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.
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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.
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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 20- July 18, 2026
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.
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​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
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.
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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.
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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
Margaret Lattimore
Voice
In her extensive career, Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore has performed a wide and varied repertoire with some of the finest opera houses in the world. While she began her career singing the florid works of Händel, Rossini, and Mozart. Ms. La)more expanded her repertoire in recent seasons to include the works of Mahler, Verdi, and Wagner, making her one of the most versatile mezzo-sopranos performing today. These opera houses include The Metropolitan Opera, the Chicago Lyric Opera, The Royal Opera at Covent Garden, the Dutch National Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, the Houston Grand Opera, the Washington Opera, the Dallas Opera, the Austin Lyric Opera, the Miami Grand Opera, the San Diego Opera, the New Orleans Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera to name just a few.
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With an accomplished concert career both domestically and internationally, Ms. Lattimore has sung the works of Bach, Händel, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner, Mahler, Strauss, Elgar, Stravinsky, Harbison, and many other composers with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta. Sinfónica
Nacional de Mexico, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, the National Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque, Boston Baroque, Pacific Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, Denver Symphony, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Huntsville Symphony Orchestra, and Bozeman Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Chuck Hudson
Director & Dramatic Coach
Chuck Hudson has directed opera productions at major international companies including Cape Town Opera (South Africa), Cincinnati Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Boston Baroque, Seattle Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, and San Francisco Opera Center among others. He has directed award winning theatre productions in New York and regionally, including The Pearl Theatre, The Chester Theater, Cape May Stage, The Children’s Theatre Festival of Houston, New City Theatre, and Chicago’s Fox Valley Shakespeare Festival. Chuck’s work as a director was mentioned in the January 2011 Edition of American Theatre Magazine and the October 2018 Edition of Classical Singer Magazine.
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In addition to directing, Chuck continues to focus on work with young professional artists. He was a co-creator of Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program where he directed productions as well as created and instructed specialized classes on Acting and Movement skills for singers. He has directed productions at San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Artist Program, Florida Grand YAP, Yale Opera, AVA Opera Theater, BU Opera Institute, USC-Thornton Opera, Carnegie-Mellon, Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater, Cincinnati Conservatory, Indiana University Opera Theatre, and Music Academy of the West. He was the Artistic Associate of La Lingua della Lirica for two seasons in Italy, a guest artist at S.I.V.A.M. in Mexico City and has been an annual Master Teacher at San Francisco Opera’s Merola and Adler Fellows programs for almost two decades. In 2022, Chuck created a Certificate Training Program for Opera Stage Directors at Ithaca College.
Visit Chuck's Website HERE.
Eric McEnaney
Vocal Coach
Eric McEnaney enjoys a multifaceted career as one of America’s foremost opera pianists and vocal coaches, having assisted on the musical preparation of more than 100 productions for companies throughout the country. Dr. McEnaney served as Principal Production Pianist & Coach at Florentine Opera Company for four seasons, where he oversaw the musical preparation of a dozen shows and two world-premiere recordings, Sister Carrie(Aldridge/Garfein) and the Grammy-nominated Prince of Players (Carlisle Floyd). He is currently a Master Coach for Minnesota Opera and serves as Music Director for Opera Reading Project, a role-reading series for working and aspiring Twin Cities singers. Dr. McEnaney has worked as an orchestral keyboardist for Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul Civic Symphony, and the orchestras of Minnesota Opera and Central City Opera, and also serves as an official pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. As a recitalist, he has collaborated with singers from the rosters of the nation’s leading opera houses and has assisted many of the most renowned vocal artists of our time in masterclasses and private coaching sessions. Dr. McEnaney’s performances have been broadcast locally and nationally on PBS, Great Performances, American Public Media, Minnesota Public Radio, Colorado Public Radio, Twin Cities Public Television’s Almanac, KSTP-TV’s Twin Cities Live, and WCCO-TV’s Mid-Morning. He holds advanced degrees in piano performance and collaborative piano and maintains a private coaching studio in Minneapolis, where he also resides.
Visit Eric's Website HERE.
Massimo Sabbattini
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.
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 LLC, and currently serves in an Emeritus capacity.
Jill Grove
Voice
Before the pandemic, American mezzo-soprano Jill Grove returned to both the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago as the Governess in Pique Dame, joined Minnesota Opera for Klytaemnestra in Elektra, and was scheduled at the Metropolitan Opera for their production of KáÅ¥a Kabanova before the pandemic shut everything down. Last season she sang the Fortune Teller in Arabella and Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with San Francisco Opera, 1st Maid in Elektra with Canadian Opera Company, and returned to the Metropolitan Opera for their productions of Götterdämmerung and Dialogues des Carmélites. She also joined the Calgary Philharmonic for performances of Verdi’s Requiem. Jill will make her Arizona Opera debut in the winter of 2022 in their production of A Little Night Music.
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The mezzo’s other recent performances include; Klytaemnestra in Elektra with Michigan Opera Theatre; Auntie in Peter Grimes with Canadian Opera Company; Ježibaba in Rusalka and First Maid in Elektra with Houston Grand Opera; Buryja in Jenůfa, and Madelon in Andrea Chenier at San Francisco Opera; Dame Quickly in Falstaff, Muschel in Die ägyptische Helena, Florence Pike in Albert Herring, Ursule in Béatrice et Bénédict, and Antonia’s Mother in Les contes d’Hoffmann with Santa Fe Opera; Erda in Siegfried, Nutrice in L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Zita in Gianni Schicchi at Los Angeles Opera; Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress with Pittsburgh Opera and Utah Opera; Amneris in Aida in previous performances with Canadian Opera Company, San Diego Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago.. In Europe, Ms. Grove has performed the role of Haushälterin in Die schweigsame Frau with Théâtre du Châtelet; Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera with Welsh National Opera and Teatro Carlo Felice; and Erda in Siegfried and the First Norn in Götterdämmerung with the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich under the baton of Kent Nagano.
Visit Jill's website HERE.
Candace Evans
Director & Dramatic Coach
An award-winning director, Ms. Evans has been internationally praised for “a flawless sense of timing” (Opera News), with work that is “genuine gripping drama” (Opera Now). Her production of La Viuda Alegre for the legendary Teatro Colón was named in the top three operas of the entire Argentinian season. Known for incisive story-telling, she wrote the libretto, and directed Wisdom of Stone, for OperaVision Europe during the lockdown of 2020. Ms. Evans performance career includes vocal studies at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, an MFA in classical acting/directing, with tours both national and international. She has danced with the Wisconsin Ballet, sung with the Dallas Symphony, done national voice-overs, and appeared in both film and episodic television. This combination of talent and experience illustrates why her directorial style includes the integration of musical intent, dramatic truth and the physical life of performers.
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Previously on the theatre/music faculty of Southern Methodist University, she is committed to working with young artists. She has lectured and directed at Yale, Carnegie Mellon, Indiana University, Oberlin in Italy, La Musica Lirica, Taos Opera Institute and Seagle Colony. Among her past professional engagements are the opera companies of Dallas, Santa Fe, Arizona, North Carolina, San Jose, San Diego, Palm Beach, Madison, Fort Worth, Grand Rapids, Birmingham, Livermore, Opera Southwest, and the Florentine Opera.
Visit Candace'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.
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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.
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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.
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 coahing and mentoring decades of young singers.