Stephen
Phebus is a coach, accompanist, and conductor.
Over the last thirty years he has conducted operas and musicals and
coached and accompanied singers in concert, theatre, opera, and cabaret across
the US, in Italy, and in Canada. His repertoire and venues have ranged from Grease
and The Wiz for the Kenley Players
in Ohio to Il Barbiere di Siviglia
for Italo Tajo at Opera Barga in Italy; from accompanist of choice for Eleanor
Steber for her studio in Cleveland to staff accompanist for the Great Lakes
district and regional Metropolitan Opera auditions; accompanying singers as
diverse as a French chanteuse at Carnegie Recital Hall and operatic sopranos at
CAMI Hall.
Favorites
in his opera repertoire include The Abduction
from the Seraglio, Albert Herring, La Boheme, Cavalleria Rusticana, Cosi Fan
Tutte, The Crucible, Die Fledermaus, Gianni Schicchi, Don Giovanni, The Little
Sweep, L’heur Espagnol, Madama Butterfly, I Mantici, The Merry Wives of
Windsor, Le Nozze di Figaro, The Old Maid and the Thief, Pagliacci, Don
Pasquale, The Prima Donna, Rigoletto, Suor Angelica, Il Tabarro, The Tales of
Hoffman, La Traviata, and Die
Zauberflöte.
Favorite
musical theatre performances have included The
Boys From Syracuse, Carnival, The Fantasticks, Funny Girl, Gigi, Grease, H.M.S.
Pinafore, The King and I, The Mikado, Milk and Honey, My Fair Lady , Oliver,
Once Upon a Mattress, Pippin, Pirates of Penzance, South Pacific, and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
During
the 2003-2004 season Mr. Phebus performed as music director for Tales
from the Manhattan Woods, a modern adaptation of Strauss’
Die Fledermaus set in contemporary Manhattan with the original score
and new book and lyrics by Frederick Stroppel.
Mr. Phebus conducted the off-Broadway production from the piano at
Wing’s Theatre in NYC to favorable reviews.
More
recently Mr. Phebus was privileged to serve on the founding committee for the Chester Ludgin American Verdi Baritone Competition honoring the memory of
the beloved and respected Chester Ludgin. He
co-produced and performed in The Chester
Ludgin Memorial Concert at Merkin Hall with appearances by Samuel Ramey and
other stars from the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, and Opera New York. The event was hosted by Mignon Dunn, who presented the First
CLMF Award to Martina Arroyo. He
also performed in four benefit recitals for the Competition at The Liederkranz
Foundation and served as a preliminary and semi-finals judge for the
Competition. Finals of the
Competition were judged by Regina Resnick, Marta Domingo, Placido Domingo,
Mignon Dunn, and James Morris.
Mr.
Phebus taught at The Cleveland Institute of Music, The University of Akron,
Columbia University, Hathaway Brown School, and worked as Arts Administrator for Hospital Audiences,
Inc. He studied at The Cleveland Institute of Music (B.M., Piano) where his
Major Instructor was William Kurzban, Dean of CIM.
Mr. Phebus can currently be heard on the recording My Very High Ab and Other Favorite Notes and Airs, Arias, Alleluia! as pianist for soprano Karen Lundry (CD available on amazon.com.) He is on the board of Opera Index, a member of the American Wagner Society, and The Players. In addition, he ‘performs’ as a computer software developer and ‘plays’ golf whenever possible. He lives happily in New York City with his wife, actress Linda Howes.
Stephen Phebus
212.744.6048
stephen.phebus@gmail.com