When soprano Lisa Vroman was attending the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, one of her teachers was Anthony Maiello, who is now on the faculty of George Mason University School of Music. Over the years, they have crossed paths and worked together several times, most recently two years ago in the concert that opened GMU’s Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. Now they meet onstage again in “Broadway Lights,” a program of showstopping numbers backed by Maiello’s American Festival Pops Orchestra.
“I took a percussion course from Anthony, one of the courses required for my degree, and we’ve been friends ever since,” Vroman said. “He’s the best, a great musician who also has been close to my stepfather and other friends and faculty who were at Potsdam the same time we were there. When I sang with his AFPO for the first time, I was blown away by the 60 professional musicians he lined up, many of them from the service bands. They’re outstanding.”
Vroman not only is the headliner of Saturday’s concert, she also will spend the week at GMU as artist in residence. Her expertise will be invaluable for the students and open many options for them to consider as they plan their own careers.
| Onstage |
| ‘Broadway Lights’ |
| Where: George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax |
| When: 8 p.m. Saturday |
| Info: $23 to 46; 888-945-2468; cfa.gmu.edu |
After starring on Broadway for two years as Christine in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” Vroman took the role to San Francisco for five more years and earned many Theater Critics Awards for her Christine. Additional career highlights are the roles of Rosabella in New York City Opera’s production of “The Most Happy Fella” opposite Paul Sorvino, and Lilli Vanessi in the Glimmerglass Opera production of “Kiss Me, Kate.” Earlier this year, she was thrilled to play her first Anna in “The King and I” with Lyric Opera Virginia.
Vroman’s rich resume includes “The Threepenny Opera” for American Conservatory Theater with Bebe Neuwirth, Nancy Dussault and Anika Noni Rose and the San Francisco Symphony’s broadcast of “Sweeney Todd in Concert.” That Emmy-winning show also featured Patti LuPone and George Hearn.
Along the way, she has played most of Broadway’s heroines, including Charlotte in “A Little Night Music,” Marian Paroo in “The Music Man,” Maria in “West Side Story,” Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” and Guenevere in “Camelot.” Among her opera roles are Rosalinda in “Die Fledermaus,” Josephine in “HMS Pinafore” and Yum-Yum in “The Mikado.”
“I look forward to working with the undergraduate students at George Mason University and giving them insight into music as a career,” Vroman said. “During the week, I’ll mentor individual students and present standard master classes. Because most of the students are in music education, I want them to know how important it is to teach. The teachers I had in school gave me lots of mentoring that I’ve never forgotten. At the end of the week, I look forward to welcoming the many Potsdam graduates who live in the Washington area to the ‘Broadway Lights’ concert.”
