Master Classes & Special Guests

Gary Matthewman is one of the UK’s leading song pianists. A regular artist at Wigmore Hall in London, other recent and forthcoming appearances include Carnegie Hall in New York, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and in Strasbourg, Prague, Lucerne, Basel, Lisbon, Toronto, São Paulo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sydney. His UK Festival performances include Oxford Lieder, Leeds Lieder, Aldeburgh, Buxton and Glyndebourne.

Recent and future recital partners include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Thomas Allen, Sumi Jo, Nuccia Focile, Mark Padmore, Ailyn Perèz, Kate Lindsey, Markus Werba, Dimitri Platanias, Sylvia Schwartz, Kate Royal, Andrei Bondarenko, Louise Alder, Adam Plachetka, Benjamin Appl, Sarah-Jane Brandon and Roderick Williams.

Gary has made numerous live broadcasts and recordings for BBC Radio 3, and his recent recording of Schubert’s Winterreise with Matthew Rose received widespread critical acclaim, featuring as Gramophone Magazine’s Recording of the Month and BBC Radio 3’s Disc of the Week. He is Professor of Vocal Repertoire at the Royal College of Music, and song coach for the Jette Parker Young Artists at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Possessing a range of over three octaves, the repertoire of world-renowned American soprano Laura Aikin embraces works from the Baroque to the contemporary and makes her a most welcome artist at the world’s great opera houses and concert halls. She began her now more than 30 year career as a member of the ensemble at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin (1992-98) under the artistic direction of Daniel Barenboim. At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden she has performed more than 300 times in major roles like Lulu, Königin der Nacht, Zerbinetta, Feldman’s Neither, Sophie, Konstanze, as well as in the world premiere of Sciarinno’s Ti vedo, ti sento, mi perdo, co-production with La Scala.

Laura Aikin is a regular guest at, amongst others, the Vienna State Opera, La Scala Milano, Bavarian State Opera, Opernhaus Zurich, Netherlands Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Semperoper Dresden, Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona, Opera Frankfurt, Chicago Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, San Francisco Opera and Metropolitan Opera New York.

At the Salzburg Festival, she has appeared among others as Königin der Nacht, in the world premiere of Henze’s opera L’Upupa (Bad’iat), as Blondchen and Konstanze Die Entführung aus dem Serail and was highly acclaimed by both audience and press for her interpretation of Marie in Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten in 2012, and as Morgan Le Fay in Birtwistle‘s Gawain in 2013. In addition she was highly acclaimed by both audience and press for her interpretation of Emilia Marty in a new production of Janáček´s Vec Makropulos at the Vienna State Opera, as Hilde Mack in Henze’s Elegie für junge Liebende at the Theater an der Wien, Donna Anna Don Giovanni under the baton of Iván Fischer in Budapest, Edinburgh Festival and New York, Schoenberg´s Erwartung in Salzburg, as well as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus at the Vienna State Opera.

Being also a sought after concert singer, Laura Aikin performs with orchestras such as the Berlin, Munich and Vienna Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago and Vienna Symphonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the WDR, SWR and MDR Radio Symphony Orchestras as well as with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Les Arts Florissants, the Gürnzenich Orchester and Concerto Köln, and Concentus Musicus Wien.

Her many recordings include Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge with with both Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Nicholas Harnoncourt and Concentus Musikus, Schoenberg’s Die Jakobsleiter with the Südwestfunk Symphony Orchestra, Respighi’s La Campana Sommersa (Montpellier Opera), DVDs of Lulu (Opernhaus Zurich), Henze’s L’Upupa and Die Entführung aus dem Serail (both from the Salzburg Festival) and Dialogues des Carmélites with Riccardo Muti (La Scala), a solo recording of Songs and Cycles by Ned Rorem with pianist Donald Sulzen (Orfeo), and, most recently, a widely acclaimed recording of Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with Laura Aikin as Rosalinde appeared (Pentatone) – recorded with the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Lawrence Foster.

As a pedagog, Laura Aikin has been invited to give Masterclasses at, amongst others, the Hochschule für Musik in Würzburg, University of Michigan, Komische Oper Berlin, Vienna Staatsoper and the 2022 Jahreskongress of the Bundesverband Deutsche Gesangs Pädagogin. She has been Dozent at Lotte Lehmann Akademie since 2020, and Lehrbeauftragte at the Hochschule Osnabrück Institut für Musik. She is currently Univ.-Professor at the Universität der Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, Institut für Gesang und Musiktheater.

Markus Vorzellner was born in Vienna and studied piano at the former University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Elisabeth Dvorak-Weisshaar and Harald Ossberger. He furthered his education with collaboration in the vocal area with, among others: John Dickie, Paul Armin Edelmann, Peter Edelmann, Daniela Fally, Bernarda Fink, Gabriele Fontana Heinz Holecek, Wolfgang Holzmair, Eva Lind, Herbert Lippert, Elisabeth von Magnus, Eva Marton, Brigitte Poschner, Ildikó Raimondi, Kurt Rydl, Michael Schade, Georg Tichy, Peter Weber, Helmut Wildhaber and Heinz Zednik.

Concert activities at home and abroad. Activities include the Hamburg Concert Hall, Vienna Concert Hall, Vienna Music Association, Graz Opera, ACF New York, as well as numerous festivals such as Styriarte, Eisenstadt Haydn Days, Vienna Klangbogen and Carinthian Summer.

Influenced by Harald Ossberger, there has been an increased interest in the fortepiano as a soloist and accompanist for over thirty years.
The North American debut took place on such an instrument during the International Millennium Conference in Ottawa in 1996.

Frequent (first) performances of contemporary music in Germany and abroad, as a soloist and accompanist, including with the oboist Alfred Hertel or in a piano duo with Lieselotte Theiner.

Further emphasis in the field of light music, especially the Viennese song and comedy song literature. Cooperation in this sector with, among others, Ulrike Beimpold, Gabriele Schuchter, Waltraut Haas, Heinz Holecek, Heinz Zednik, Klaus Rott, Wilfried Scheutz and Franz Suhrada.

Intensive accompaniment in master classes, among others with KS Prof. Sylvia Geszty, the Rascher Saxophone Quartet, KS Prof. Kurt Equiluz, KS Heinz Zednik, KS Grace Bumbry or KS Prof. Peter Schreier. From 1996 to 2000 study répétiteur with KS Prof. Walter Berry. Also in numerous courses in interpretation, among others as part of the Musikfabrik Edelhof or the Vocal Summer Academy in Eisenstadt.

Markus is active in the scientific and essayistic field.

Kammersängerin Linda Watson American dramatic soprano made her career based in Germany where she studied and began as a mezzo-soprano at the Theater Aachen. She has performed worldwide, including at the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. She focused on dramatic roles by Wagner and Strauss, as well as Turandot. She was awarded the title Kammersängerin in Germany in 2004 and in Austria in 2020. Watson began her stage career as a mezzo-soprano at the Theater Aachen in 1992, followed by an engagement at the Aalto Theatre in Essen in 1995, combined with a guest contract at the Leipzig Opera, where she performed Wagnerian roles such as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde and Venus in Tannhäuser. She became a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 1997. The same year, she first appeared as Venus at the Vienna State Opera, and a year later as Kundry in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. From 2000 to 2005, she portrayed Ortrud in Lohengrin at Bayreuth.

From 2006 to 2010, she sang all three Brünnhilde roles in Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival, and also performed these roles in the new production at the Vienna State Opera, earning a solo Grammy Nomination. She subsequently appeared as Brünnhilde at many of the world’s great opera houses, including at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, even in a nine-hour compilation of all the Ring in one day. She added more dramatic roles to her repertoire, including Isolde, Elektra, and both the Dyer’s Wife and the Nurse in Die Frau ohne Schatten. The credibility of her portrayals and her vocal bravura led to engagements worldwide, in Munich, Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona, at La Scala in Milan, Florence, Bologna, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She has worked with conductors including Claudio Abbado, Bertrand de Billy, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Hartmut Haenchen, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, Antonio Pappano, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Christian Thielemann. In 2013 and 2014, the singer returned to the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein to perform as Marschallin, Elektra, Ariadne and Brünnhilde. At the Vienna State Opera, she was appointed Kammersängerin in January 2020. At La Scala in Milan, Linda Watson could be seen and heard in the 2020/21 season as Herodias in Salome.

In addition, Linda Watson is a professor of voice at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, and performs master classes worldwide.

Music Director of the Oviedo Philharmonic (OFIL) since 2011, Marzio Conti has earned recognition and the acclaim of audiences and critics for his achievements in guiding the growth of the orchestra to new artistic heights. He has earned numerous awards and has been named a juror for the arts prize of the prestigious Premios Asturias.He had a major critical success with recording of the complete symphonic works of Saint-Saens for Warner Classic. At the community level, Mr. Conti has earned praise for his special projects at local centers and for a joint project with the University of Oviedo to offer films with music, projects for families, musical projects related to sports and outdoor summer projects designed to spotlight historic parts of the city.

Since his arrival in Oviedo, the symphonic season of OFIL has established a standard of excellence for the musical world of Spain, presenting notable artists such as Midori, Christian Zimermann, Gregory Kunde, Elina Garanca, ElissoVissaladze, Sabine Mayer, Cecilia Bartoli, Natalia Gutman, Rudolf Buchbinder, Katia and Marielle Lebeque, Grigory Sokolov,Bryn Terfel.

Mr. Conti has appeared as a guest conductor in Italy with the Rome Opera, Maggio Musicale of Florence, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Comunale of Bologna, Teatro Massimo of Palermo, Teatro La Fenice of Venice Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Teatro Donizetti Bergamo, Teatro di Ravenna, Teatro di Bolzano , Teatro del Giglio di Lucca, Teatro Bellini Catania, Teatro Verdi Pisa, Teatro Comunale di Livorno, Orchestra Regionale Toscana, Orchestra Haydn, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto. In Spain, he has conducted Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Orquesta Sinfonica de Bilbao, Orquesta de Tenerife, Orquestra de Extremadura, Orquestra de la Gran Canaria, Orquestra de las Baleares, Teatro Arriaga Bilbao, and Orquesta de Navarra. In Germany, he has conducted at the Dortmund Staatsoper, Saarbrücken Staatsoper, Dessau Stadtsoper, Monchegladbach Stadtoper, and Brandemburger Symphoniker. In France, he has conducted the Orchestra Regional de Cannes e de la Cote d’Azur, Orchestre da La Picardie, Opera de Marseille, and Orchestre d’Avignon.

Formerly one of his generation’s leading exponents of the flute following a debut at the Salzburg Festival with I Soloist Veneti at the age of 20, Marzio Conti performed with major orchestras and made numerous recordings through the middle 1990’s after which he devoted himself full-time to conducting.

From 1998 to 2002 he was principal conductor at the Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese in Italy,from 2001 until 2004, he was music director of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Turin,from 2003 until 2008 was Music Director of the Teatro di Tradizione per l’Opera Italiana of Chieti and from 2004 to 2010 he also served as Artistic Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo.

Since 2014 he collaborates as guest conductor and professor with Jacob School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington: this year he inaugurated the Opera season with Donizetti Fille du Regiment, the Ballet Season with Nutcracker and in April 2107 he conducted Petruska. In January 2017 he has conducted Rigoletto at Opera de Oviedo. In February 2018 he conducted Don Quichotte in Amsterdam the prestigious Dutch National Ballet. In July 2017 he ends to be music director of Oviedo Filarmonia. The city as an acknowledgment of the extraordinary work he has done awarded with the Gold Medal of the Auditorium Prince Felipe.

In 1999 Alison established The Virtual Works, a virtual project management business in the corporate, diversity, arts & small business sectors.  Alison brings 40 years experience in Arts & Business and delivers it with a particular blend of humour.  She is passionate about working within the arts sector on a quest to bring greater synergies between art and business. Alison is currently the Chief Executive Officer of The Opera Foundation for young Australians, where she managers national auditions to provide international opportunities for young artists. Alison’s unique strength is her ability to convey the complexities of the operational side of a business to artists whilst supporting their individual objectives without any artistic interference.

Clemens was born and schooled in Graz and has been associated with AIMS all his life. Completed BA, MPh and PhD studies in Musicology, Romance Languages and Organ performance. He is a freelance author, journalist, program annotator, narrator, and musician.

Since 2004, Clemens works as an artists’ agent representing an international group of vocalists.

He frequently collaborates with the most prestigious promoters, orchestras, festivals and opera houses around the World.

Artists he has worked with include Christa Ludwig, Elina Garanča, Rolando Villázon, Thomas Hampson, and actors Christoph Waltz and Vanessa Redgrave. On his roster are several former AIMSers whom he represents in various European countries.

He teaches audition training at the Graz Music University, in London, Washington DC, Buenos Aires, and many other places.

Siphiwe McKenzie was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She received her bachelor degree in Music from the University of British Columbia and a masters in Music and Operatic Studies from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She began her European career at the invitation of the Nuremberg State Opera Theatre in Germany, where she went on to portray more than 21 roles over six consecutive seasons. During her time there she was nominated twice by the prestigious German magazine Opernwelt as “Young Singer of the  Year”.

Since then, she has extended her repertoire and added 20 additional roles (totalling of 40 roles to date) performing internationally to great acclaim around the world at the following theatres, opera houses and festivals: the Volksoper of Vienna (Austria), Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires (Argentina), Teatro Reggio in Parma( Italy), National Opera of Finland, Staatstheater in Basel (Switzerland), San Diego Opera (USA), St.Gallen Opera Theatre (Switzerland), Hessische State Opera in Wiesbaden(Germany), Leipzig State Opera (Germany) ),Baden State Opera (Austria), Ronacher Theatre of Vienna (Austria), National Opera of Bucharest (Romania), Rheingau Opera Festival (Germany), Haydn Festival of Eisenstadt (Austria), Beijing Wagner Festival( China), Singapore Arts Festival, Hong Kong Art Festival (China), Opera Festival of St. Margerethen (Austria), Opera Festival of Belles-Îles en Mer (France), Chamber Music Festival of Vancouver (Canada), Mozart Chamber Music Festival of Mexico City (Mexico) and the Nuremberg International Music Festival (Germany).

Possessing a wide repertoire of chamber music and orchestral concert music, Siphiwe McKenzie has performed, recorded and been featured frequently with the National Radio Orchestra of Poland, the National Radio Orchestra of Budapest, the CBC Radio Orchestra of Canada and the Cologne WDR Orchestra of Germany. She has also recorded many live concert tours and concerts with the Vienna Volksoper Symphony Orchestra (Austria) in Japan and Korea.

Subsequently, she has also recorded a solo album with Italian guitarist Adriano Sebastiani.

Siphiwe McKenzie has participated as a guest soloist in various charity events such as the Telathon for Austrian national television for ‘Licht ins Dunkel’ with the famous Austrian television moderator Alfons Heider in Vienna. She was also a featured guest artist by the German television cooking star Professor Alfred Biolek where she appeared with Nana Mouskouri for the World Population Foundation in Cologne, Germany. She has also appeared as a guest artist for the Parkinsons Foundation in Vancouver, Canada, where she raised funds and capital for the disease. Siphiwe also enjoys humanitarian work and appeared as a guest soloist for the Portuguese division of the renowned Venezuelan organisation El Sistema called: Orchestra Geração, where she helped raise funds for the purchasing of instruments for developing young orchestral musicians from challenging social backgrounds.

A passionate teacher and educator, Siphiwe McKenzie is currently a voice teacher at the Faculty of Music at the Escola Superior de Música in Lisbon, Portugal. In addition, she runs her own private teaching studio, in which she formulates and inspires aspiring singers from all ages.

Born in Denmark, Boje Skovhus studied at the Aarhus Music College and the Royal Academy for Opera of Copenhagen and in New York. He rose to opera stardom after a last minute appearance at the Vienna Volksoper when he substituted as Don Giovanni. Since then he has enjoyed a rapidly developing career on the world’s greatest opera stages.

He has been virtually adopted by the Viennese, and regularly performs at the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival. He sings the major baritone roles, such as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. He has spurred a revival of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Vienna Volksoper, and Royal Opera Copenhagen, and the little known baritone version of Massenet’s Werther. He also has made a specialty of Britten’s Billy Budd and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, including arias or scenes from them on his first opera disc (Sony Classics). Other leading baritone parts in his repertoire are Berg’s Wozzeck, Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero, Peter I in Zar und Zimmerman, Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Raimond in Othmar Schoeck’s Venus.

Skovhus also frequently appears on the recital stage and has recorded many recital discs. These include selections of Lieder by Hugo Wolf and Erich Korngold, a selection of songs by Robert and Clara Schumann (The Heart of the Poet), and the two great Schubert song cycles Schwanengesang and Die schöne Müllerin. After his 1997 New York recital at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center he was acclaimed as one of the great Lieder singers of his generation. He is particularly known for the energy and characterization he brings to the stage. He has appeared on many of the world’s great opera stages, including the Metropolitan in New York (debuting 1998 in Die Fledermaus), the Hamburg State Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opéra de Paris, Royal Opera Copenhagen, and the Bavarian State Opera.

He appears at major music festivals such as Die Salzburg Festspiel, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Edinburgh, the Vienna Festwochen, and the Feldkirch Schubertiade. On the orchestral concert stage, he has sung in Orff’s Carmina Burana, Britten’s War Requiem, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Brahms’ Ein deutsche Requiem, and Schumann’s Scenes from Faust. This is Skovhus’ sixth time to give a master class at AIMS.