Thollem McDonas is a pianist, composer, improviser and teacher. He travels perpetually internationally performing as a soloist as well as in collaboration with a wide array of artists in wildly divergent directions.
He resides in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco, during the summer months.
Concerts in 14 countries, PBS, NPR
Masterclasses at universities and conservatories
Studies with Gyorgy Sandor, John Wustman
Berkeley Symphony, Virginia symphony, SF Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet
Cellist Elaine Kreston has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Her talents are diverse: an inspired classical cellist most often featured in chamber music settings, she has also performed with such stars as Rod Stewart, Idina Menzel, and Peter Gabriel, and as a soloist on Broadway.
Blending her background of classical music with improvisation, Elaine has performed as soloist at the events of Krishna Das, Adyashanti, and Eckhart Tolle. She is co-creator of RumiCello: a collaboration that beautifully mingles the poetry of Rumi with the sounds of the cello.
So you've got all the words memorized, the notes learned, but something about your audition song is still missing? Or you simply love a certain aria and you want to make it even better? "Filling in the Gaps- Fine-Tuning Your Audition Song" will help you bring your performance to a new level. We will focus on how to use the music to inform your emotional and vocal choices. Participants should bring a song or aria that is memorized and performance ready. If in a foreign language, you must know the translation quite well.
Having trouble interpreting a song? Too wrapped up in your technique to sell your song? Feeling musically stilted to make your song come alive? Don’t know what to do with your hands, your body, or even your face? This class will touch on the matter of things to make a song become alive. From musical and technical challenges, to interpretive and physical frustrations, we will help get to the heart of what really matters…the song.
Auditions are the Job Interview of the entertainment profession, and you need good tools to show what you do best: Great monologues are a vitally important tool.
Make that 2 minutes really work for you: Use the audition process as a showcase for you and what you do best, learn to LOVE to audition, and ace your next job interview!
If you don’t have prepared pieces yet: That’s OK – everyone is welcome! We will get you started on finding something great.
What is a Patter Song? One useful definition: any song emphasizing words over music, characterized by wit, verbal agility, and (usually) humor. Although the familiar G&S Patter Songs were more often written for male performers, there are many patter songs for female performers, especially in the modern repertoire (notably, Sondheim, Harnick & Bock, and Meredith Willson.)
This class will cover both technique and interpretation.
For my biography, and information about my lessons, please visit:
I am a firm believer in positive thinking and positive reinforcement. I've been teaching both privately and in the classroom setting for 6 years now and I've learned that a performer can have all the talent and skill in the world, but if they don't believe in themselves they won't reach their full potential. My job is to unlock that potential by teaching my students both the skills they need to succeed and the belief that they can succeed.