Don Marrazzo

Don Marrazzo possesses extensive experience as a voice teacher and arts management professional in the areas of voice pedagogy and voice science; executive management; artistic administration; programming and casting; young artist program development; and community engagement.

Prior to joining the Fredonia School of Music as Director of Opera Studies, Hillman Opera Producer, and Assistant Professor of Voice, Mr. Marrazzo held positions as Head of the Vocal Studies Department and Professor of Voice at the Musical Horizons Conservatory (MHC) in Athens, where he created the first training program of its kind in Greece, and Head of the Classical Voice Department and Professor of Voice at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) where he reinvigorated the department with a new curriculum, elevated the program's international standing, and created important collaborations with the Holland Festival, the Grote Zangers Recital Series, and OPERA2DAY.

Mr. Marrazzo has maintained a teaching studio since 2002 and his students have performed with acclaimed institutions internationally including the Metropolitan Opera; the Lyric Opera of Chicago; The Dallas Opera; The Glimmerglass Festival; the Santa Fe Opera; Staatsoper Stuttgart; Staatstheater Nürnberg, Opéra de Lyon; Oper Bonn; Festival d'Aix-en-Provence; the Dutch National Opera; Tiroler Festspiele Erl; The Grote Zangers Series; the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the American Globe Theatre; and the Richard Rodgers Theatre. They have won awards and honors from many competitions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; the George London Foundation; the Sullivan Awards; The Hnatyshyn Foundation; the Ferruccio Tagliavini International Competition for Opera Singers; and the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Competition and have been accepted into prestigious opera studio and training programs including the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center, Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Artist Program, L'Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier Lyrique, Frankfurt Opera Studio, and The Opera Academy at the Royal Danish Opera.

Prior to his career in academia, Mr. Marrazzo enjoyed tenures in senior artistic and executive management positions. As Director of Casting and Artistic Operations for Glimmerglass Opera, he revitalized the company’s mainstage casting, raised its acclaimed young artist program to an unprecedented level of achievement, and created collaborations with the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS), The Morgan Library and Museum, and the Bavarian State Opera. As Executive Director of Astral Artists, he oversaw and managed all aspects of the organization including its finances, concert series and outreach programming, development, marketing, human resources, and general operations. A strong advocate of arts education, he has created and managed over 300 community engagement events that have educated people of varying backgrounds about Classical music and helped them connect with the repertoire in meaningful ways.

Mr. Marrazzo has served as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, presented masterclasses for the Manhattan School of Music; the Royal Danish Academy of Music; the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard College Conservatory of Music; the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS); Opera Viva!; Red River Lyric Opera; and Penn State and Temple Universities, and has served as a presenter and panelist for singer training forums with OPERA America.

A native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Mr. Marrazzo holds degrees in vocal performance from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, as well as an M.M. in Classical Voice Pedagogy and Performance and an M.F.A in Voice Pedagogy for Musical Theatre from Penn State University.

Office Hours

• By Appointment

Teaching Interests

Director of Opera Studies; Hillman Opera Producer; Opera Seminar I and II; Applied Voice; and Recital Seminar