McKenzie-Delavan Music Studio & Productions
 

All you need is a dream!

 
 

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REEGAN MCKENZIE- singer, stage director, teacher, dramatic coach and recording artist --began her directing career in college, directing numerous University productions while simultaneously building an enviable singing career.

Summer 2004, Ms. McKenzie made her musical theater debut in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Home of the International Mostly Mozart Festival. Bartlesville Children¡¦s Musical Theater¡¦s production: PETER PAN, was considered by far the most ambitious and successful of their five years, featuring over 80 children, and received rave reviews. She will return in 2006 to direct BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

Fall of 2005 Ms. McKenzie will direct her fourth production with Boheme Opera: AIDA. Her Trenton debut, LUCIA DI LAMMERMOORE, she received critical acclaim as did her second production, CARMEN. In CARMEN she integrated a New Jersey, based professional children's chorus "Passigio Chorale" in their show-stopping cameo. Including the 2004 CAVALLERIA-PAGLIACCI, her shows have been called 'crisp, pure theater, and innovative while keeping the integrity of the pieces performed, brilliant, provoking and mesmerizing.'

A veteran soprano, Reegan has toured extensively with San Francisco Opera Center's Western Opera, performed with Tulsa Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Pocket Opera, Liederkranz Opera Theater and performed with other tri-state and regional companies. Her Lincoln Center debut was Rossini's MOSE' with the late world-famous bass, JEROME HINES and Ars Musica. As a fellow with Hines' OPERA MUSIC THEATER INTERNATIONAL, Ms. McKenzie made her Bolshoi Opera debut in I AM THE WAY, being featured in the role of 'Martha' on the recent CD recording of it. As a singer, she won many competitions: Metropolitan Regional Finalist, Liederkranz Foundation, Association for Verismo Opera.

She is a busy teacher, dramatic coach and principle teacher with McKENZIE-DELAVAN MUSIC STUDIO & PRODUCTIONS featuring Starmaker Workshop and Musical Theater Performance Workshop. Many of her students are starring in school productions all over New Jersey, from middle school to college, as well as community theaters. Some have gone on to be featured in various Broadway tours and one is a regular on ONE LIFE TO LIVE.

Her motto is "DARE TO DREAM!" and her modus-operendis is giving students tools that create confidence and self reliance that will serve them in the arts as well as any career they might choose.
ABOUT MARLENE DELAVAN

Ms. Delavan recently moved to NJ from Tulsa, OK, where she was an Asso. Prof. of Voice at Oral Roberts University. Her many years of experience in college teaching include voice, opera theater, music theory for Elementary teachers, vocal pedagogy and language diction. She holds a BMEd from Southwest Texas State University, MM in choral conducting with a voice concentration from Westminster Choir College and completed a doctoral residency at North Texas State University.

During her tenure as a college professor she had a dozen students win the District Metropolitan Opera Auditions, numerous placements in NATS, as well as other prestigious competitions all over America. Among her many students, 3 are Metropolitan Opera singers and several are on the roster of New York City Opera, several with international careers, among them her son Mark.

She and daughter, Reegan McKenzie, have recently incorporated the McKenzie-Delavan Studio as well as Ms. Delavan embarking on a new phase of her career, which includes teaching young students as a part of the studio, playing keyboard in the band for Hoffman-LaRoche Player’s recent production of Bye Bye Birdie. With Ms. McKenzie, she co-produced the Musical Theater Performance Workshop production of Sound of Music. She presently has two books in publication stage: ‘Letters from the Wilderness’ and ‘Talented, Bored or Dis-eased: My Case for the Arts’.

No novice to writing, she with her late husband, Dr. Macon Delavan, co-authored SINGING SUCCESS LIBRARY, voice lessons on tape, used for many years exclusively by the Library of Congress, Division for the Blind. While presently being up-dated, the set of 12 tapes are available as a set or singly.