As a member of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Jeffrey has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Berlin Philharmonic, under the respective batons of Alan Gilbert, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Sir Simon Rattle. Jeffrey has appeared as a professional tenor soloist with Choral Arts of Philadelphia, the Worcester Community Chorus, and the NCMC community chorus, as well as in a private performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Carnegie Hall.Cutts holds a Master of Music in sacred music and conducting from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, where he studied liturgy with Steve Pilkington and conducting with Joe Miller, James Jordan, and Ryan Brandau. He also has a Bachelor in Music in voice performance and musical arts from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, where he studied voice with Amy Jarman and Gayle Shay; conducting with Robin Fountain; and organ, composing, and historical performance with Carl Smith.

As a young professional, Ms. Feeney participated for two seasons in the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, sang Adele in the national tour of Die Fledermaus with the Western Opera Theatre, and was subsequently chosen for the San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Adler Fellowship. Ms. Feeney’s career with the San Francisco Opera includes more than 20 opera productions, with featured roles such as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Marzelline in Fidelio, Despina in Cosi fan Tutte, Amanda in Le Grande Macabre, and the creation of the role of Marguerite in the world-premiere of Earthrise. Additional opera credits include two seasons at The Spoleto Festival, USA (Diana in Iphegenie en Tauride and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte), and six productions with the Ohio Light Opera (including Franzi in Wienerblut and Mascha in The Chocolate Soldier, recorded on the Newport Classics label). Ms. Feeney’s professional recital debut, Misunderstood Women: Matriarchs, Martyrs, and Mistresses of Metaphor, was for the San Francisco Opera’s Schwabacher series. An avid proponent of new music, she commissioned two world-premiere song cycles, Pashtun Songs by Bruce Rockwell, featuring anonymous love poems by Afghan women, and Miriam by David Daniel Feinsmith, set to verses from The Book of Exodus. Other recital engagements include 405 Schrader (San Francisco), International Street Cannibals (New York), Musica Reginae (New York), Nantucket Musical Arts Society, Nantucket Arts Council Downtown Celebrity Series, Nantucket Baroque Festival, The St. Croix Landmark Society, and the Intermezzo Series at Spoleto Festival, USA. A baroque specialist, Ms. Feeney has performed as a soloist in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and the Herbst Theater in chamber music engagements with the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble (U.S. premiere of coloratura mezzo-soprano and contraltino arias by Mysliveček and Zelenka), the New Century Chamber Ensemble (Purcell’s The Fairy Queen), the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (Bach Magnificat and BWV 110), Eliogabalo in Cavalli’s Eliogabalo with Stony Brook Opera, and Agrippina in Handel’s Agrippina with The Mannes Camerata. Ms. Feeney is currently on the soloist roster of Boston Baroque and is an advisor for the Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, where she will be featured in salon concerts and chamber operas throughout the 2018-2020 seasons. Upcoming concert engagements include Mozart and the Master’s of the Baroque with Nantucket Musical Arts Society and at the Concord Conservatory of Music. Ms. Feeney’s musical and theatrical directing credits include Fluxus: a retrospective, a performance art series exploring the original Fluxus Manifesto with Nantucket Island Arts and Music, a non-profit organization she founded while pursuing her doctoral degree at SUNY Stony Brook. Other directing credits include Hansel and Gretel at UCSC Opera Theatre, featuring her own colloquial translation of the original German libretto, Subtext: Cut-Piece, a reinterpretation of Yoko Ono’s one-woman show for Nantucket Arts Council, and Phillip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread with Theatre Workshop Nantucket. An active music educator and mentor to aspiring singers, Dr. Feeney has served on the music faculties of the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music, Bergen College, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, and holds degrees from the Mannes College of Music (BM), Brooklyn College-Conservatory of Music (MM), and the State University of New York at Stony Brook (DMA). She currently serves on the faculty of Nantucket Music Center and the Concord Conservatory of Music and is Faculty Chair of the voice department at Powers Music School in Belmont, MA.

Education

Studied at the Julliard School
Mannes College of Music (BM)
Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music (MM)
State University of Stony Brook (DMA)

Opera Credits:

Member of the San Francisco Opera (2 seasons)
Recipient of the Adler Fellowship
Western Opera Theatre (national tour of Die Fledermaus)
Spoleto Festival (2 seasons)

Performed as a soloist at venues such as:

Carnegie Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Merkin Concert Hall
Herbst Theater

Education

Studied at the Julliard School
Mannes College of Music (BM)
Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music (MM)
State University of Stony Brook (DMA)

Opera Credits:

Member of the San Francisco Opera (2 seasons)
Recipient of the Adler Fellowship
Western Opera Theatre (national tour of Die Fledermaus)
Spoleto Festival (2 seasons)

She spent a decade with The Bob Lehman Trio at the Brant Point Grille, a gig she loved for the opportunity it provided her to improvise and harmonize and grow as an ensemble player.
The group (Bob Lehman, Erik Wendelken, Jeff Carlson) recorded a CD in 2012 and continues to work occasionally on the island. Along with teaching, she currently directs Music at St. Mary’s of the Isle and for the past 20 years, has been the Pianist and music coordinator for the Nantucket Yacht Club.Along with work in theater as a Musical Director(TWN), and at the High School and Middle School, she also served as a pianist and vocal coach. Her Cabarets have brought her together with some of the island’s best voices, all of whom continue to sing and bring music to Nantucket’s wider audience. She is currently the conductor/pianist for the NCMC Women’s Chorus. Arranging music, writing and composing, teaching and playing, conducting and accompanying, she has enjoyed the rare opportunity to make music her life.Education is a priority for Ms. Lehman, who holds certificates at Berklee for Theory, General Music Studies, and Arranging. Adding to her time at Framingham State College where she studied Childhood Ed and Psychology, she continues to further her studies as a voice-over artist with Edge Studios in New York. She has DJ’d at WACK, (Nantucket’s true island radio)provided voice-overs for commercials, and has narrated and produced over 75 audiobooks, working tirelessly to improve on her newest endeavor in commercial Voice-over.Diane is excited to be “Coming home” to NCMC where she started teaching so long ago. The chance to work with some of her good friends and collaborate on future musical projects has been her motivation to return. With a background in Classical, Jazz, Vocal Arrangements, and Popular music, she is thrilled to be of help to students who want to make music part of their lives, exploring the many different genres that can be played as a pianist. It is her hope that her students will have a chance to enjoy music for the entirety of their lives, read at a level that will help them become independent, take on new challenges, and be willing to practice to get it right. Mostly, she hopes they enjoy the process of making music a passion and joy.