Founder of Willson Vocal Academy
Lisa Willson, internationally acclaimed soprano, has been praised for her vocal beauty and purity of tone. She has sung leading roles in many of the world’s great opera houses and concert halls. On the stage, she portrayed many of the lirico-spinto and young dramatic roles such as Tosca, Ariadne, Jenufa, Desdemona, Rosalinde, Fiordiligi, Countess, Donna Elvira, Goose Girl, Michaela, Violetta, and Komponist. She has performed with Opera Company of Philadelphia, San Francisco Western Opera Theater, Long Beach Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Roanoke, Basel, Switzerland, and Saverne, France.
She was a European finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti International Competition. She received her degrees in vocal performance from the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music and was a member of the prestigious Juilliard Opera Center. Lisa received professional training at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. She has worked with renowned vocal instructors, Bill Schuman, Madame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Marlena Malas, Adele Addison, Dorothy Barnes, Margaret Baroody, Dr. Robert T. Sataloff. In addition to her array of classical engagements, Lisa started her career at age 22 as a lead singer with The Lionel Hampton Orchestra, which toured throughout the United States.
Lisa is co-founder of The Willson Vocal Academy with her husband, tenor, Ian DeNolfo. Located in Bryn Mawr, Lisa has trained hundreds of young singers, many of which have gone on to some of the world’s esteemed vocal and theatrical institutions. In addition, Lisa is an adjunct voice professor at Temple University as well as a D.M.A. student in vocal performance and vocal pedagogy.

Elizabeth Duska is a singer/songwriter born out of the Willson Vocal Academy. She graduated from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee with a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance – Cum Laude in May of 2017. She furthered her studies at The Boston Conservatory by earning her Masters in Music Education in December 2017. She studied under Lisa Willson DeNolfo for five years and continued to study classical voice with Kerry Deal at The Boston Conservatory for four more years. In addition to classical singing, Elizabeth regularly performs as the lead singer with the Indie Rock group WhateverWhatever where she regularly performs original music all around the country. With her knowledge of performance, vocal technique, and a passion for teaching, she is ready to share her love of music with young, up and coming singers.

Matthew is so excited be joining his friends and colleagues for Nuit de l’Opera 2019! Matthew has over a decade of experience singing classical and musical theatre repertoire. In addition to singing regular recitals with Willson Vocal Academy, Matthew’s credits include Raul in The Phantom of the Opera, Anthony in Sweeney Todd, Georg in Spring Awakening, the cabaret style song cycle Edges, and Hair. He has sung with multiple choirs as a tenor soloist and section leader, in master classes with renowned teachers, and most recently in the NATS competition 2018, where he won first place in the Adult Musical Theatre category. After studying classical voice at The Hartt School of Music for a short time in 2011, Matthew began his full-time professional career as a Yoga Educator. He currently resides in Blue Bell where he manages his business and thriving private practice. To learn more about Matthew, visit www.matthewmitlas.com.

Ben Pedersen, age 14, has studied voice with Lisa Willson DeNolfo for four years. He enjoys performing both classical and musical theatre songs. His favorite roles on stage include A Christmas Story (Ralphie), Ragtime (Little Boy), School of Rock (Zach), To Kill a Mockingbird
(Jem), The Who’s Tommy (Tommy), and Gypsy (Newsboy). In addition to singing, Ben enjoys playing guitar, piano, and composing.

Lia Della Porta is a senior at the Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont, PA. She is 17 years old, and has taken voice lessons with Lisa Willson since 2016. She has participated in many shows during her high school career such as Legally Blonde the Musical, West Side Story, 9 to 5, and Sweeney Todd. She is currently playing Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia at Agnes Irwin, which opens in November. She has a passion for everything musical theatre, and is so honored to be performing tonight. She sincerely hopes you enjoy the performances!

Julien Raffaelli is a senior at Radnor High School, PA. He has been playing piano since he was 5 years old and has recently joined the Lisa Willson Vocal Academy to learn how to sing. He has been loving it ever since, and hopes to perform a lot more in the future.

Anna Raffaelli is 15 years old and is a sophomore at the Baldwin School. She has sung at the Lisa Wilson Academy for three years and has loved singing ever since she was a little girl. She has loved music all her life and has played the flute for 8 years as well as singing.