VOCAL ACADEMY

Step into a professional music industry audition. Perform a mock audition in front of the class, receive individualized feedback, and join a guided discussion to refine technique, presence, and first impressions.

Develop healthy vocal production for artistic versatility and longevity. Build ease, strength, and flexibility across styles while learning evidence-based techniques to maintain vocal health. Focus on technical consistency and sustainable performance practice.

Personalized one-on-one instruction tailored to each singer’s voice, repertoire, and goals. Lessons focus on technique, range, tone, stylistic interpretation, and performance readiness.

Learn to integrate vocal technique, text analysis, and dramatic intention for compelling storytelling. Explore character development, emotional specificity, and interpretive choices through song. Ideal for performers seeking clarity and authenticity in all styles of music.

Explore classical and Golden Age musical theatre and folk song

technique, focusing on breath support, resonance, and stylistic authenticity. Ideal for singers

wanting to understand how the classical voice informs all styles of singing.

Explore modern musical theatre and pop singing, emphasizing mix, belt, and expressive phrasing.

An open, honest conversation about the realities of a performing career. Explore audition strategies, industry standards, how to find an agent and embracing diversity of body type, race, and gender, while building sustainable vocal, physical, and mental wellness. All the questions you’ve been afraid to ask will be answered.

Create high-quality performance content in a stunning church setting. Each student will be filmed performing a song and receive polished, ready-to-use videos for social media, along with guidance in on-camera technique, visual storytelling, and professional presentation.

Focus on collaborative musicianship through duet and trio repertoire. Develop blend, balance, timing, stylistic cohesion, and musical communication. Strengthen ensemble awareness, precision, and stage presence in group performance.

Expand performance skills through spoken storytelling. Study monologues to refine character analysis, emotional truth, text delivery, and stage presence. Integrate acting technique with vocal performance for holistic storytelling.

Participating in two (2) free public performances held on the banks of the Avon River aboard Stratford Summer Music's MusicBarge offers students a unique and exciting opportunity to showcase their skills. These performances provide valuable real-world experience, allowing students to perform in front of a live audience in a picturesque outdoor setting.

An engaging, educational event where our vocal instructors work with selected participants in front of an audience. Each participant performs a piece, whether a song or scene, and receives real-time feedback and personalized instruction from the expert.

Closing out the week will be a lively "open-mic" style event at The Starlight. This relaxed, celebratory gathering gives students the chance to perform in a casual, supportive setting and mingle with audiences, fellow musicians, and arts lovers. The event provides an informal platform for students to showcase their talents, experiment with new material, and enjoy the camaraderie of the music community. 

INSTRUCTOR

Hailed as “thrillingly powerful” by The New York Times  and “a major talent” by The Toronto Star, Marcus Nance is one of North America’s most compelling and versatile performers. Equally at home in opera, musical theatre, film, and cabaret, he brings rare vocal authority and emotional depth to every stage he inhabits. A two-time Dora Award winner (2024, 2025) and recipient of the 2025 Toronto Critics’ Award, Marcus was also named My Entertainment World’s 2023 Performer of the Year—praised as “one of Canada’s greatest musical theatre talents.”

On stage, Marcus’s recent work includes Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Mirvish / Crow’s Theatre / Musical Stage Company), A Strange Loop (Soulpepper), The Little Prince (Pacific Opera Victoria), Cymbeline, Frankenstein Revived, and Richard II (Stratford Festival), as well as H.M.S. Pinafore with Vancouver Opera. His Broadway credits include Jesus Christ Superstar and Baz Luhrmann’s Tony-winning production of La Bohème.

A longtime member of the Stratford Festival, Marcus has spent twelve seasons in leading roles, earning acclaim for performances such as the Monster in Frankenstein Revived, Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Jupiter in Cymbeline, Queequeg in Moby Dick, and Reverend J.D. Montgomery in My One and Only. In 2021, he created, directed, and performed in Why We Tell the Story, which opened the Stratford Festival’s outdoor season. His deeply personal solo show, Voice of a Preacher’s Son, premiered on Stratfest@Home, Stratford’s digital streaming platform.

In opera, Marcus is celebrated for his commanding bass voice and formidable dramatic presence, with a particular distinction as a creator of new work. He originated three roles in world-premiere works: Moses in Beatrice Chancy(Queen of Puddings Music Theatre), Malcolm in Atom Egoyan’s Elsewhereless (Tapestry Opera)—for which he received a Dora Award nomination—and bass soloist in the Juno-nominated Dark Star Requiem (Tapestry Opera). Additional operatic highlights include Sparafucile in Rigoletto (Tacoma Opera), the Compère in Four Saints in Three Acts (Chicago Opera Theatre), Basilio in The Barber of Seville (Monterey Opera Association), and Ali in L’Italiana in Algeri (Hawai‘i Opera Theatre).

On screen, Marcus made his film debut in Mel Brooks’ The Producers and has appeared in Queen Tut, Murdoch Mysteries, Good Sam, Departure, and Mayday.

Beyond performance, Marcus is a passionate educator and mentor. He teaches voice at Wilfrid Laurier University, the Stratford Summer Music Vocal Academy, and Sheridan College, and regularly leads masterclasses and adjudicates festivals throughout Canada and the United States. His goal as a teacher is to cultivate versatile, fearless artists—singers who are technically grounded and open to engaging authentically with any genre of music. He also served on the International Congress of Voice Teachers (ICVT) 2025 Program Committee and was invited to perform in the conference’s opening ceremonies.

Marcus Nance is a proud member of CAEA, ACTRA, and NATS.