Robert Marks (vocal coach)

Marks opened a studio in New York City in 1977, shortly after being hired as a pianist for the original Broadway production of the musical Annie.^[5] At the time, many vocal coaches believed that young performers should not study voice, so Marks began teaching with a focus on training young singers and actors.^[6] He is now considered a leading vocal coach for performers of all ages and has been featured in articles from Read Periodicals^[7] and The Daily Beast.^[8] Additionally, he is a regular guest blogger on BroadwayWorld, where he writes a column about vocal training.^[9]

Marks has taught across the United States, including at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, the Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University,^[10] and Nashville's Belmont University. He has given workshops in both the United Kingdom and France,^[11] and has taught for the Broadway Mentors Program in Sommerville, New Jersey.^[12] Marks is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the New York Singing Teachers’ Association (NYSTA), where he was a founding member of the Music Theatre Committee. Additionally, he has music directed over 200 stage productions, including Off-Broadway,^[13] and was the associate conductor of the St. Louis Municipal Opera for two seasons.^[14] He also arranged and performed the music for several albums in Ben Bagley's Painted Smiles Records Revisited series.^[15]

Marks has trained performers who have appeared in numerous Broadway musicals, including An American in Paris, The Book of Mormon, Chicago, Disaster!, Finding Neverland, Jersey Boys, The Lion King, The King and I, Kinky Boots, Mamma Mia!, Matilda, The Phantom of the Opera, Rock of Ages, School of Rock, Tuck Everlasting, and Wicked. Additionally, Marks's students have performed on American Idol, The Voice, and America's Got Talent.^[16]

He is highly lauded by those in the theater community, including Actor Sarah Jessica Parker, who said Marks "gave [her] self-confidence," director and lyricist Martin Charnin, who said Marks "expertly coaches actors for the singing auditions," and Seth Riggs, the creator of speech level singing, who said Marks "has a knack for selecting just the right songs and styles to make his people shine."^[17]

• Bob Marks official website