Current Apprentices

Applications for our 2012 Apprenticeships coming soon. Learn further about our Voice Teacher Apprenticeship Program and our Apprentice Alumni/Alumnae.

Diana Bright

Diana Bright, flamenco cantaora and long-time member of the Portland arts community, began her musical studies pre birth. Her father was an opera singer turned Episcopalian minister and her mother was a rag picking, folk singing contralto. Diana played violin by age 7 and was taken out of middle school to play for high school musicals as the lead violinist. She joined the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and then moved to San Francisco to go to the Music Conservatory under Dr. Ross. Eventually, she joined a Polish Orchestras and alternative bands. Back in Portland, she danced, played violin and began vocal toning for Gypsy Caravan for 8 years until she found flamenco.

Diana has been a flamenco aficionado for 10 years with her focus being the power and the complexity of the cante, rhythms and how they interplay with the baile and the guitarra. Diana has studied with a diverse range of renown flamenco singers and dancers from different regions of Spain. Artists from Jerez de la Frontera such as; David Lagos, Ana de los Reyes, Miguel Resendo, Domingo Ortega, and Maria Bermudez.  Also, Encarna Enillo from Cadiz, El Veneno and Rafael Campallo from Sevilla, Fabiola Perez from Utrera, Luis Amador from the Pata Negra Jazz Masters in Madrid and Cristo Cortes from France. Each region brings another flavor of flamenco and rhythmic expression. Her greatest flamenco influences continue to be the guitarists of flamenco.

Flamenco taught her that developing your passion is a life-time of dedication. Yet, none of these great artists ever talked about breath and forward focus. One of her favorite teachers in New York touched on it, Alfonso Mogaburo Cid. But Alfonso is far away and her voice was slowly being destroyed by pushing and belting out of the mask of singing. After a show, an audience member recommended I meet Linda Brice. I have been with the institute for two years now. It has changed my life as an artist and a human being.

My goal this year is to see the passionate and disciplined artist in me and see it in my communities. I am turning my critic into a brilliant mentor. If you have a community, makes sure it has authentic conviction that includes everyone having their own personal achievement. TVI is a thriving community I am grateful to be a part of. We are committed to helping you in your journey to your authentic self.

Christine Hill

Christine Hill began studying voice with Linda Brice when she was 15 years old. She studied with Linda for over five years, developing her base in classical vocal technique. Christine has performed professionally in numerous musical theatre productions. She studied dance (ballet, jazz, tap, modern), voice and musical theater for six years under the direction of Brian and Melinda Larson. Christine has also taught children’s and teen’s dance and musical theater classes. Christine completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Utah with a B.A. in English Literature. While in college she also studied theater, dance, piano and voice (with Jaime Belnap) and performed as a member of the University of Utah Women’s Chorus. Along with her academic studies, Christine completed two years at the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism—an institution borne from a tradition of Sufism that utilizes breath, sound and chant as a path to experience profound healing and personal transformation. Christine hopes to use both her love of music and her passion for voice to help people discover vocal freedom by unveiling their authentic voice, thereby experiencing the wonderful joy of singing! In May of 2011, Christine, her husband, Sean, and their dog, Digadee, moved from the sunny desert of Southern Utah to beautiful, rainy Portland for a grand musical adventure! She loves the positive, inspiring and deeply supportive artist incubator that is TVI and is thrilled to be part of the Apprenticeship Program.

Rebecca Stuhlbarg

Rebecca Stuhlbarg grew up playing violin and singing in choirs as well as musical theater productions, but it wasn’t until college that she found her passion for singing and teaching voice. She attended the University of California at Santa Cruz for both her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Vocal Performance. She studied voice with Patrice Maginnis and conducting with Nicole Paiement. Rebecca had many valuable experiences at UCSC, including teaching group voice classes as a graduate student, performing in the school’s yearly operas, and being an assistant-conductor for the 2007 production of The Magic Flute. She also discovered her love and dedication to the practice of Hatha Yoga during these years. Some of Rebecca’s opera roles include Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Vera Boronel in The Consul, and Ruth Putnam in The Crucible. Rebecca’s vocal journey has taken her from mezzo-soprano to lyric soprano and she looks forward to moving more into soprano repertoire. Since receiving her Masters degree in 2007, Rebecca has been singing in the chorus with Opera San Jose, studying voice with Betany Coffland and now Linda Brice, practicing Iyengar yoga (a form of Hatha), and spending time with her husband Joel and daughter Amelia who is now four years old. She is thrilled to join the apprentice program and the faculty at the Transformational Voice Institute!