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your Vocal training "Step to the Ocean"

VENICE VOICE ACADEMY

 VVA        TEACHERS       PROGRAM        LOCATION        ENROLL        CONTACT

meet your instructors & guests

Multi Award Winner at the 16th Annual International Los Angeles Music Awards, as Best Latin Female Singers Songwriter of 2006 and Best World Music Album of the 2006 - “Jungle e Maree”. Author of the Crossover Singing Method which was on theTop 5 Best Seller list as Vocal/Singing Methods in Italy. Giovanna is a sophisticated and refined musician, singer-songwriter, and vocal coach. She has extensive performance experience in both  Europe and the United States. Her vast repertoire and styles include traditional Opera, Mediterranean Folk music & Jazz. She now lives in both Italy and the USA where she collaborates with well known musicians and regularly holds master-classes and seminars featuring her personal vocal method (released in Italian and English). In 2000 she founded the Venice Voice Academy, based both in Venice (CA) and Torino (Italy) using the Crossover Voice method. She is the Music Director of VelvetBee Records. She collaborates with the Italian Cultural Institute and the San Gennaro Foundation in Los Angeles. Her Clients range from 300 - 500 singers per year.

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GIOVANNA GATTUSO

Funder of the Venice Voice Academy

 

Crossover Singing Method, Voice Technique, Repertoire

Choir ensemble, Beach Breathing technique. 

DANIEL RIORDAN

Stage improvisation, The role, The stage

Voice over- Actor, writer Stage Improvisation, “ THE ROLE “ Daniel is an Actor and writer, known for Jingle all the Way, Traformer, Ed Wood. Among others: Animation Avatar: The Last Airbender - General Mung, Additional Voices, The Wild Thornberrys - Master of Ceremonies Film roles Dreamgirls - L.A. Deejay, The Pavilion - Northmour, Jingle All The Way - Turbo Man, The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space - Ty Farrell/Captain Zoom, Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins - Voice of the Dark Spector Video game roles X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse - Mister Sinister- Stryfe, Transformers: The Game - Bonecrusher, Shockwave, The Order: 1886 - Mysterious Figure, The Evil Within - Marcelo Jimenez, Additional USA VO, 300: March to Glory - Xerxes, H darnes, Additional Voices, Age of Empires III - Pierre Beaumont, Colonel George Washington, Age of Mythology - Arkantos, Kastor, Armed & Dangerous - Brother Zoltof.

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ROBERTO MONTERO

guitarist, singer

Brazilian music, Cultural Influences, Styles,

Artists Brazilian Repertoire

Born in the state of Rio Grande do Sul - south Brazil - and raised in the states of Parana and Santa Catarina. His mother, Irene Bertoli was an outstanding painter and (as Roberto says) a great listener for those times when he would sit in the kitchen playing the same song over and over.  Roberto’s father, Endo Montero, an acomplished and respected musician in Brazil, taught him his most important lesson”Play it with your heart.” After moving to the United States he graduated at The Los Angeles Music Academy where he studied with guitar visionary Frank Gambale, Bill Fowler, Jean-Marc Belkadi, Linda Taylor, Joe Basu and Jeff

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Richman. Roberto performed as a member of Sergio Mendez’s band nationally and internationally. . His U.S. concerts include the Radisson Concert Hall in Phoenix, Arizona, the Atlanta Summer Concert in Atlanta, Georgia, the Sun Theater in Anaheim, California and the Union Station Foundation Concert Series in Pasadena, California. He has also performed with Latin Grammy nominated Brazilian pop star Baby Consuelo (Baby Do Brasil) and with four-time Grammy nominated European MTV Award’s Best Italian Artist, Tiziano Ferro. Other performances and/or recording credits include in United States: Gary Taylor, Bill Fowler, Arnold McCuller, John Pisano, Lynne Fiddmont, Giovanna Gattuso, Philip Bynoe, Jose Marino, Munyungo Jackson, Michael Harris, Octavio Bailey, Frank Zottoli, Joanna St. Clair, Mike Shapiro,Leo Costa, Robert Kyle, Andy Egbe, Cheryl Carter. In Brazil: Louise Lucena,

LEE CURRERI

Composer, music producer and keyboardist

Recording Session Technique

 

Lee became an international sensation as the star of the acclaimed motion picture and television series "Fame." Playing the intense keyboard prodigy "Bruno Martelli.”. Lee was also involved in creating music for the long running series. A native of New York, Lee studied his craft at the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music and Westchester Conservatory prior to being cast by director Alan Parker for Fame. The television series brought Lee to Los Angeles where his personal take on pop, jazz and classical styles made him in demand to score music for a number of other television projects. Soon after coming to the West Coast, Lee's musical talents were discovered by Bobby Colomby, A&R for Capitol Records at the time. Colomby in turn introduced Lee to recording artist Natalie Cole, recommending he produce Natalie on her "Good To Be Back" album. The success of that project lead to Lee going on to produce a host of artists, including Nicolette Larson, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Jon Hassell, and

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Phil Perry. Later he scored a number of episodes of David E. Kelley's highly rated series "Chicago Hope" and the premiere episode of Robert Altman's acclaimed anthology series "Gun." Through his close association with Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Lee was introduced to producer Jerry Bruckheimer and became composer for the Simpson/ Bruckheimer series "Dangerous Minds" and "SOF." .

GEGE' TELESFORO

singer, producer, radio-host, journalist

voice, repertoire, improvisation

 When I first heard Gegè on The International Doc Club, the television show he hosted in Rome, I said to myself, ‘Self, this is one bad motorcycle!’ That opinion has not changed, nor will it ever. Gegè is bad. He’s good too, of course, but he’s better than good. He’s BAD! When you hear him, you know you’re listening to a soul that’s on the inside singing out, not on the outside looking in. This ain’t no cat trying to git it”. Jon Hendricks

 

Singer, instrumentalist, composer, producer but also journalist, television and radio personality, GeGè Telesforo represents a professional figure of a thousand facets, the best of the living jazz tradition in Italy. GeGè’s artistic endeavors started when his incredible vocal talent was discovered by the

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italian media celebrity Renzo Arbore. Over the years, he has developed his own personal style of “scat” singing, renewing a particular form of vocal improvisation almost forgotten abroad and which never existed in Italy. Since the mid 80′s, GeGè put together the best musicians of the Italian Jazz and R&B scene. Thanks to his association with Ben Sidran, pianist, singer, writer and producer, GeGè recorded for GoJazz Records in important studios with the most recognized international musicians, and his undisputed talent has been exported around the world playing his part with The Go Jazz All Stars, performing with such Jazz and Funk “Masters” as Jon Hendricks, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, DeeDee Bridgewater, Phil Woods, Bob Malach, Georgie Fame, Clyde Stubblefield, Mike Mainieri, Bob Rockwell, Richard Davis, Phil Upchurch, Ricky Peterson, Frank McComb. For sometime GeGè Telesforo, leading bands as PureFunkLive, Groovinators, So Cool 5tet, has focused his musical evolution on a jazz- funk style, in which jazz elements and improvisations come together to form a rigorous and unmistakable rhythm dominated by groove.

special guests from previous years

 

ANDREA MORRICONE - Oscar award wining composer for “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”. Italian composer and conductor, known for his film scores.  He is the son of composer Ennio Morricone. He composed the film scores for the American films Capturing the Friedmans and Liberty Heights.[2] He collaborated with his father on the score for Cinema Paradiso, for which they won a BAFTA Award.[3]The Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso is a work by Andrea Morricone.[4] He has also composed music for many other Italian films, including The Inquiry and The Entrepreneur.
 

REBECCA DE MORNAY - Actress and producer. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she played Lana in "Risky Business". Her other notable film roles include Sara in "Runaway Train" (1985), Thelma in "The Trip to Bountiful" (1985), Helen McCaffrey in Backdraft (1991) and as nanny Peyton Flanders in 1992's "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle".

ALF HEIBERG CLAUSEN -  is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of The Simpsons, of which he had been the sole composer between 1990 and 2017. Clausen has scored or orchestrated music for more than 30 films and television shows, including MoonlightingThe Naked GunALF and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Clausen received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 1996.

CHERYL CECCHETTO - With her outstanding team at Sequoia Productions, Cheryl produces, manages and directs some of the most prestigious and buzzed about one-of-a-kind events — including the Emmy® Awards Governors Ball (16 years), the Academy Awards® Governors Ball (25 years), G’DAY USA Australia Week, (10 years) and the Tournament of Roses Opening Ceremony, to name a few. 

 

CARLO SILIOTTO - Music composer.  Golden Globe nominEE for his work on Nomad: The Warrior (Bodrov-Passer).  Nominee also at  the “Nastro d’Argento” for the music of Il Padre e lo Straniero (Tognazzi). In 2004 was nominated for Best Music by the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) for The Punisher. In 2014 was nominated for Best Music for comedy by the IFMCA, and won the “Colonne Sonore” award for Best Original Score for a foreign film, both for his work on Instruction Not Included (No Se Aceptan Devoluciones) by Eugenio Derbez. Carlo's latest work, Miracles From Heaven (Riggen), was released on March 16 Sony/Columbia Pictures

EMMANUEL FRATIANNI -  Conductorcomposer and jazz pianist active in the international concert world as well as the music of film, television, video games. Born in the city of MontreuxSwitzerland of Italian origin, Emmanuel retains right to work status in both the United States and European Union. Beginning in 2010 he was awarded the position of principal conductor of the internationally acclaimed concert series Video Games Live, and is also known for his compositions on the multi-award-winning score of the video game Advent Rising.
 

LAURIE ROBINSON -  is an American music producer, composer and solo artist active in the film, television, video games industries as well as the concert world. She is creative director at the Collective Music & Media Group, a production company which is known for large music installations. She is also known for her compositions on the multi-award winning score of the video game Advent Rising with Tommy Tallarico and Emmanuel Fratianni.

MIKE LANG - pianist for Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Vince Gill, InSync, Milt Jackson, Lee Konitz, Diana Krall, John Lennon, Arturo Sandoval, Barbra Streisand and Frank Zappa. He has recorded more than 2000 scores, working with virtually every film composer including John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Hans Zimmer, with numerous screen credits for solo appearances. He has premiered jazz piano concerti written especially for him by Byron Olson and Brad Dechter.

ADAM TAYLOR- president of APM.  APM produces and represents the world's greatest production music libraries.  It is the largest, deepest, and broadest music collection in the industry.

Lee Curreri - Composer, music producer and keyboardist, became an international sensation as the star of acclaimed motion picture and television series "Fame." 

 

DARIO FORZATO - is an Italian-born award-winning composer, songwriter, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. 
 Having toured for years in Italy and across the US, he started writing music for visual media. His work has ranged from writing and performing the theme for Ubisoft's best selling video game 'Rocksmith', to scoring a variety of television shows, independent films, and documentaries. In 2016 his score for the short film 'A Very Lovely Dress' was awarded Best Original Score at the LA Shorts Awards. Dario's ever-evolving music can be heard across a variety of entertainment media outlets worldwide.

 

JULIA CUNNINGHAM -  the harpist of the stars, from Pavarotti to Oprah Winfrey.  She played the harp in the biggest festivals in the world including a stop at the Vatican.  Her passion for studying led her to explore the world of yoga and she was certified Bikram teacher at the Santa Barbara Evolation Center.  She has experienced classes that combine breathing and yoga movements.

 

CLAUDIO DENTES - Italian music producer of internationally acclaimed bands and singers. With the pseudonym of Otar Bolivecic he then produced the first five albums of Elio e le Storie Tese, the album Paté d'animo by Claudio Bisio and Garibaldi is back by Statuto.

 

KARL VINCENT- bassist for Alicia Keys, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah. Also in the soundtracks of major productions such as “Lost”, “Spiderman 3”, “Ratatouille”

 

 

STUDENTS OF THE VENICE VOICE ACADEMY HAVE BEEN HOSTED BY:

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