Kelli Estes, Artistic Director and Co-founderCalifornia native Kelli Estes is known for singing the high-flying and eccentric leading ladies of the opera, oratorio and musical theater stages. She is an original cast member of Opera Company of Brooklyn, Opera in the Heights, Allentown Concert Opera and Philadelphia's Center City Opera Theater, a member of the prestigious Actor’s Equity Association and The Lambs, America’s first professional theater club. Kelli’s B.A. (California State University Fresno) and M.M. (University of Houston ) degrees have helped her carve out a wide-ranging career in the creative lyric arts that continues to evolve. A New Yorker since 1999, Kelli has expanded her lyrical interests to include writing and directing. Currently, the Director of the annual musical review, The Other Side, and the children’s choir, Small Voices, in Englewood, NJ, the Author and Director of Imagine That, an interactive musical theater workshop in Park Slope Brooklyn, NY, and Your Songs, a 5-part concert series for the elderly in Palm Springs, CA. Kelli’s upcoming singing engagements include the premiers of Michael Remson’s one-act opera, Sorry, Wrong Number with Lone Star Lyric (June 2010), Kurt Erickson’s song cycle, Chicago Songs in New York, Houston and San Francisco (Fall 2010), Francis Poulenc’s monodrama, La Dame de Monte Carlo at the Poulenc Festival in Paris (March 2011) and a 5-opera premiere called Simply Grimm with Lone Star Lyric (June 2011).
Paul L. Johnson, Composer and Music Director (Radio Opera Hour)Paul L. Johnson resides in New York City and works as a music director and composer. His latest international production was the world premiere of Where Elephants Weep in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he served as musical director and conductor. He has had his shows, Pot of Gold and Jilted, co-written with Don Flynn, performed in staged readings at The Lamb's Club in Manhattan. Kelli Estes participated in the former and starred in the latter. Mr. Johnson composed the soundtrack for the documentary, American Carny, which is available on DVD. Some of his scores already have an international audience: Nile Blue and Tango Masculino have both been produced in Australia, and L'Arche de Noe will have a production in Paris this summer. He is most pleased to be working with Kelli on Lone Star Lyric's current project!
Roger Keele, Music Director and Co-founder (currently on sabbatical)Roger Keele holds the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. While at the University of Houston, Keele studied music composition privately with opera composer Carlisle Floyd. As well, he holds Masters degrees from the University of North Texas in Piano Performance and from the University of Illinois in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying with world-renowned coach-accompanist John Wustman. An artist of unusual versatility, Keele has enjoyed success in fields as diverse as vocal coaching and accompanying, stage directing, and musical composition. He has served on the faculties of the University of California at Santa Barbara and Texas Wesleyan University, where he became the founding director of the Fort Worth Men’s Chorus. He served as the Assistant Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus in their 2002-2003 Season and was staff vocal coach at Rice University in 2003-4. He was the Director of Choral Activities at Lee College from 2003 to 2005. Currently he directs the Opera Workshop at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas and maintains a small private studio of singers and pianists. Keele was for eight years the Director of Music at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Houston and. the first Artistic Director of St. Cecilia Chamber Music Society. He is still a frequent performer with the SCCMS and serves on its advisory board.
Nancy Markeloff, Assistant DirectorNancy proudly serves Lone Star Lyric as chief gopher, web wrangler and nit-picker extraordinaire. She designs and maintains LSL's web site, handles publicity, co-ordinates auditions, and writes irreverent song lyrics and the occasional English singing translation as needed. As Assistant Director of Col Canto Art Song and Vocal Chamber Music, of which she is a founding member, Nancy handles publicity, designs and produces printed concert programs, translations and surtitles, and maintains the organization's web site. At Moores Opera Center she was assistant stage director for L’Italiana in Algeri and created the English surtitles for La Rondine from her own translation. She also produced and cued surtitles for MOC's The Dangerous Liaisons, Hansel & Gretel, Peter Grimes, Abduction from the Seraglio and the University of Houston's Shostakovich Festival. Originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Nancy has made her home in Houston since 1972. She holds a highest honors degree in Applied Voice from the University of Houston where, as a mid-life student, she studied voice, opera and stagecraft with Katherine Ciesinski and Buck Ross. A longtime domestic engineer, former commercial artist and the mother of two grown sons, she shares her home with innumerable dust bunnies and her wonderfully patient husband, Bob.
Jeremy M. Wood, Music Director (Sorry, Wrong Number; The Old Maid and the Thief)Mr. Wood is originally from Missouri and has lived in Houston for several years. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Piano Performance and History from Southwest Baptist University and a Masters Degree in Piano Accompanying and Coaching from Baylor University. After ten years as a freelance pianist, accompanist, coach and director in opera, musical theater and church music, he took a position at St. Agnes Academy in Houston as Director of Performance Workshop and Departmental Pianist in 2002. He also became Director of Music at First Christian Church of Houston during the same year. Mr. Wood resides in Pearland with his wife, Tracy.