SAVA Faculty
Bettina Sheppard
Bettina Sheppard is a classically trained singer, pianist, and composer, and graduated summa cum laude with Masters’ degrees in music and composition as well as a Master’s in education. She has appeared in New York and regional theatres as singer, dancer, and actress and has sung classical repertoire in Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, and Radio City Music Hall, among other venues. She has directed and performed with numerous vocal groups from madrigal to rock, and created the harmony group Satin Dolls, a swing jazz trio who played in Radio City Music Hall, Westbury Music Fair, the Rainbow Room, and Atlantic City as well as recording for film, television, and a syndicated radio show. She is currently a member of C4 Vocal Ensemble and creator of Bridges Vocal Ensemble. CD recordings include Solus, her CD of original material, released under her Welsh name, Brythonwen, Uncaged, Cornerstones, and TraumNovela.
Bettina has served as musical director for many cabaret shows, and for the shows TraumNovela; 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks (Barrow Street Theatre and Public Theater); Forever Plaid; West Side Story; Copacabana (City Center); Deep in the Darkness; Baby, It’s Cold Outside; Songs My Voice Teacher Wouldn’t Let Me Sing. She is also the musical director of SAVA Singers and Bridges Vocal Ensemble.
Some composition credits include Emily Dickinson Poems at Lincoln Center; Millay Poems, American Cathedral in Paris; TraumNovela (Barrow Street Theatre, Dallas, Barcelona); 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks; The Picture of Dorian Grey; Kindly Direct Me To Hell: An Evening With Dorothy Parker; music for New York Renaissance Festival; Stillwaters, the Opera, and many choral compositions for groups and choirs. She is the in-house composer for the New York Open Center, and her work is published by See-a-dot Music Publishing, Inc.
Click here to see the book on Amazon
Bettina has been teaching voice for over twenty years. She is in demand for her workshops in the New York area, and teaches classes at City University of New York, City College, and at Broadway Dance Center in addition to private lessons and classes at SAVA. Her students are in recording contracts, concert work, Broadway, and working in bands, both rock and jazz.
She is the author of The Everything Singing Book (left), published by Adams Media. Bettina is a member of The Voice Foundation and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
Classes Taught at SAVA include:
- Musical Theatre Audition and Solo Performance
- Musicianship
- Vocal Technique
- SAVA Singers
- Private Vocal Lessons
- Private Piano Lessons
- Upon request, additional private or small group instruction in music theory and songwriting. Musical direction available for performance or recording projects. Contact to inquire
Bettina has been teaching voice for over twenty years. She is in demand for her workshops in the New York area, and teaches classes at City University of New York, City College, and at Broadway Dance Center in addition to private lessons and classes at SAVA. Her students are in recording contracts, concert work, Broadway, and working in bands, both rock and jazz.
She is the author of The Everything Singing Book (below), published by Adams Media. Bettina is a member of The Voice Foundation and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS)
Classes Taught at SAVA include:
- Musical Theatre Audition and Solo Performance
- Musicianship
- Vocal Technique
- SAVA Singers
- Private Vocal Lessons
- Private Piano Lessons
- Upon request, additional private or small group instruction in music theory and songwriting. Musical direction available for performance or recording projects. Contact to inquire
Click here to see the book on Amazon
In Memory of Misa Ogasawara
Misa grew up in Nagano, Japan, where she started playing piano at 3 years old. She graduated from Musashino Music Academia in Piano Performance, but also began her career there as singer and composer. In order to further her studies and opportunities, she moved to New York City in 1996. Since that time she performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Apollo Theater, Cutting Room, and New York City Center. She also sang regularly in New York jazz clubs and worked often with Senri Oe. Together Misa and Bettina created Bridges Vocal Ensemble, which features their choral compositions.
Misa began studies with Bettina Sheppard in 1998, and was her teaching assistant from 2000 – 2018. She was a beloved and accomplished teacher of voice and piano as well as ensemble director.
Mario Gullo
Mario’s music has been performed and commissioned by the New York City Master Chorale, the Larchmont Avenue Church Chancel Choir, Bridges Vocal Ensemble, the Canite Quartet, and C4. It has been called “shiny and exuberant,” “a quick-step dance rhythm and a modern sense of fun,” and “balances choral counterpoint and harmonies extraordinarily well.”
Mario has performed in and around New York City at Alice Tully Hall, City Center, Theatre 80, Barrow Street Theater, La MaMa, the Slipper Room, Pianos and Arlene’s Grocery. By far, his favorite was appearing with Barbara Cook at Carnegie Hall. Regionally, he has performed at Artpark, the Theater of Youth, Tri-State Center for the Performing Arts, the Depot Theater and with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. Mario is a graduate of the State University of New York at Fredonia and Bowling Green State University.
Mario has been performing with Bettina since 2005 and often teaches classes at SAVA in ensemble singing, musicianship, and music history
Classes Taught at SAVA include:
Inmi Song Thomas
Inmi is a professional musical actress with an extensive international career. She has performed in numerous musicals such as: The Lion King, Broadway 42nd Street, A Chorus Line, Jesus Christ Superstar, Crazy For You, Contact, and West Side Story.
Now based in New York City, she has worked as singer, dancer, and choreographer in Japan, Korea and USA, and as a DJ host for Radio FM 87.7. Inmi is also a translator and interpreter of Korean and Japanese at Broadway Dance Center. She has performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, The Cutting Room, and New York City Center.
Inmi has studied with Bettina Sheppard since 2010, and has since served as assistant teacher for the of Bettina’s vocal classes at Broadway Dance Center. She is a member of Bridges Vocal Ensemble, SAVA Singers, and the parish choir at NY Christ Church.
Classes Taught at SAVA include:
