois. Throughout her expanding career, Ms. Eason has enjoyed performing various operatic roles such as Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Speranza in L’Orfeo, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, Charlotte in Werther, and others. A lover of oratorio, she was a recent soloist in performances of Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Handel’s Messiah.
In addition to her singing career, Ms. Eason is also an arts advocate, administrator, and entrepreneur whose background includes positions with organizations such as Stetson University School of Music, Central Florida Vocal Arts, and Palm Beach Opera. She also maintains a real estate business serving Central Florida and the greater Chicago area.
Visit Ashley's Website HERE
FACULTY
Amanda Majeski
Voice
Internationally renowned American soprano Amanda Majeski is a celebrated interpreter of Mozart, Strauss, Wagner, and Handel. She is also highly acclaimed for her portrayal of Janáček’s Káťa Kabanová, making her debut with that role at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Best New Opera Production at the 2019 Olivier Awards), and having been described as “Katya of the moment," following the London Symphony Orchestra concert performance conducted by Sir Simon Rattle in 2023.
Majeski made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Countess Almaviva in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro, returning for a revival of Don Giovanni conducted by Fabio Luisi and new production of Così fan tutte under David Robertson. She made her mainstage debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Countess Almaviva with conductor Sir Andrew Davis, returning as Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, Marta in The Passanger and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. She sang Blanche de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites for Pittsburgh Opera, Countess Almaviva in her debut for the Washington National Opera, and Countess Madeleine in Capriccio, Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte for the Santa Fe Opera.
Majeski made her European debut at the Semperoper Dresden, where she performed in new productions of Alcina and La clemenza di Tito, along with revivals of Le nozze di Figaro and Capriccio. She has bowed as Vitellia for Opéra de Paris, Donna Elvira with Dutch National Opera, Countess Almaviva and Eva for the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the title role Rusalka and her first Marschallin for Oper Frankfurt, made her debut with the Opernhaus Zürich as Marguerite in Faust, and appeared at the Staatstheater Stuttgart and Teatro Colón.
Majeski sang Gutrune in a concert performance of Götterdämmerung with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and Jaap van Zweden that was released on Naxos Records. Other concerts include Beethoven Symphony No.9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Gustavo Dudamel) and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Britten War Requiem with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Antonio Pappano), Strauss Vier letzte Lieder at Marian Anderson Hall Philadelphia, National Concert Hall Dublin and with the Nürnberger Symphoniker, Berg Sieben frühe Lieder and Mozart Requiem with the Sinfonieorchester Aachen and Wagner Wesendonck Lieder with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her many recital appearances have included Italienisches Liederbuch at 92nd Street Y with pianist Julius Drake and her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall.
Amanda Majeski currently serves on the faculties of DePaul University and her alma mater, the Curtis Institute of Music. She previously held the position of Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Michigan. A frequent adjudicator and clinician for Schmidt Vocal Arts, she has also served as a guest clinician at Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Interlochen Arts Camp and Academy, Taos Opera Institute, and the Collaborative Piano Institute.
Visit Amanda's website HERE
Greg Frens
Vocal Coach
A native of Michigan, Heldentenor Greg Frens began his performing career as a baritone-following the developmental path taken by many of his predecessors, appearing in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Tosca, and Susannah, among others. Subsequent performances included his international debut with the Graz Festival Orchestra, and Roméo et Juliette, La Fanciulla del West, and Giannini’s Beauty and the Beast for DiCapo Opera in New York City.
Mr. Frens has appeared to critical acclaim in some lesser-known repertoire, from Ben in Menotti’s The Telephone and John Brooke in Mark Adamo’s Little Women to the title character in the premiere performance of Libby Larsen’s Everyman Jack. As a repertoire coach, voice teacher, and Musical Director, Mr. Frens maintains an active studio in both Chicago and New York City, and his clients include a wide range of principal artists, from international opera houses to Broadway. Mr. Frens holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from Hope College (2001), and an M.M. in Vocal Performance from Ohio State University (2003). He has held adjunct positions at NYU and Pace University, where he created a music curriculum for the BFA Acting Program. Mr. Frens currently resides in Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
Brent Funderburk
Vocal Coach
Praised for his sensitive and nuanced accompanying, Brent Funderburk is one of the nation’s most promising collaborative pianists. Equally at home in opera, art song, chamber music, and vocal coaching, he is known throughout the country as a respected recitalist, coach, and music director.
Funderburk maintains a committed presence in the opera world. He served as pianist and music director of the Metropolitan Opera’s “Rising Stars Concert Series” tour, which presented more than 50 performances, workshops, and masterclasses at key universities and concert halls across the U.S. In early 2022, he was one of the two pianists to anchor the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s chamber opera Intimate Apparel. Based on Lynn Nottage’s iconic play, the production made history as the first opera produced by Lincoln Center Theater and was broadcast nationally on PBS Great Performances.
Funderburk is passionate about cultivating the next generation of singers. As a faculty member of the Schmidt Vocal Institute, he works with gifted high school singers from across the country for a two-week intensive program that provides an immersive preview into pursuing music at a professional level. Other appointments have included Music Director and Collaborative Pianist of Furman Lyric Theatre at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina and Master Coach at the venerable CoOPERAtive Program in Princeton, NJ where he inaugurated the program’s Alumni Recital Series in 2017.
High in demand as an audition, workshop, and competition pianist, Funderburk regularly supports singers from around the world at major companies and festivals including The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera Studio, Arizona Opera, Ravinia Festival, Music Academy of the West, besides playing workshops of new operas at both American Lyric Theater and the Center for Contemporary Opera.
The pianist’s growing discography includes complete albums The Lads In Their Hundreds (2017), Wild Cities (2016), Bawd Ballads and Other Songs by Seymour Barab (2015), Francesca Anderegg (2015), and Vincent Millay Cycle (2012), as well as appearances on Mira J. Spektor’s Daytime & Night Songs (2019) The Garden: Songs and Chamber Music of Tom Cipullo (2018) and New American Song @ SongFest (2016). He has been featured on radio broadcasts including WQXR’s Classical Beer Jam, Sirius XM’s Symphony Hall, and programs on Chicago’s WFMT and MPR (Minnesota Public Radio).
A South Carolina native, Funderburk holds bachelor’s degrees in music and biology from Wisconsin’s Lawrence University and a master’s from New York’s Juilliard School, where he was a staff pianist for four years in the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts. In addition to maintaining a private studio in Chicago, Funderburk is a coach at the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center and is on the faculty of DePaul University School of Music.
Lise Lindstrom
Voice
American dramatic soprano Lise Lindstrom has dazzled the world with compelling performances that are “truly world-class”.
Her unique vocal power combined with her expansive range, extensive palette of vocal colours, and unrivalled stagecraft, makes her one of the most sought-after talents of her generation. In roles that range from Turandot to Senta, Elektra and Brünnhilde, Lindström’s distinguished career has taken her to the world’s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and Teatro alla Scala.
In 2016 Lindström performed Brünnhilde in her first-ever full Ring Cycle for Opera Australia for which she was awarded the Green Room Award and Helpmann Award. The critics went wild as “Lindström, a tremendous Brunnhilde throughout…ended the Ring in a blaze of glory literally and metaphorically”. A leading interpreter of Wagner’s heroines, Lindström has also portrayed Senta in Der fliegende Holländer with San Francisco Opera, Polish National Opera and New Orleans Opera, both Elisabeth and Venus in Tannhäuser with Greek National Opera, and Brünnhilde in Die Walküre.
Recent projects include Färberin (Die Frau ohne Schatten) at the Metropolitan Opera New York and at the Oper Köln, Brünnhilde in the brandnew Ring-Cycle at the Opera Australia in Brisbane and with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Elektra at the Semperoper Dresden and in Verona, Salome at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Turandot at the Caracalla Festival.
The season 25/26 will mark her return to Arena di Verona in her signature role Turandot, she will sing Färberin (Die Frau ohne Schatten) at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw and also return to the Atlanta Opera as Brünnhilde (for Götterdämmerung).
Visit Lise's website HERE
Sam Helfrich
Director & Dramatic Coach
Sam Helfrich is a New York-based opera and theatre director and an Associate Arts Professor at New York University/Tisch School of the Arts, in the department of Design for Stage and Film.
He has directed opera productions at New York City Opera, the Salzburg Landestheaater, Boston Lyric Opera, Portland Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Spoleto Festival/USA, Virginia Opera, Opera Boston, Pittsburgh Opera, and Wolf Trap, among others. Recent opera highlights include Legend of the Ring at West Edge Opera, Sour Angelica and Giannni Schicchi at NYU/Steinhardt, The Flying Dutchman at Pittsburgh Opera, Angels in America for the Salzburg Landestheater, the world premiere of Cosmic Cowboy with White Snake Projects in Boston, Elizabeth Cree at West Edge Opera, the world premiere of Permadeath, a CGI- based opera about video gaming with White Snake Projects, and the world premiere of Jeffrey Smith's Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me at Urban Arias in Washington DC, Mozart’s The Magic Flute with the Indianapolis Symphony, a staging of Haydn’s Creation with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the New York premiere of Angels in America at New York City Opera, the world premiere of Dan Sonenberg's The Summer King at Pittsburgh Opera (and, recently, at Michigan Opera Theater), Bach's St. John Passion with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Mark Anthony Turnage's Greek at Boston Lyric Opera, Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld at Virginia Opera, the world premiere of Enemies: A Love Story, by Ben Moore, at Palm Beach Opera, Embedded, by composer Patrick Soluri, at Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos at Virginia Opera, Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking at Eugene Opera, Andre Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire at Virginia Opera, the American premiere of Philip Glass' Kepler at Spoleto Festival/USA, Adams' Nixon in China at Eugene Opera, a fully staged Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the world premiere of Michael Dellaira's The Secret Agent at Center for Contemporary Opera in New York, the Armel Opera Festival in Hungary, and Opera Avignon, The Turn of the Screw at Boston Lyric Opera, Philip Glass' Orphée at Pittsburgh Opera, Virginia Opera, Portland Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera, and Anthony Davis’ Amistad at Spoleto Festival/USA.
Recent theater credits include Neil LaBute's In a Dark Dark House with Knife Edge Productions at ART/NY, Arthur Miller’s After The Fall at NYU/Tisch Grad Acting, off-Broadway productions of Owned, a world premier play by Julian Sheppard, and Tape, by Stephen Belber, both of which played to wide audience- and critical acclaim, and a double bill of plays by Shaw and De Musset at the Franklin Stage Company.
Angels in America at the Salzburg Landestheater won the Austrian Music Theater Prize for Best Contemporary Opera Production in 2023.
Visit Sam's website HERE
Saori Chiba
Vocal Coach
Acclaimed by the Chicago Daily Herald, “brilliant Japanese pianist” Saora Chiba is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for her superb keybord artistry. Her five current albums are regularly featured on nationally prominent radio stations. WFMT, WFIU, KING, and KUAT with two recordings capturing the Daily Herald’s coveted TopTen Classical CDs of The Year Award, and the Grammy Award Entry List for Best Chamer of Music Performance.
Ms. Chiba’s materclass associations include such names as Joyce DiDonato, Dalton Baldwin, Martin Katz, David Schrader, Denyce Graves, and Samuel Ramey, and she recently collaborated with globally recognized artists, Maestro Christoph Eschenbach and violinish Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg at the Ravinia Festival. She has also appeared on renowned radio broadcasts includingthe Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts and the PianoForte Salon Series. Highly sought after as a répétiteur and coach, Ms. Chiba frequently assists with Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Santa Barbara, and Italian summer festivals, Orvieto Musica, and Musica nelle Marche.
Massimo Sabbatini
Diction Coach
Massimo Sabbatini is a well-known Italian conductor who has worked with Andrea Bocelli and Daniela Dessi as well as other international performers. He is an accomplished pianist and opera coach. He received a diploma from the G. Rossini Conservatory of Music in Pesaro, Italy where he studied violin, composition and orchestral conducting. He is active as a violinist, pianist and conductor of orchestral and choral music. He has taught choral and orchestral conducting at various Italian conservatories. His choirs have performed throughout Europe and recently performed at the University of Paris and were greeted with a standing ovation.
Recent Faculty
Laurann Gilley
Jill
Grove
Eric
McEnaney
Margaret
Lattimore
Chuck
Hudson
Candace
Evans
OUR FOUNDERS
Dr. Geoff Hirt
General Director Emeritus
Geoffrey Hirt Ph.D. is an internationally known author of finance and business textbooks that have been translated into more than 13 languages. Dr. Hirt taught at DePaul University in the Department of Finance for 30 years and served as department chairman for 11 years. While at DePaul, he directed international MBA programs in Hong Kong, Bahrain and Prague. He has also taught in Italy, Poland, Germany and Thailand and has a great appreciation for international education. He is currently on the Dean’s advisory board and executive committee of DePaul’s School of Music. He also serves on the board of directors of the James C. Tyree Foundation, a Chicago based foundation that funds innovative educational programs in the Chicago area. From 2007 to 2024, Dr. Hirt held the positions of General Director and Business Manager at Musica nelle Marche and currently serves in an Emeritus capacity.
Linda Hirt
Vocal Coach
Linda Hirt, who made her New York Carnegie Recital Hall debut under the auspices of the Concert Artist Guild, has performed and taught on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Among her professional achievements are live radio appearances in New York and Chicago and recordings for Vanguard Records and German national television. As founder and former artistic director of Musica nelle Marche LLC, she continues to share her passion for Italian music and culture with hundreds of aspiring young artists.
Ms. Hirt retired from DePaul University School of Music in 2023 where she served as Vocal Coordinator for ten years along with coaching and mentoring decades of young singers. Each summer, she continues to coach the singers who attend the program she founded.