Thomas Ramos hails from Phoeniz Arizona and has a varied career in the Profit and Non-Proft world. He has worked for companies such as Salvation Army and the Arizona Opera as an bookeeper, telemarketer, and assistant Box Office Manager. In his capacity with SAS Performing Arts Company, Tom is responsible for the day to day operations of the office as well as the implementation of the program and liason with the artists and studios participants.

Program Coordinator

Thomas Ramos

The SAS Performing Arts Studios is excited to welcome Jimonn Cole to our staff.  Jimonn is an actor known for his work most recently in the independent film Broken Symphony (2019), God Friended Me (2018), Blue Bloods (2017), and the feature film Spinning Into Butter (2007)with Sarah Jessica Parker. Broadway:  Hillary and Clinton dir. Joe Mantello.  Jimonn has performed in 5 national tours including as “Slank” in the Broadway National Tour of Peter and The Starcatcher; with The Acting Company as “Malcolm X” in Marcus Gardley’s X or Betty Shabazz vs. The Nation, as “Brutus” in Julius Caesar; and The Exonerated dir. Bob Balaban. Off-Broadway credits include: Our Lady of 121 Street at Signature Theatre dir. Phylicia Rashad and Iphigenia 2.0 dir. Tina Landau; Public Enemy at The Pearl Theatre; The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter at New York Theatre Workshop dir. Doug Hughes; The Conscientious Objector, Museum, Pullman Car Hiawatha (Drama Desk Nomination) all with the Keen Company NYC. Jimonn is  author of the one-man show The Last Black Cowboy which was selected for the New York International Fringe Festival in 2004.  His regional credits include A Raisin in The Sun at Crossroads Theatre; Ruined dir. Liesl Tommy; Twelfth Night dir. Darko Tresnjak and The Merchant of Venice dir. Bill Rauch, all at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Macbeth at the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival; Gem of The Ocean at Arena Stage; Romeo and Juliet at The Ahmanson dir. Sir Peter Hall; The Tempest, Peer Gynt, Merry Wives of Windsor and Othello starring Patrick Stewart, all at The Shakespeare Theatre DC. Jimonn received his BFA from The Juilliard School where he was recipient of the John Houseman Award for Excellence in acting.

Acting

Jimonn Cole

The SAS Performing Arts Studios is fortunate to have international acclaimed Soprano Rosa D’Imperio as part of our Opera Studio. Rosa has emerged as an exciting and versatile soprano in the spinto and dramatic repertoire possessing a “beautifully dark and sensual voice”, “of incisive volume and expressive colors”, combining an innate musicality and intense theatrical gifts with masterful interpretations.  She has received a myriad of glowing reviews by the international press such as ”singing with agile and gleaming tone” in Opera News for her Leonora, “a big, red-blooded, Italianate voice, with soaring high notes, and a beautifully tender Vissi d'arte" in the Tampa Bay Times for her Tosca, and, as having “rich purity of tone, fluid range and impressive dramatic communication" in New York Newsday for Aida. ”.  Rosa sang the title role of Aida for Maestro Anton Coppola’s farewell performances as Music Director of Opera Tampa. 

 Ms. D’Imperio’s concert career has taken her around the world singing with notable orchestras among them the Hamburger Symphoniker, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Orchestre Nationale Ile de France, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Krakow Symphony Orchestra, and, in halls such as Theatre An der Wien, Dvorak Hall and Carnegie Hall

International Soprano and Teacher

Rosa D'Imperio

Maria Giorgio singing style has been called passionate, enthusiastic, and incomparable as she embodies the gems of the Great American Songbook. As the lead singer of MG & the Orbs, she entertains you with much enthusiasm and flair for entertainment! Maria has ten (10) yrs. of Bel Canto training, matched with a voice the encompasses a 3 1/2 octave range.  Her song repertory includes music of  Classic R&B, Blues, Disco, R&R, and Jazz standards.

Song Intrepretation

Maria Giorgio

MICHAEL McASSEY is currently on staff at PACE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS as a Vocal Coach in the Musical Theatre Department.  He has also worked as a teacher/coach at NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY, NYU/TISCH and ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY in Chicago.  A professional Equity actor and 802 Music Director/Conductor for over 35 years he made his Broadway debut as an actor in the musical LATE NITE COMIC, co-starred with Tony winner Andre De Shields in THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, as Herbie in GYPSY with Tony nominee Sally Mayes, twice as Edna Turnblad in HAIRSPRAY, and as Max Bialystock in 3 different companies of Mel Brooks’ THE PRODUCERS.  An accomplished conductor and music director, Michael divides his time between onstage and off including conducting the Broadway National Tours of AVENUE Q, TITANIC: THE MUSICAL and PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT. He specializes in audition prep for both theatre and college entrance auditions.

Music Director/Coach/Accompanist

Michael McCassey

Jon Audric Nelson is a New York City–based musical director and voice coach. He attended the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and received additional training in conducting with Mark Gibson at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Jon splits his time between musical theatre and operatic repertoire, with recent credits include: The Boys from Syracuse, Guys and Dolls, Gypsy, Don Giovanni, Il Trovatore, and L’elisir d’amore. He also recently completed a residency with Creede Repertory Theatre in a season that included Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Noel Coward’s Private Lives (for which he provided arrangements and incidental music) and the annual Colorado Theatre Guild Awards (where Beth Malone was nominated for her performance in The Unsinkable Molly Brown). Jon is passionate about the work he does with the students in his coaching studio and dedicated to his beloved French bulldog, appropriatly named La Divina.

Music Director/Coach/Accompanist

Jon Audric Nelson

Jonathan K. Parks is a Manhattan-based music director, vocal coach and pianist, equally versed in musical theatre and opera. Broadway: Chicago. National Tours: Chicago, Young Frankenstein. Regional: Barrington Stage Company, Ogunquit Playhouse, Gateway Playhouse, Northern Stage, New London Barn Playhouse, Lake Dillon Theatre Company, Amarillo Opera. Favorite past shows include: West Side Story (New Hampshire Theatre Award for Best Musical), Hair (Denver Post Ovation Award for Best Musical), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Colorado Theatre Guild Nomination for Best Music Direction), Mary Poppins, 42nd Street, Gypsy, and Street Scene. He is a proud graduate of Florida State University and is currently on the faculty of Marymount Manhattan College.

Coach/Accompanist

Jonathan R. Parks

Most recent employment: National Tour of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," ending March 2017. Currently freelancing in New York.

Over 25 years of Broadway and touring experience: Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Ragtime, A Chorus Line, Mary Poppins, La Bohème, Sunset Boulevard, Chicago, and others.

Cabaret collaborator with Mary Setrakian and Evangelia Kingsley.

Specific experience includes opera and classical art song coaching, instrumental accompaniment (sonatas and concertos), folk dance accompanying (RSCDS, ECD, and Contradance)

Coach/Accompanist

Chip Prince

Nick Stamatakis is a pianist, music director and composer who has worked with professional, educational and community organizations, striving to create collaborative environments that foster the exploration, interpretation and execution of music in theater. Credits include work with Pittsburgh CLO, City Theatre, Quantum Theatre, Pittsburgh Musical Theater, Carnegie Stage, Musical Theatre Artists of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Arcade Comedy Theater and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Music Director/Coach/Accompanist

Nick Stamatakis

With diverse repertoire ranging from Rossini to Guettel, Matthew’s music direction credits include productions and workshops with the Abingdon Theatre Company, York Theatre Company, Seagle Music Colony, Light Opera of New York, American Lyric Theater, College Light Opera Company, Fort Worth Opera and Kentucky Opera. Recent projects include The Mikado (New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players), Kurt Weill On Broadway (at Feinstein’s/54 Below, featuring Tony nominee Mary Testa) and Paris Through the Window (Abingdon Theatre Co).

An advocate for new works, Matthew has worked on many new opera and musical theatre workshops, facilitating the development process. He is currently the resident musical director for the composer/librettist duo, Hurley & Osborne whose theatre/opera work The Body Politic headlined at NYMF in 2017. Other notable workshops include Voir Dire (Fort Worth Opera) and The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing (American Lyric Theatre).

A passionate educator, Matthew has served on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music’s Precollege Division as well as Montclair State University, where he works as a vocal coach and pianist. Matthew was selected for the prestigious William R. Kenan Jr. Teaching Artist Fellowship with Lincoln Center Education where he developed his skills as a teaching artist. He made his Lincoln Center debut creating an art/music/song concert featuring visual projections and featuring the music of Aaron Copland, Ken Frazelle and Adam Guettel.

A Staunton, Virginia native, Matthew was raised on a steady diet of NPR classical, Billy Joel, and Karen Carpenter. He earned his B.M. in piano performance from James Madison University and his M.M. in collaborative piano from the NC School for the Arts.

Music Director/Coach/Accompanist

Matthew Stephens

Stephen Anthony is a musicologist, conductor, director and author. He has directed operas including, Carmen, Tosca, La Bohème, Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi, Cosi fan Tutte as well operetta's such as The Merry Widow and Die Fledermaus. He has also directed American Musical Theater pieces such as Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Bernstein’s Candide. In the dramatic theater, Stephen has directed Garcia Lorca’s La Casa del Bernarda Alba, Oscar Wilde’s Salome and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Stephen studied Operatic and Symphonic conducting under the tutelage of the late Vincent La Selva. Among the works he has conducted are Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 in D minor, Handel’s Messiah, Puccini’s Tosca, and Mozart's Don Giovanni.  His symphonic concerts have included works of Bach, Handel and Mozart.

During his years at Arizona State University,  he taught classes on the Baroque Style, Stravinsky, Opera, American Musical Theater, and Stephen Sondheim.
Mr. Anthony has also published a treatise on Puccini's Il Trittico and the end of Italian Opera

Stage Director/Coach

Stephen Anthony