Marc Webster, DMA (bass-baritone)
Marc Webster is a singer and teacher whose work brings together professional performance, vocal pedagogy, and the training of emerging singers. As Associate Professor of Voice at Ithaca College, he teaches within a broad, interdisciplinary environment that includes voice, opera, musical theatre, diction, coaching, conducting, and stage direction. His teaching emphasizes healthy, expressive, technically grounded singing and the development of musicianship, stylistic awareness, storytelling, and increasing artistic independence.
A member of the voice faculty for more than fifteen years, Marc works with students pursuing a wide range of professional paths. Students who have studied with him are currently or recently represented on Broadway in The Lost Boys , Tommy , Sweeney Todd , Hadestown , MJ the Musical , A Beautiful Noise , Spring Awakening , Gypsy , and The Book of Mormon . Others have continued their training at the Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, Rice University, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Indiana University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Peabody Conservatory.
Marc’s professional training included the Juilliard Opera Center, the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, Wolf Trap Opera as a Filene Artist, Seattle Opera Studio, and Florida Grand Opera Studio. Those experiences, along with his continuing work as a performer and guest teacher, remain an important part of how he prepares students for the expectations of professional life.
His recent operatic work includes an ongoing relationship with The Glimmerglass Festival, where in 2025 he performed in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George , winner of the 2025 International Opera Award for Musical Theatre. His work with Glimmerglass has also included developmental workshops and performances of contemporary and new repertoire. In New York State, he has appeared with Tri-Cities Opera in principal roles in Gianni Schicchi and La traviata , as well as with Syracuse Opera, Opera Ithaca, and Mercury Opera Rochester.
Concert and oratorio singing are another significant part of Marc’s professional life. He has appeared as bass soloist with New York State Baroque, the Defiant Requiem Project, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphoria, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes. His recorded work includes Arias for Trumpet and Voice with the International Trumpet Guild and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for Harmonia Mundi.
As a recitalist and collaborative artist, Marc has appeared with Sparks & Wiry Cries in collaboration with Oxford Lieder, Cincinnati Song Initiative, and the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar’s Repertoire Development for Teaching Professionals program, in addition to invited residencies and performances in the United States and abroad. Earlier in his career, he performed regularly with New York Festival of Song under Steven Blier and participated in Carnegie Hall’s The Song Continues with Marilyn Horne.
Marc is also active as a guest teacher, adjudicator, and resident artist in collegiate, festival, and pre-professional settings. His international work has included engagements in Ireland, Canada, Italy, and South Korea, including the BLAS International Summer School at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick; Songe d’été en musique in Québec, where he served as Interim Co-Director of the Vocal Studio in 2024; Si Parla, Si Canta in Arona, Italy; and CS Music in Seoul, South Korea, hosted by Ewha Womans University. He also adjudicates for the McCammon International Voice Competition at Fort Worth Opera.
In the United States, Marc has presented extended guest artist residencies at Colorado State University, Cedarville University, Sam Houston State University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and the University of Texas at Brownsville. Additional masterclasses and residencies have included Boston University, DePaul University, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, Wake Forest University, and Pacific Lutheran University. He also works regularly with Classical Singer as a masterclass clinician, adjudicator, and faculty representative.
A consistent part of Marc’s professional work is creating ways for students to participate in it. As a professional section leader with Albany Pro Musica in performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, he has helped connect Ithaca College students with large-scale professional rehearsal and performance experiences. Students from Ithaca College and Cornell University have also participated in concert, opera, chamber, interdisciplinary, and workshop projects connected with Tri-Cities Opera, Opera Ithaca, and The Glimmerglass Festival. He values these experiences because they allow students to encounter professional expectations through the work itself.
At Ithaca College, Marc serves as Voice Area Coordinator, working with colleagues on curriculum, recruitment, faculty coordination, and the continued development of the Voice Area. His broader service has included faculty governance, program development, assessment, and initiatives supporting faculty and students. Professionally, he serves as President of the Upstate New York Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, following prior service as Vice President of the Central New York–Finger Lakes Chapter. His work with NATS has included adjudication, conference organization, and professional development for voice teachers across a range of pedagogical and repertoire areas.
Marc holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Voice Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music and an Artist Diploma in Opera Performance from The Juilliard School. His principal teachers include Carol Webber, Robert C. White, and David Parks. He is also a graduate of Ithaca College’s Bachelor of Music programs in Vocal Performance and Music Education.
As an Ithaca College alumnus, Marc values the opportunity to teach at the institution where his own training began. His work with students is grounded in the belief that strong training should ultimately give singers greater freedom, judgment, and ownership of their work, and prepare them to build artistic lives of their own.