About Us
Our creative team is made up of Stefanie Izzo (soprano), Amanda Lee (horn), David Taubman (piano), and Rachel Hauser (violin).
For info on our guest artists, click here
Stefanie Izzo
Soprano Stefanie Izzo has been hailed as possessing a “gorgeously rich and full sound” for her work in opera and musical theatre. Her performance of Maria in West Side Story with St. Petersburg Opera was deemed “ideal in every way,” and garnered a Theatre Tampa Bay Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical. Stefanie made her off-Broadway debut in 2012 as Monica in Menotti’s The Medium, and her international debut in 2011 as Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore with Musica Viva Hong Kong. Other recent roles include Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress with the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, and Despina in Così Fan Tutte with Opera Cooperative.
She was chosen as the inaugural recipient of the National Italian American Foundation’s Andrea Bocelli Music Scholarship, and holds a B.M. from NYU and an M.A. from CUNY Queens College. In addition to operatic repertoire, Stefanie devotes a significant amount of her time to art song, particularly that of female composers, and maintains an active concert schedule in the NYC area. She is a co-founder of the chamber ensemble The Astoria Music Project, and works as an administrator and voice teacher for the School Programs department of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. www.stefanieizzo.com
Amanda Lee
Hornist Amanda Lee is a freelancer and private teacher in New York City and New Jersey. She has performed throughout New York City’s five boroughs as a chamber and orchestral musician.
Before coming to New York, Amanda completed her undergraduate degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with former Cleveland Orchestra principal horn Richard Solis. While in Cleveland, she served as principal horn of the Ohio Philharmonic and can be heard on a recording featuring the orchestra with pianist Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Amanda completed graduate work at the Manhattan School of Music as a student of Javier Gandara of the Metropolitan Opera.
As a founding member of The Astoria Music Project, which presents informative and un-intimidating concert experiences, Amanda is an advocate of making music accessible to listeners of all backgrounds.
David Taubman
David Taubman has enjoyed a busy performing career starting with his concert debut at Carnegie Hall as a teen winner of the Young Artists Piano Showcase Auditions. Since then, his love of music has taken him on stage as a recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist on some of New York’s most prestigious concert platforms. Recent engagements include recitals across the eastern US with both singers and instrumentalists, concerts with Choirs of America at Carnegie Hall, collaborations with the L’Vaggio Baroque Ensemble, a series of concerts in Manhattan’s churches with the Voices of New York, and recordings for the films “5 to 7” starring Glenn Close, and “Nasty Baby”, released at the Sundance Film Festival. A passionate teacher, David recently completed his Masters in Music Education at the City University of New York.
Rachel Hauser
Violinist Rachel Hauser has been a tenured member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Madison Opera Orchestra since 2007. She also plays regularly with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Madison Ballet Orchestra, the Lacrosse Symphony Orchestra and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra where she previously served as Principal 2nd Violin.
As a chamber musician, Ms. Hauser has been featured in recitals throughout the world
including France, Holland, Finland and Italy. She has twice been a featured guest artist
on the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s faculty recital series and is a founding member of Wisconsin’s acclaimed chamber music festival the Willy Street Chamber
Players.
She is frequently featured in live chamber music recitals on Wisconsin Public Radio and
her recordings with the Willy Street Chamber Players are broadcast regularly
throughout the state. Ms. Hauser has also performed in New York City at Bargemusic’s
“Here and Now” series, the Queens Library Concert Series and the Composers Voice
series at the Firehouse Space.
Rachel is an alumna of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, the Utrecht
Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands, and The University of Wisconsin-Madison;
Her primary teachers include David Perry, Masuko Ushioda, Richard Wolfe and Louise Behrend.