gayatri venkatesan, vice president of recitals
Native of San José, California, Gayatri Venkatesan's interest in music began at a very young age. Starting with piano lessons at age five, her love and studies in music only continued to grow as she got older. She began her study of voice in Indian Classical music at the age of eight under Smt. Jayashree Varadarajan, and later at the age of 15, took her first voice lesson with renowned coloratura soprano, Patrycja Poluchowicz. Since then, she has studied and coached under Ron Valentino, Dr. Erin McComber, Susan Gundunas, and Dr. Julia Nielsen.
Her students have enjoyed lead roles in several community theater productions, and in addition, have received gold medals at the state and national level in the Royal Conservatory of Music annual examinations. Ms. Venkatesan is also active in the Royal Conservatory of Music and NATS communities.
Arya Music Studio was founded by Gayatri Venkatesan in 2015 with an aim to provide western classical voice lessons to students of all ages. Since its founding, Arya Music Studio has trained several students using the Royal Conservatory of Music voice curriculum, and a number of students have gone on to receive National Gold Medals for their participation in the RCM exams. Students of Arya Music Studio have also enjoyed leading roles in various community theater productions.
Dr. phillip harris
co-vice president of Student Auditions
Phillip Harris is a diverse musician with a unique background in vocal music. He has sung as a soloist at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. He has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, Aspen Wind Ensemble, Reno Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Opera (Chorus), Opera Las Vegas, Pocket Opera, San Mateo Masterworks Chorale and Orchestra, Mountain Play, Island City Opera, and the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. Having sung over twenty roles in opera, operetta, and musical theater, favorite roles include King Arthur (Camelot), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Marius (Les Misérables), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), and Marcello and Schaunard (La Bohème).
An avid researcher on the classical songs of Black composers, he has presented lectures, masterclasses, and or recitals on the topic at Peabody Institute, Westminster Choir College, Alabama State University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco City College. He has also written a book on Black American composer and arranger Jacqueline Hairston, Songs and Spirituals The Life and Music of Jacqueline Hairston. He recorded an album Phillip Harris in Recital with acclaimed conductor and composer, Damien Sneed. As a singer-songwriter, his EP , In My Philz, is available on all streaming platforms.
Dr. Harris has music or vocal directed musicals with Mountain Play, Young Musical Theater Company, MoonSchool at 42nd Street Moon, Head-Royce School, and The Nueva School that include Camelot, Bring it On, Legally Blonde, Shrek, A Chorus Line, Annie Jr, Wonderland: Alice’s Rock & Roll Adventure, Head Over Heels, The Addams Family, and Fiddler on the Roof. He teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a voice faculty member of the Pre-College division as well as the music history and literature department. Additional teaching positions include high school vocal music director at Menlo School and an adjunct instructor at West Valley College. He was previously performing arts chair and vocal music director at Head-Royce and a music teacher at Stuart Hall for Boys. He holds voice degrees from University of Nevada Las Vegas (Doctor of Musical Arts), University of Michigan (Master of Music), and the University of California, Irvine (Bachelor of Music). www.philliplnharris.com.