Barbara Irvine, Founder/Project Director/Pianist, has been a freelance music director, pianist, vocal coach, accompanist, arranger, and music transcriber/transposer for more than 30 years. She has been involved in over 150 theatre productions in the United States and Europe, and has worked directly with Broadway composers Cy Coleman, John Kander, Galt MacDermot, Mary Rodgers, Harvey Schmidt, David Shire, Charles Strouse, Robert Waldman, and Michael John LaChiusa. She has also worked with such stars as Polly Bergen, Stephen Bogardus, Sarah Brightman, Patrick Cassidy, Maxwell Caulfield, Veanne Cox, Michael Crawford, Denise Lor, Julie Wilson, Rebecca Luker, Greg Jbara, Emily Loesser, and directors Toni Kotite, Kevin Del Aguila, John Henry Davis, Keith Baxter, Gillian Lynne, Mark Lamos, and Maria Aitken.
Barbara studied piano with the great Leonard Shure. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in applied piano from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, has done graduate work in music at The Univeristy of Texas at Austin, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.
In 2007 Barbara wrote the Introduction and Commentary for Alfred's Singers' Library of Musical Theatre, Volume 1, a series of Broadway songbooks which include audition tips and other useful information for all voices. She recorded some of the songs on the accompaniment CD's for this series. The books and CD's are available at your local music store and at Amazon.com. Recently, Barbara conducted A Little Night Music at Center Stage in Baltimore, music directed and composed the music for The Imaginary Invalid at The Shakespeare Theatre Company, and music directed STC's productions of Twelfth Night (in DC and at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton) and As You Like It. More information about Barbara and her music services can be found at http://barbarairvinemusic.com/.