VICE PRESIDENT | Classical & Creatives

 

Shawn Marie Jeffery joins the team at UIA Talent Agency having been an integral part of the ADA team since 2005, bringing with her a wide array of performance, directorial, and administrative experience. Her work with ADA has taken her to companies throughout the US. Deeply dedicated to providing the next generation of artists with the tools to succeed, she often speaks with emerging artists sharing her insight on business and artistic trends within the industry in lecture and masterclass settings, having presented at the Atlanta Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Charlottesville Opera, Pensacola Opera, Opera Company of Middlebury, Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, Hartt School of Music, Seagle Music Colony, Spotlight on Opera, and others. She has served as as a judge for the Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition, Opera Connecticut’s American Opera Idol, and the AMICI Vocal Competition, and as a panelist for feedback auditions at the Classical Singer Convention.

 

Shawn recently added the title of Executive Producer to her skillset, bringing several regional opera companies together to produce the World Premieres of The Trial of Susan B. Anthony, and most recently Unknown, a work which she also conceived, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.  She made her directorial debut staging Christopher Theofanidis' Virtue for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and for Spotlight on Opera has directed Così fan tutte, as well as scenes programs, and the innovative Don Giovanni in Quarantine - a digital adaptation of Mozart’s opera done remotely during the early stages of the COVID pandemic. Previously, she held the position of Director of Education for Opera New Jersey, for whom she created and directed abridged versions of The Magic Flute, Hansel and Gretel, La Cenerentola, and The Pirates of Penzance, which toured schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. 

 

During her career as a mezzo-soprano, Shawn performed throughout the United States. A recipient of the Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actor’s Award, she was well regarded for her keen dramatic abilities, and now shares her dramatic tools and insights into character development in private consultations and coachings through her studio “Stage and Self.”