Board of Directors
Nicolle Foland, President, Director of Operations and Voice Instructor
Nicolle Foland is the voice instructor for PacSAW. She graduated with a Bachelors of Music degree in Performance and Master of Music degree in Performance both from the University of Northern Iowa. She studied music education as an undergraduate as well. She was an Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera, a prestigious two-year professional training program, and has performed at opera companies throughout the United States, singing such roles as Musetta, Mimi, La Contessa, Violetta and Donna Anna. She has taught private voice lessons since 1989 and has given master classes in singing at the high school and college levels. Her fundraising and project management skills were honed as Director of Community Relations at the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and subsequently as Vice President at Business Matchmaking, a nonprofit that helps small businesses sell goods and services to government agencies and private industry. Nicolle volunteers her project management skills by producing fundraisers for the Zheng Cao Merola Endowment at the Merola Opera Program and frequently sings on benefits for Bay Area organizations. Visit nicollefoland.com.
Kristin Clayton, Secretary, School Liaison and Voice and Acting Instructor
Kristin Clayton is a voice and acting instructor for PacSAW. She has been a professional opera singer for over 20 years and has been teaching voice privately and at Russo Studios in San Francisco to all ages and levels of experience. Kristin encourages exploring the student's innate love of performing, while teaching basic vocal and acting technique in a way that is fun and easy to understand. She began her association with the San Francisco Opera in 1993 in the Merola Opera Program for young artists and was a 1994-95 Adler Fellow, singing and covering roles for the company and training professionally. She has sung leading roles in opera houses all over the United States and in Northern California. One of her most recognized performances in the Bay Area was in Teatro ZinzZanni, where she performed the role of “The Diva” for almost 12 years. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Brenau Women’s College in Gainesville, GA and Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati - College Conservatory of Music.
Curt Branom, Treasurer, Director of Finance and Acting Instructor
Curt Branom is the Acting Instructor for PacSAW. He graduated with a BS from Southern Methodist University and went on to become a Certified Public Accountant. Before becoming an actor Curt worked for Ernst & Young and various other accounting, financial and real estate firms. Currently, Curt is one of the principal performers in San Francisco’s long running hit show Beach Blanket Babylon. He has performed with the San Francisco Symphony and as a soloist for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Curt has performed not only in the United States but also in Europe. His New York and San Francisco credits include commercial, film and voiceover work as well as various awards and nominations. He is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. His teaching credits include masterclasses at Bucknell University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Songfest in Los Angeles. In New York, Curt studied acting with Fred Kareman. In San Francisco, Curt has studied with Mark Monroe, Linda Lowry, American Conservatory Theatre, and Bay Area Theatresports.
Suzanna Guzmán, Director
Suzanna Guzmán is an American mezzo-soprano and actress who has sung leading roles at opera companies throughout the United States. She has won and been nominated for numerous awards and is a well-known artist in the Los Angeles cultural community. Suzanna has also been recognized as a leader in Arts Education by the Hispanic Scholarship Foundation and the Latino Legislative Caucus. She hosted for nine seasons (1994-2003) on the weekly radio broadcast L.A. Opera Notes and later appeared for three seasons as producer, writer and host of Sunday Evening Opera. She serves on the USC Thornton School of Music Board of Advisors, Board of UCLA's Design for Sharing and the Education Committee of Los Angeles Opera. Her one-woman show, Don't Be Afraid: It's Just Opera, was created in 1984 to introduce inner city children to the world of opera. She continues those performances and has appeared in schools and community centers across the United States. Suzanna recently finished hosting a run of a TV show called Open Call, which showcased the work of top Southern California arts and culture organizations and schools. She is currently the Director of Community Engagement at L.A. County High School for the Arts, a tuition free arts high school. Suzanna holds an honorary doctorate from Occidental College in Vocal Performance. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanna_Guzm%C3%A1n.
Jake Heggie, Director
Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Moby-Dick, Dead Man Walking, Three Decembers, It’s A Wonderful Life, Great Scott, To Hell and Back, The End of the Affair, Out of Darkness, and the choral opera The Radio Hour. He has also composed more than 250 songs, as well as chamber, choral and orchestral works. The operas – most created with writers Terrence McNally or Gene Scheer – have been produced on five continents. Moby-Dick (Scheer) was telecast throughout the United States as part of Great Performances’ 40th Season and released on DVD (EuroArts). Dead Man Walking (McNally) has received more than 50 international productions and has been recorded twice (Atlantic Records and Virgin Classics). A Guggenheim Fellow, Heggie has served as a mentor for the Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative, and is a frequent guest artist at universities, conservatories and festivals throughout the USA and Canada. As a pianist, he has collaborated with some of the world’s most loved singers, including Joyce di Donato, Susan Graham and Frederica von Stade. Visit jakeheggie.com.
Mark Hernandez, Director
Mark Hernandez has been active in the Bay Area performing arts scene since 1992. Currently, he serves as Development Director of Stanford Jazz Workshop. As an opera singer, he has appeared in dozens of roles with Northern California companies. He worked as a teaching artist, primarily with the San Francisco Opera Guild, for 20 years. His writing credits include the book True Tales from the Mad, Mad, Mad World of Opera, co-authored with opera impresario Lotfi Mansouri, and Mary Pleasant At Land’s End, an opera libretto for composer David Garner. He has worked as a volunteer for Each One Reach One (a playwriting program for incarcerated youth), San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocates (a legal advocacy program for abused and neglected children), San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Latin American Chamber Music Society. A native Californian, Mark holds Bachelors and Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He lives out on the Avenues with his husband Ryan. For more information, visit blazingstage.com.
Valerie O'Riordan, Director
Valerie O'Riordan began teaching acting in 1986, while continuing her work as an actor, director, producer and freelance publicist. In 1994 she received an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre and joined Actor's Equity Association while understudying the part of Hannah in Tony Kushner's Angels In America. She has been the Drama Director at Archbishop Riordan High School since 2000 where highlights include Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 Days/365 Plays project, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Lucky '13: A Labor of Love Alumni Revival (featuring Kristin Clayton and Curt Branom) and fellowships at The Globe Theatre stage in London and the The Athens Centre in Athens, Greece.
Laura Pauli, Director
Laura is a hi-tech marketing executive with more than 20 years of experience in Silicon Valley, Europe and Asia-Pacific working with tech companies ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small start-ups including Oracle, Siebel, SAP, Dassault and Splunk. Prior to hi-tech, Laura worked in finance at Arthur Andersen and in television at NBC in 30 Rock. During the dot com bust, Laura traded her keyboard for a cutting board and attended culinary school in New York City then heading to France to cook in Paris. 6 months turned into 6 years as Laura cooked her way around France with stops at the Cannes Film Festival, a lobster boat in Brittany, and Pierre Hermé Patisserie and the Four Seasons George V in Paris. Back in San Francisco, Laura continues to work as both a hi-tech marketing consultant and a culinary teaching and writer.
Rick Richetta, Director
Rick Richetta is a realtor with Alain Pinel in the San Francisco Bay Area. Consistently designated a top producer in the real estate industry, Rick is a member of Alain Pinel's President's Roundtable, composed of the top 2% within the agency. Rick's richly varied background includes a career as a professional singer, having sung numerous operatic roles on stage as well as appearing as a soloist with symphony and chorus. He also has an extensive background working in counseling and mediation and was a counselor for the San Francisco Unified School District for 13 years working with middle and high school students. Combining artistry and scholarship, Rick is an authority on Arabian Horses, having trained, shown, bred and brokered Arabian Horses on an international level. Visit RickRichetta.com.
Frederica von Stade, Director
Frederica von Stade has enriched the world of classical music for three decades with her appearances in opera, concert, and recital. The mezzo-soprano is well known to audiences around the world through her numerous featured appearances on television including several PBS specials and "Live from Lincoln Center" telecasts. She has made over sixty recordings with every major label, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs and popular crossover albums. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two Grand Prix du Disc awards, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Italy's Premio della Critica Discografica, and "Best of the Year" citations by Stereo Review and Opera News. Frederica von Stade is the holder of honorary doctorates from Yale University, Boston University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (which holds a Frederica von Stade Distinguished Chair in Voice), the Georgetown University School of Medicine, and her alma mater, the Mannes School of Music. Ms. von Stade was awarded France's highest honor in the Arts when she was appointed as an officer of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1983 she was honored with an award given at The White House by President Reagan in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts. She volunteers at St. Martin de Porres, a Catholic elementary school in Oakland where she helps underserved students with their kindergarten violin class, piano lessons and a gospel choir, brings in performers and takes older students to opera rehearsals. Visit fredericavonstade.com.
Nicolle Foland is the voice instructor for PacSAW. She graduated with a Bachelors of Music degree in Performance and Master of Music degree in Performance both from the University of Northern Iowa. She studied music education as an undergraduate as well. She was an Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera, a prestigious two-year professional training program, and has performed at opera companies throughout the United States, singing such roles as Musetta, Mimi, La Contessa, Violetta and Donna Anna. She has taught private voice lessons since 1989 and has given master classes in singing at the high school and college levels. Her fundraising and project management skills were honed as Director of Community Relations at the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and subsequently as Vice President at Business Matchmaking, a nonprofit that helps small businesses sell goods and services to government agencies and private industry. Nicolle volunteers her project management skills by producing fundraisers for the Zheng Cao Merola Endowment at the Merola Opera Program and frequently sings on benefits for Bay Area organizations. Visit nicollefoland.com.
Kristin Clayton, Secretary, School Liaison and Voice and Acting Instructor
Kristin Clayton is a voice and acting instructor for PacSAW. She has been a professional opera singer for over 20 years and has been teaching voice privately and at Russo Studios in San Francisco to all ages and levels of experience. Kristin encourages exploring the student's innate love of performing, while teaching basic vocal and acting technique in a way that is fun and easy to understand. She began her association with the San Francisco Opera in 1993 in the Merola Opera Program for young artists and was a 1994-95 Adler Fellow, singing and covering roles for the company and training professionally. She has sung leading roles in opera houses all over the United States and in Northern California. One of her most recognized performances in the Bay Area was in Teatro ZinzZanni, where she performed the role of “The Diva” for almost 12 years. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Brenau Women’s College in Gainesville, GA and Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati - College Conservatory of Music.
Curt Branom, Treasurer, Director of Finance and Acting Instructor
Curt Branom is the Acting Instructor for PacSAW. He graduated with a BS from Southern Methodist University and went on to become a Certified Public Accountant. Before becoming an actor Curt worked for Ernst & Young and various other accounting, financial and real estate firms. Currently, Curt is one of the principal performers in San Francisco’s long running hit show Beach Blanket Babylon. He has performed with the San Francisco Symphony and as a soloist for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. Curt has performed not only in the United States but also in Europe. His New York and San Francisco credits include commercial, film and voiceover work as well as various awards and nominations. He is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. His teaching credits include masterclasses at Bucknell University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Songfest in Los Angeles. In New York, Curt studied acting with Fred Kareman. In San Francisco, Curt has studied with Mark Monroe, Linda Lowry, American Conservatory Theatre, and Bay Area Theatresports.
Suzanna Guzmán, Director
Suzanna Guzmán is an American mezzo-soprano and actress who has sung leading roles at opera companies throughout the United States. She has won and been nominated for numerous awards and is a well-known artist in the Los Angeles cultural community. Suzanna has also been recognized as a leader in Arts Education by the Hispanic Scholarship Foundation and the Latino Legislative Caucus. She hosted for nine seasons (1994-2003) on the weekly radio broadcast L.A. Opera Notes and later appeared for three seasons as producer, writer and host of Sunday Evening Opera. She serves on the USC Thornton School of Music Board of Advisors, Board of UCLA's Design for Sharing and the Education Committee of Los Angeles Opera. Her one-woman show, Don't Be Afraid: It's Just Opera, was created in 1984 to introduce inner city children to the world of opera. She continues those performances and has appeared in schools and community centers across the United States. Suzanna recently finished hosting a run of a TV show called Open Call, which showcased the work of top Southern California arts and culture organizations and schools. She is currently the Director of Community Engagement at L.A. County High School for the Arts, a tuition free arts high school. Suzanna holds an honorary doctorate from Occidental College in Vocal Performance. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanna_Guzm%C3%A1n.
Jake Heggie, Director
Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Moby-Dick, Dead Man Walking, Three Decembers, It’s A Wonderful Life, Great Scott, To Hell and Back, The End of the Affair, Out of Darkness, and the choral opera The Radio Hour. He has also composed more than 250 songs, as well as chamber, choral and orchestral works. The operas – most created with writers Terrence McNally or Gene Scheer – have been produced on five continents. Moby-Dick (Scheer) was telecast throughout the United States as part of Great Performances’ 40th Season and released on DVD (EuroArts). Dead Man Walking (McNally) has received more than 50 international productions and has been recorded twice (Atlantic Records and Virgin Classics). A Guggenheim Fellow, Heggie has served as a mentor for the Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative, and is a frequent guest artist at universities, conservatories and festivals throughout the USA and Canada. As a pianist, he has collaborated with some of the world’s most loved singers, including Joyce di Donato, Susan Graham and Frederica von Stade. Visit jakeheggie.com.
Mark Hernandez, Director
Mark Hernandez has been active in the Bay Area performing arts scene since 1992. Currently, he serves as Development Director of Stanford Jazz Workshop. As an opera singer, he has appeared in dozens of roles with Northern California companies. He worked as a teaching artist, primarily with the San Francisco Opera Guild, for 20 years. His writing credits include the book True Tales from the Mad, Mad, Mad World of Opera, co-authored with opera impresario Lotfi Mansouri, and Mary Pleasant At Land’s End, an opera libretto for composer David Garner. He has worked as a volunteer for Each One Reach One (a playwriting program for incarcerated youth), San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocates (a legal advocacy program for abused and neglected children), San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Latin American Chamber Music Society. A native Californian, Mark holds Bachelors and Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He lives out on the Avenues with his husband Ryan. For more information, visit blazingstage.com.
Valerie O'Riordan, Director
Valerie O'Riordan began teaching acting in 1986, while continuing her work as an actor, director, producer and freelance publicist. In 1994 she received an MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theatre and joined Actor's Equity Association while understudying the part of Hannah in Tony Kushner's Angels In America. She has been the Drama Director at Archbishop Riordan High School since 2000 where highlights include Suzan-Lori Parks' 365 Days/365 Plays project, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Lucky '13: A Labor of Love Alumni Revival (featuring Kristin Clayton and Curt Branom) and fellowships at The Globe Theatre stage in London and the The Athens Centre in Athens, Greece.
Laura Pauli, Director
Laura is a hi-tech marketing executive with more than 20 years of experience in Silicon Valley, Europe and Asia-Pacific working with tech companies ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small start-ups including Oracle, Siebel, SAP, Dassault and Splunk. Prior to hi-tech, Laura worked in finance at Arthur Andersen and in television at NBC in 30 Rock. During the dot com bust, Laura traded her keyboard for a cutting board and attended culinary school in New York City then heading to France to cook in Paris. 6 months turned into 6 years as Laura cooked her way around France with stops at the Cannes Film Festival, a lobster boat in Brittany, and Pierre Hermé Patisserie and the Four Seasons George V in Paris. Back in San Francisco, Laura continues to work as both a hi-tech marketing consultant and a culinary teaching and writer.
Rick Richetta, Director
Rick Richetta is a realtor with Alain Pinel in the San Francisco Bay Area. Consistently designated a top producer in the real estate industry, Rick is a member of Alain Pinel's President's Roundtable, composed of the top 2% within the agency. Rick's richly varied background includes a career as a professional singer, having sung numerous operatic roles on stage as well as appearing as a soloist with symphony and chorus. He also has an extensive background working in counseling and mediation and was a counselor for the San Francisco Unified School District for 13 years working with middle and high school students. Combining artistry and scholarship, Rick is an authority on Arabian Horses, having trained, shown, bred and brokered Arabian Horses on an international level. Visit RickRichetta.com.
Frederica von Stade, Director
Frederica von Stade has enriched the world of classical music for three decades with her appearances in opera, concert, and recital. The mezzo-soprano is well known to audiences around the world through her numerous featured appearances on television including several PBS specials and "Live from Lincoln Center" telecasts. She has made over sixty recordings with every major label, including complete operas, aria albums, symphonic works, solo recital programs and popular crossover albums. Her recordings have garnered six Grammy nominations, two Grand Prix du Disc awards, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, Italy's Premio della Critica Discografica, and "Best of the Year" citations by Stereo Review and Opera News. Frederica von Stade is the holder of honorary doctorates from Yale University, Boston University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (which holds a Frederica von Stade Distinguished Chair in Voice), the Georgetown University School of Medicine, and her alma mater, the Mannes School of Music. Ms. von Stade was awarded France's highest honor in the Arts when she was appointed as an officer of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1983 she was honored with an award given at The White House by President Reagan in recognition of her significant contribution to the arts. She volunteers at St. Martin de Porres, a Catholic elementary school in Oakland where she helps underserved students with their kindergarten violin class, piano lessons and a gospel choir, brings in performers and takes older students to opera rehearsals. Visit fredericavonstade.com.