Artistic Board
Off-Brand Opera’s Artistic Board is comprised of an interdisciplinary group of artists who work together to propose, vote on, and produce each season’s programming.
Christine Duncan
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Co-Founder
Mezzo-soprano Christine Duncan has always been fascinated by the voice, with all the different ways it can sound, convey emotion, and tell a story. Training simultaneously as a child with the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, and Vermont-based World Folk Ensemble Village Harmony, she developed a profound appreciation for a diversity of vocal styles.
Her pursuit of classical vocal performance has led Christine to work with companies such as Grammy-winning Odyssey Opera/Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Beth Morrison/White Snake Projects, New Amsterdam Opera, The Center for Contemporary Opera, Fresh Squeezed Opera, Astoria Music Festival and Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival.
Christine has worked in Development/Event Planning for the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, as well as Bare Opera of NYC. She is thrilled to embark on this new vocal and dramatic adventure with Off-Brand Opera!
Christine resides, sings and maintains a private voice studio in NYC. Learn more at Christinejennoraduncan.com
Erin Kennedy
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Co-founder
Music director, singer, and actor Erin Kennedy is passionate about creating joyful, accessible performances of both contemporary and classical music. Her experience in opera, musical theater, and choral music as both music director and performer make her an artist with diverse interests who is at home in and behind the scenes of multiple genres.
At Off-Brand Opera, Erin has music directed Off-Brand Opera’s productions of Jane Eyre, Carousel, and Into the Woods. Other recent performances as music director and pianist include Ruddigore with Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, the York Theatre’s GenYork Young Composers Concert, The Telephone with Clarum Sonum, and cabarets at The Green Room 42 and Don’t Tell Mama.
Onstage, Erin recently appeared in Theater for the New City’s A Stitch in Time (First Lady), Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Company’s The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), Eccentric Theatre Company's Die Fledermaus (Ida), Light Opera of New Jersey's La Bohème (Musetta cover/Angel), The Narnia Festival’s Pietà and Suor Angelica (Genovieffa) and Dido & Aeneas & Aeterna (Belinda), Fort Salem Theater's Nietzsche! A New Musical (Lou Salomé).
Learn more at erinkennedysoprano.com.
Veronica Shea
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Co-founder
Veronica Shea is an actor, digital marketer, and theatrical producer working with companies of all sizes and performance genres in the NYC Metro area. As a performer, Veronica is attracted to roles across genres, performing equally in opera, operetta, musical theater, and plays. This past summer, she performed as La Direttrice in the European premiere of PIETÀ - by Jake Landau and conceived by Andrea DelGiudice - at Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival. Earlier this month, she performed the role of Elsie Maynard in The Yeomen of the Guard with Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, where she currently serves as President of the Board of Directors. Additional favorite roles include Johanna (Sweeney Todd), April (Company), Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Lucy (The Telephone), and Musetta (La Bohème).
Veronica is the Founder and Executive Director of Eccentric Theater Company (ETC.), a collection of artists dedicated to pushing the boundaries of a standard theater company. She is currently the Director of Marketing at the York Theatre Company, the only theater in the city, and one of the few in the world, whose two-fold mission is to produce new musical works and rediscover musical gems from the past. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, and has her Masters in Creative Business Leadership from Savannah College of Art and Design. Learn more at veronicashea.com.
Phoebe Corde
BOARD MEMBER
Phoebe Corde (she/her) is a dramaturg, writer, and illustrator from Westport, Connecticut, specializing in stories of the strange, magical, and otherworldly. She is currently Resident Dramaturg at The Civilians, an investigative theater company based in Brooklyn, NY, where she is director of their artistic development group, the R&D Group. She was previously New Work Development Assistant at The Public Theater, where she provided dramaturgical notes and creative support to shows like Ain’t No Mo’, Wild Goose Dreams, and Disney’s Hercules. She has a BFA in Creative Writing from Connecticut College, where she was awarded the Sally Abrahms Prize in Fiction. https://phoebecorde.wixsite.com/portfolio
Brendan Hartnett
BOARD MEMBER
Brendan Hartnett is an accomplished educator, director, and singer. Before moving to the Jersey Shore, Brendan directed up and down the coast of California with companies including Opera Parallele and the Pacific Opera Project. As an educator, he has been a Lecturer in Music at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and has taught undergraduate acting and directing at UCLA. Most recently, he directed The Gondoliers with the Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company.
Some favorite projects Brendan has led include The Tragedy of Carmen and Down in the Valley with Opera UCLA, The Araboolies of Liberty Street and Xochitl and the Flowers with Opera Parallele’s ‘Family Opera’ program, and The Center Cannot Hold with Pacific Opera Project.
When he’s not directing, Brendan is passionate about educating the next generation of singers and performers. He owns a community music school, Midgarden Music, in Asbury Park, NJ where he teaches voice lessons, directs student productions, and coaches young actors.
Brendan holds an MFA in theater from UCLA’s School of Theater Film and Television, and a Bachelor’s of Music from UC Santa Cruz.
Jake Landau
BOARD MEMBER
Jake Landau, b. 1995, is a composer, conductor, and pianist from New York City. His music has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, the New Albany Symphony, and more in such venues as David Geffen Hall, Birdland Jazz Club, and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. As a conductor, he has worked with The Narnia Festival, Little Opera Theatre of New York, and Premiere Division Ballet — for the latter, conducting two full-length ballets of his own composition. His first opera, Pietà, premiered in Italy in the summer of 2021 conducted by the composer from the piano. His second, & Aeterna, is premiering in the summer of 2022 as Pietà receives its second production in the Fall. Jake is the youngest-ever winner of the Walter Hinrichsen Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, leading to the publication of his orchestral work Hardware Love by Edition Peters. Additionally, his Ayres is published as part of the Judith Clurman G. Schirmer Choral Series. Jake is a frequent collaborator of artists of diverse genres, and has written for Broadway stars and pop stars in addition to leaders of the classical music world. His work fuses his interests in ancient modes, contemporary musical theater and opera, and queer identity. Jake earned his Bachelor of Music degree under John Corigliano at The Juilliard School and his Master of Studies in Music (Composition) from Oxford University.
Leslie Andrea Williams
BOARD MEMBER
Leslie Andrea Williams was born in Newport News, Virginia and was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ms. Williams studied at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, and graduated with a BFA in Dance. She now is a Principal dancer at the Martha Graham Dance Company, performing featured roles around the world. One of her most notable roles is the lead in Martha Graham’s Chronicle. In the company’s almost 100 year history, Ms. Williams is the first Black woman to ever perform this iconic role. Her performance earned her a mention in The New York Time's “Best Dance of 2019” list. She has also been named in Dance Magazine as a dancer “On the Rise” and in Teen Vogue as a “Rising star Personifying Black Excellence.” Ms. Williams' work has been described in reviews as “hypnotic,” “larger than life,” and she is someone who “effortlessly controls the gaze of the audience.” Ms. Williams has also been profiled and featured in Marie Claire Taiwan and Psychology Today.
Ms. Williams has danced in multiple music videos for music star/songwriter/producer Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange) featuring artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen and Ava Rain. Leslie has also created movement and starred in music videos for artists Zenizen, Braxton Cook, and Glassio. Ms. Williams has danced/modeled in NYFW shows for brands Wiederhoeft and Desigual. Her work with Wiederhoeft has been seen in Vogue and Paper magazine, just to name a few. Ms. Williams frequently collaborates with Alex Aikiu, a top fashion creative director and artist based in Paris, France on a multitude of mixed media projects and also serves as movement director for fashion brand Saint Sintra.
Ms. Williams works with world-renowned artist and film director Rashid Johnson on his exhibition The Hikers, and has performed for his highly anticipated exhibition openings at the renowned Aspen Art Gallery, Storm King Art Center, and Hauser & Wirth Gallery in New York City.
Ms. Williams has been a model and ambassador for the dance wear brand Capezio and has also starred in the Dior Perfume campaign #DiorLoveChain.