Additional Adjudicator Profiles Coming Soon!

Mezzo-Soprano

Jenni Bank

Jenni Bank was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, grew up in Binghamton, New York, & studied voice & opera at The Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University. She has worked
with numerous prestigious opera companies & orchestras including The Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Chicago Lyric Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Delaware, Des Moines Metro Opera, Florentine Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Knoxville Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Bard Summer Music Festival, Ash Lawn Opera, Amarillo Opera, Opera
Baltimore, Annapolis Opera, Opera in the Heights, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Mid-America Productions at Carnegie Hall, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester, Seoul
Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, & BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Specializing in comedy & character roles, performances include Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Marcellina (Marriage of Figaro), Samira (Ghosts of Versailles), Mrs. De Rocher (Dead Man Walking), The Mother (The Consul), 3rd Lady (Magic Flute), Ruth (Pirates of Penzance), Buttercup (H.M.S.
Pinafore), Mrs. Twist (Brokeback Mountain), Emilia (Otello), Mary (Flying Dutchman), Old Lady (Candide), Mrs. Peachum (Threepenny Opera), Golde (Fiddler on the Roof), Azucena (Il Trovatore), Witch (Hänsel und Gretel), Quickly (Falstaff), Baba (The Medium), Dryad (Ariadne auf Naxos),
Frugola (Il Tabarro), Principessa (Suor Angelica), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Martha (Faust), Giulietta (Hoffmann), Marquise (Daughter of the Regiment), Petra (A Little Night Music), Fairy Queen (Iolanthe), Katisha (The Mikado), Filipyevna (Eugene Onegin), & mezzo solos in Verdi’s Requiem,
Bruckner’s Te Deum, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, & Hayes’ Gloria, Argento’s Casa Guidi, Brahms' Zigeunerlieder, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. She is the leading interpreter of The Duchess in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, created the role of Firdaus Noman in Shalimar The Clown & is featured on the Original Cast Recording, won a Sullivan Foundation Award, & is a
Metropolitan Opera Competition semi-finalist. Jenni currently lives in Binghamton, NY with her
husband & two adorable dogs. 

Performer

Josh Wilburn

Josh Wilburn has been performing for the past 45 years and has been fortunate to experience all of the aspects of what it takes to put together a successful production.  Initially starting off singing at the age of 5 in community performances with his family, moving to solo performances and even television appearances by the age of 7, he started acting in high school and has been a part of the theater scene ever since then. 

He studied Theater at the University of Northern Iowa and has appeared in many professional and amateur productions over the years since college.  Since moving to this area, Josh has been lucky enough to be a part of productions on several local stages with the Ti-Ahwaga Community Players in Owego, BLAST at the Cider Mill Stage in Endicott, the Endicott Performing Arts Center, the Elmira Little Theater, the Summer Savoyards and SRO Productions at the Schorr Family Firehouse Stage. 

While he has been a devotee of musical theater for much of his life, Josh also enjoys being a part of comedies and improv, but has been known to take on the occasional dramatic or period piece in the past. Amongst the many roles he has played, some of his recent favorites have included: Uncle Fester (The Addams Family Musical), Don (Kinky Boots), Joey (Sister Act), Tito (Lend Me a Tenor), Ross/Bishop Howe (The Elephant Man), King Hildebrandt (Princess Ida), The Old Man (A Christmas Story) and Sir Bors/Voice of God/Ensemble (Spamalot).  Josh also played in many pit orchestras in his earlier years and was pleased to be able to do nearly every job that a member of the tech crew would do, giving him a good idea of what goes on backstage as well as under the lights.

Soprano

Michelle Kearley Thompson

Michelle Kearley Thompson (She/Her) is a trained soprano vocalist of the Muratori Voice Studio. She has performed locally and regionally for over 20 years in the Broome County area.

She received her Master of Arts in Teaching English at Binghamton University and teaches 10th grade English at Binghamton High School.

Michelle's favorite musical of all time is Ragtime, from which she takes to heart and puts into practice the words of Coalhouse Walker, Jr.: "Your sword can be a sermon, or the power of the pen. Teach every child to raise his voice, and then, my brothers, then - will justice be demanded by ten million righteous men." 

Soprano

Andréa Gregori

Andréa Gregori (She/Her) recently made her Syracuse debut in Titanic, The Musical (Ida Straus) with CNY Playhouse and the premiere of Spell (Charlotte) at the Community Folk Art Center. A former Resident Artist of Tri-Cities Opera, she has performed regionally, nationally, and internationally in leading roles, including performances at the Newport Music Festival and the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival. She has also performed for celebrities, dignitaries, and Olympic Gold medalists at the NYS Sports & Entertainment Celebrity Gala.

Locally, she has performed leading roles with the Summer Savoyards in HMS Pinafore (Josephine), Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), Ruddigore (Rose Maybud), and Iolanthe (Phyllis). With Ti-Ahwaga Performing Arts Center (TCP), she has appeared in Gypsy (Rose), Sunday in the Park with George (Yvonne/Naomi), The Elephant Man (Mrs. Kendal), Sister Act (Mother Superior), A Little Night Music (Desiree), and Master Class (Maria). With SRO Productions, she has been featured in 9 to 5 (Violet) and Head Over Heels (Gynecia). Cider Mill Stage appearances include The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon  (Rita),  Making God Laugh (Ruthie), A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder (Mrs. Heatherington/Hilda), Master Class (Maria), Tintypes (Anna Held), and Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (Irene Adler).

Regional credits include Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Germaine), Lend Me a Tenor (Maria), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Hyde 4/Poole) with Chenango River Theatre, and The Sound of Music (Mother Abbess) with Orpheus Theatre and the Millbrook Playhouse. She is also the Founder & Artistic Director of Theatre Street Productions and has been featured on HGTV's House Hunters. She has taught private voice and piano, and holds an undergraduate degree in Voice Performance from Temple University and a master's degree in Arts Administration from the University of Denver. She is currently a paralegal at Hinman, Howard & Kattell in Binghamton.

Performer and Stage Director

Kylee Ann Thetga

Kylee Ann Thetga (she/they) was born and raised in Nichols, NY. From the moment they could walk and talk, the passion for performance and dramatics showed through. Watching films such as Hairspray,
Chicago, and Grease as a small child introduced them to a world of endless music and spontaneous dancing, all done by these unapologetically larger than life characters.

Finding out those movies could take place in real life? It was a dream come true.
Kylee’s first official acting role was when she was 11-years-old in a production of Cinderella Jr. and she has never looked back. They have performed in over 30 productions throughout their
childhood/young adulthood, thanks to the many opportunities in the local community theater scene.

Kylee then went on to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Theatre Studies from SUNY
Oneonta, where they studied from 2018-2022. Oneonta’s theatre program helped develop their previous skills and expand their level of comfortability with the technical aspects of theatre.

Now, Kylee is an actor and director in the Binghamton area. Recent credits as an actor include MATT & BEN (Ben) at The Cider Mill Stage and Misery (Buster) at KNOW Theatre. Her performance as Ben has been nominated for a Broadway World Central NY Award. As a director, her most recent endeavors include The Revolutionists at Cider Mill Stage (nominated for Best Direction of a Play for the Broadway World Central NY Awards) & The Humans at Ti-Ahwaga Players, two critically acclaimed and beloved plays.

Kylee recently took over as the
Theatre Manager for the Ti-Ahwaga Community Players in Owego, NY. They currently live in Owego with two very demanding and adorable cats.

Educator, Director, and Arts Advocate

Patti Schuster

​Patti Schuster is a dedicated music educator with 30 years of combined teaching experience in both Texas and New York. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Master of Music Education from the University of North Texas.

A lifelong singer, Patti has been an active member of community and church choirs throughout her career. In addition to her work in the classroom, she serves on the board of the Tri-Cities Opera, is a member of the Broome County Music Educator's Association, and is a Co-Director of the Windsor Elementary Drama Club.