​Edrie Means Weekly Co-Founder Contemporary Commercial Music Vocal Pedagogy Institute

"Rock star of vocal crossover” Edrie Means is an active professional singer of classical and commercial styles and is in demand as a contemporary music specialist. She has sung lead roles in the world premieres of works by Philip Glass, Dominick Argento, Jacob Druckman, and in Kaballah by Stewart Wallace, in which the role of Binah was written for her and a CD recording made with Koch Records. NPR broadcast Dominick Argento’s The Dream of Valentino, in which she created the role of Jean Aker and PBS broadcast Philip Glass’ The Making of The Representative of Planet 8, in which she created the role of Klin. Nationally and internationally, she has appeared in leading roles with the Houston Grand Opera, Washington Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Cleveland Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Mid-Michigan, Opera Grand Rapids, Pittsburgh Playhouse, and the State Opera of Cairo, Egypt. Her many performances have been broadcast internationally on NPR and PBS. She was last seen nationally and internationally on TV in the opera La Rondine directed by Marta Domingo which was released on DVD by Decca.

 

In addition to her operatic roles she has sung extensively in leading roles of musical and operetta production, including My Fair Lady, Carousel, Follies, The King and I, West Side Story, Show Boat, The Sound of Music, The Merry Widow, and Zorba. Recitals in the United States and Canada include a New York City debut in the New York Festival of Songs Series with pianist Michael Barrett and Guest artist with symphony orchestras of Houston, Cleveland, Corpus Christi, Victoria, and the National Symphony.

 

Edrie was standby for Patti LuPone in the title role of Regina at the Kennedy Center and was a member of the Sondheim production of Follies starring Bernadette Peters and Elaine Paige. She has been standby for Broadway stars Patti LuPone, Elaine Paige and Linda Lavin. Edrie returned to the Kennedy Center in My Fair Lady with Jonathan Pryce and Cloris Leachman. Recitals in the United States and Canada including New York Festival of Songs Series with pianist Michael Barrett and Guest artist with symphony orchestras of Houston, Cleveland, Corpus Christi, Victoria, and the National Symphony.

 

Edrie Means Weekly, Co-Founder of the CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute, is an associate professor of voice and voice pedagogy at Shenandoah Conservatory. She is a recognized expert in training singers in all vocal styles and an active professional singer.  She was a Master Teacher for the NATS Intern Program.  Her students can be heard on Grammy Recordings, Movies, Broadway, National and International Tours, Regional Theatre, TV (including The Voice and American Idol, Kidz Star USA).  A researcher in functional voice training, Edrie has presented several papers and workshops at the Voice Foundation. She has authored several research publications in The Journal of Voice regarding the teaching of the Broadway voice. Edrie’s first publication in the The Journal of Voice (2003), led to establishing the Shenandoah University’s CCM Vocal Pedagogy Institute.  She has a sub-chapter in Teaching Singing in the 21st Century entitled "Making The Song Authentic:  It's a Matter of Style",(Landcapes: the Arts, Aesthetics and Education) is published with Springer Publishing. She has been on faculty of Care of the Professional Voice, the ground breaking scientific conference on voice care worldwide for several years.  She has also presented at NATS National Conferences, Pan-American Vocology Association, the Southeastern Theatre Conference, Mid-Atlantic NATS, Northwester NATS, NATS National Conference, and universities throughout the United States. 

​

Edrie has performed principle roles with well-known artists such as Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Bernadette Peters, Linda Lavin, Elaine Paige, Cloris Leachman, Jonathan Pryce, Rosiland Elias, Timothy Noble, Dihann Carroll, Tony Randall, Tommy Tune, Mirella Freni, Karita Mattilla, Suzanne Mentzer, Renato Capecchi, Paige O’Hare and long time friends Eddie Bracken, Marquita Lister and Denyce Graves.

 

Edrie was invited to sing at the Birthday Party of Academy Award winner film/TV/Broadway star Celeste Holm. Edrie was also invited to sing for award Gala concerts for Film and Stage stars Dame Julie Andrews and Ben Vareen and Opera singer Martina Arroyo.

Edrie is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Voice at Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, VA and maintains a private studio in the Washington, D. C. area and New York City. Edrie was a Master Teacher for the NATS Intern Program in 2013 for the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Edrie was one of six NATS members appointed by the current NATS President Donald Simonson to explore and help the creation of the NATS sponsored National Music Theatre Competition held at the 2012 Conference in Orlando, Florida. She has also authored some exciting revisions to the musical theatre categories for the Mid-Atlantic National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Region. She is on the board of directors of the Virginia NATS. She is also a member of the Voice Foundation, MENC, MTNA, NVMTNA, VMTA, Opera America, AGMA and AEA.