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2026 Program Faculty

Each summer’s core team of faculty consists of five vocal coaches and five music directors who work with each of our students to guide them through Songbook Academy Week in a personalized coaching capacity. 

 

Explore the 2026 lineup of artists from all corners of the music industry who will be working with our students!

  

Core Faculty

 

SHEREEN AHMED - Vocal Coach

Shereen Ahmed was most recently seen starring as Ellen in Arena Stage’s original adaptation of The Age of Innocence. She made her Broadway debut in the Lincoln Center Theater production of My Fair Lady and headlined the national tour as Eliza Doolittle, which earned her a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nomination. Her Off-Broadway credits include Claudia in Nine at The Kennedy Center, Franca in The Light in the Piazza at City Center Encores! and Adele in Classic Stage Company’s A Man of No Importance. Shereen originated the role of Ellen in the world premiere of The Age of Innocence at The Old Globe.
 
Her concert highlights include performing for President Biden at the White House in honor of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and starring as Joan Fletcher in Strike Up the Band and as Iolanthe in Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta Iolanthe at Carnegie Hall. She has appeared in New Amsterdam (NBC) and Beltline to Broadway, and performed in the PBS live telecast Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day with the Boston Pops.
 
Shereen has been profiled in Vogue Arabia and named one of "40 Under 40" accomplished Arab Americans for her work in the theatre. She has served as a guest speaker at the United Nations’ 14th Conference of States Parties and is a global ambassador for Education for Employment (EFE). Shereen holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Towson University.

Instagram: @shereen_ahmed 



Caelan Cardello Headshot

CAELAN CARDELLO - Music Director

Born and raised in Teaneck, NJ, Caelan Cardello has been playing piano since the age of 5. He grew up studying jazz and classical separately, and was performing professionally by the age of 16. He attended Jazz House Kids for 7 years, and was given opportunities to learn from the greatest jazz mentors and play on stages like Dizzy's Club, The Jazz Standard, and the Newport Jazz Festival.
 
Caelan has performed with Christian McBride, Joe Farnsworth, Jimmy Cobb, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Bill Charlap and Rufus Reid, to name a few. He was selected as one of 5 finalists in the prestigious 2023 American Pianists Association Jazz competition. Caelan graduated from William Paterson University with a bachelor’s in Jazz Performance in 2022 and just graduated this year with his master’s degree from the Juilliard School. He regularly plays in NYC leading his own bands or as a sideman, and tours around the country frequently. 



LA TANYA HALL - Vocal Coach

La Tanya Hall’s versatility in a variety of musical genres has allowed her to travel the world and work with some of the world’s most celebrated artists, including Steely Dan, Seal, Diana Ross, Bobby McFerrin, Michael McDonald, Quincy Jones, Rob Thomas, Michael Feinstein, Patti Labelle, Harry Belafonte, Steve Tyrell and Aretha Franklin. She has also appeared as a solo artist in her own right with the American Composers Orchestra, The Denver Symphony, and the St. Louis Symphony and at jazz clubs around the world. Her last record, Say Yes (Blue Canoe Records) debuted in November of 2020 and has garnered rave reviews, including being named one of the top ten vocal jazz albums for 2020. Her new release, Pretty Eyes, will debut in August.

Hall is also an active educator, teaching clinics in Basel, Switzerland for the Stimmen (Voice) Festival, as well as teaching master classes on vocal performance and the Great American Songbook for various institutions in the US. She created the first vocal jazz degree program at Oberlin Conservatory nine years ago and continues to teach there as an associate professor of jazz voice. In addition, she was an adjunct professor at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in Manhattan for 12 years.

La Tanya is an accomplished actress, having lent her skills to numerous voice-over projects, Broadway shows, movie and television appearances. TV shows include Blue Bloods (Sabine Winston), Law & Order, 100 Centre Street, The Sopranos and Now and Again. Broadway and theater appearances include Cotton Club Parade with jazz master Wynton Marsalis; the role of Deena in the last national tour of Dreamgirls; Promises, Promises for City Center Encore Series; and Sally in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden.

For more information about La Tanya Hall, visit www.latanyahall.com.



JEFF HARRIS - Music Director


Jeff Harris is equally at home as a pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, and lyricist. He has worked with such diverse singers as Bernadette Peters, Maureen McGovern, Chaka Khan, Jack Jones, Barbara Cook, Marilyn Maye, Lea Salonga, Michael Feinstein, Freda Payne, Karen Akers, and Cleo Laine. His longest association has been with Maureen Mcgovern, playing and arranging seven of her CDs (co-producing her most recent “You Raise Me Up”), writing many songs for her (she has recorded seventeen including “Why Can’t I Forget?”), and appearing with her frequently on television, in concerts, and by request of President George H.W. Bush at The White House.
 
Mr. Harris has worked extensively on Broadway as both pianist and conductor in the shows GYPSY (directed by Arthur Laurents; starring Patti Lupone), ON THE TOWN (both revivals), CHICAGO, FOSSE, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and CRAZY FOR YOU. Jeff Harris is a frequent guest as a pianist and conductor with many of the leading symphony orchestras including the Boston, St. Louis, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, National, and was, for several years, the regular pianist for the New York Pops. Born in California to a musical family, Mr. Harris attended the University of Southern California on a full scholarship receiving his Bachelors of Music in Composition. He now makes his home in the New York City area.

 

 

MARYANN HU - Vocal Coach

MaryAnn Hu's Broadway credits include Queen Iduna in Disney’s Frozen, The Queen of Transylvania in My Fair Lady, Sunday In The Park With George (starring Jake Gyllenhaal), Lincoln Center’s The King and I (Lady Thiang u/s), South Pacific (Bloody Mary u/s) and Miss Saigon. Off-Broadway, she has appeared in The Audience (Transport Group), Falsettoland (NAATCO), at the Signature and the Vineyard. Regional credits include Allegiance (The Old Globe), La Jolla Playhouse’s comedy Tiger Style! (also at O’Neill Theater Conference) and numerous shows at East West Players. Workshops include Disney’s Hercules as Hera, My Life in Pink aka Ma Vie En Rose by Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater and Our Lady J, and Farewell, My Concubine by Jason Robert Brown. Film credits include Elanore in the indie film Wilde Wedding (2017), DeLoba, Falling for Grace. TV credits include the HBO Max mini-series The Flight Attendant (recurring guest star), Elementary, Madam Secretary, Nurse Jackie, Law & Order and also recurred on the NBC sitcom WHOOPI as SooLin. She was most recently featured in Pasadena Playhouse’s HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR! directed by Sam Pinkleton and written by Randy Blair.
 
Hu studied under Wynn Handman and is a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade for Improv Comedy and Sketch Writing. She also performs on the indie-improv scene with Baby Grand: The Improvised Musical and The Picklebacks. She serves as chair, in addition to proudly being on the NFAA/Youngarts Theater Panel (2019-present); as well as the solo performance coach for the National High School Music Theater Awards, also known as the Jimmy Awards (2018-present). She has also served as an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch New Studio Broadway and guest lectures at numerous institutions. She is the recipient of the 2021 Ron Van Lieu Teaching Fellowship in the Teacher Development Program from the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. She also became a Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher in early 2021, having trained in a two-year professional certification program for teaching awareness and compassion-based practices with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach through the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. MaryAnn Hu was most recently a faculty member at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.

 

 

BRANDON LOGAN - Vocal Coach


Melvin Brandon Logan is a New York City based song coach, director, performer, and educator. Brandon is currently an Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at Marymount Manhattan College where he recently directed RENT and serves as the Musical Theatre Production Coordinator.

Stage credits include: The Doctor in The Book of Mormon (1st & 2nd Broadway National Tours), The St. Louis MUNY, Florida Studio Theatre, Arvada Center, The Marriott Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Signature Theatre. Brandon has appeared in concerts at Feinstein's/54 Below, The Triad Theatre, and was a Featured Soloist with The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Other Directing credits include The Caucasian Chalk Circle & First Daughter Suite at MMC, Northwestern University, The Triad Theatre, Unity Stage Company, Imagine Works Youth Theatre, Applause New York (Producing Artistic Director), and The American Music Theatre Project. Brandon has taught workshops, masterclasses and created curriculums for Musical Theatre College Auditions (MTCA), Marriott Theatre, Broadway Vocal Aspire, Marymount Manhattan College, UC Irvine, BroadwayEvolved, The Broadway Collective, Amy Murphy Studio, Broadway Method Academy, Actors Training Center, and the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development.


Brandon earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he was awarded the Laurie Beechman Award for Vocal Excellence in Musical Theatre and has been a returning Guest Artist for their College Prep Program. Proud member of AEA & MTEA



BECKIE MENZIE - Music Director


Beckie Menzie has appeared at the legendary Carnegie Hall, Jazz At Lincoln Center and Birdland in New York, Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre and the Ravania Festival, as well as at concert halls and art series across the country. Hailed by Chicago’s WGN Radio as “indispensible to Chicago cabaret,” Beckie was featured in Michael Feinstein’s Now & Then Series for her Carnegie Hall debut. She has been featured at many Mabel Mercer Cabaret Conventions in New York, The Hamptons, and in Chicago, as well as performances for the Chicago Humanities Festival, where she has served as a performer, director and musical director.

She performs regularly with Tom Michael and as a duo they have toured their many concerts across the country, including Carnegie Hall’s 100th birthday celebration for Cole Porter, they’ve performed with the Rich Daniel’s City Light’s Orchestra and headlined with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and others including the Racine Symphony and the Danville Symphony. Beckie is one third of the GIRLS LIKE US group that includes Laura Freeman and Marianne Murphy Orland. Beckie is the co-host for Monday Night Live at Petterinos and is an award-winning songwriter who coaches Chicago’s young musical talent.

For more info please visit www.beckiemenzie.com.



MEL SHORE - Music Director


Mel Shore’s dynamic musical fluency on the piano has established her as an accomplished performer, sought-after studio musician, and award-winning composer and arranger. Over her career, she has performed with an array of artists, including Chuck Berry, Il Divo, Lea Salonga, David Archuleta, Collin Raye, Debby Boone, Restless Heart, and Teddy Gentry from the Grammy Award winning group Alabama, among many others. Formerly, she served as musical director and arranger, as well as played keyboard/Hammond B3 organ alongside pop and country multi-platinum artist Collin Raye. She has been featured in and is a regular contributor to Joseph Gordon-Leavitt’s collaborative musical community, hitRECord.

In addition, she has played for many national Broadway tours (including Wicked The Musical and Roald Dahl and Tim Minchin’s Matilda The Musical) and also tours with the soul/funk/fusion group led by Kris Johnson of the Count Basie Big Band. Mel is also experienced in hand doubling for film and was in all three installments of Disney’s High School Musical movies. As a composer and arranger, Mel has been commissioned by various organizations across the United States for her choral, orchestral, and jazz works. She is also the arranger for the Homecoming Spectacular series, where she has written for renowned artists Gladys Knight, Kristen Chenoweth, Ben Rector, Colbie Callait, and Peter Hollens.

Mel holds a master’s degree in jazz studies and is a sought-after clinician and mentor for jazz bands and combos, and has been a university jazz faculty member for over 15 years. In 2024, she co-founded the Jazz Mentor's Foundation in Salt Lake City, Utah, providing mentorship opportunities to junior high, high school and university student musicians.

MelanieShore.com 



KATE SKINNER - Music Director


Jazz pianist and vocalist Kate Skinner maintains an active performing, composing, and teaching career in the western United States. A native of Ogden, Utah, Skinner pulls influences from the bluegrass and classical roots of her childhood into both her songwriting and performing as a jazz musician. In her teenage and college years, Kate delved into R&B, funk, and hip hop, genres that also continually find their way into her musical explorations helping to create her own unique voice. Part of this unique voice is an obsession with alternative keyboard instruments and a study of the great keyboardists of jazz, rock, and funk. 

As a pianist, Skinner is in demand in a variety of performance styles and has performed with the Downbeat-award-winning jazz band from the University of Northern Colorado, Jazz Lab Band I among many other established large and small jazz ensembles. Her work as a vocalist has seen much success among a wide audience of listeners across genres. Kate’s compositions and playing have won multiple awards, including a Downbeat award for Outstanding Vocal Performance and a Jazz Education Network award for composition. 

Skinner is currently Associate Professor of Jazz Piano at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where she teaches courses in jazz studies. She holds M.M. and D.A. degrees in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado.

 

 

ALYSHA UMPHRESS - Vocal Coach


ALYSHA UMPHRESS recently played Gloria Thorpe in the hit pre-Broadway run of Damn Yankees at Arena Stage in DC. Broadway credits include On the Town, Bring It On, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, and American Idiot. She was nominated for a Lucille Lortel award and received a Chita Rivera award for her work in the NYC revival of Smokey Joe’s Café. 

Her television credits include Murphy on two seasons of Netflix’s Bonding, Royal Pains, Girls5eva, Chicago Med, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: SVU, Fosse/Verdon, and Nurse Jackie. She performs with symphonies throughout the US and Europe and made her principal soloist debut at the world-famous La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy, in 2023. She is the 2023 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medalist.

Instagram: @alyshaumphress