Shawn Marie Jeffery joined the ADA team in 2005, bringing with her a wide array of performance, directorial, and administrative experience. Her work with ADA has taken her to companies throughout the US. Deeply dedicated to providing the next generation of artists with the tools to succeed she often speaks with young artists sharing her insight on business and artistic trends within the industry in lecture and masterclass settings, having presented at the Classical Singer Convention, Ash Lawn Opera, The Castleton Festival, Opera New Jersey, Seagle Music Colony, Opera North, and Spotlight on Opera. She has served as a panelist for feedback auditions at the Classical Singer Convention and as a frequent judge of the AMICI Vocal Competition sponsored by the Opera Theater of Connecticut.

 

Previously Shawn held the position of Director of Education for Opera New Jersey for whom she created and directed abridged versions of The Magic Flute, Hansel and Gretel, La Cenerentola, and The Pirates of Penzance.  Her adaptations toured schools throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Additionally, she took her original program “So, this is OPERA?” into primary schools, introducing opera to young students in New Jersey through an interactive presentation. Shawn recently made her main stage directorial debut staging Christopher Theofanidis' new work "Virtue" for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and will return there to stage a multi-media production of Stravinsky’s Le histoire du Soldat  in the 2017-18 season.

 

During her 12 year career as a mezzo-soprano Shawn performed throughout the United States.  A recipient of the Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actor’s Award her roles ranged from Rossini’s comic heroines Isabella in Italian Girl in Algiers and Rosina in The Barber of Seville, to the pants roles of Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, to Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Bizet’s fiery gypsy Carmen. Highly regarded for her keen dramatic abilities Shawn now shares her dramatic tools and insights into character development in private consultations and coachings through her studio “Stage and Self.”