Vanessa Cedeno has grown up with music since the day she was born. With the support of her grandmother/accompanist Eileen Smith, Vanessa won first place in both the Classical and Musical Theater divisions in the **** NATS competition, first place in the Classical division in the **** MAOC competition, and recently auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera competition at USC. Vanessa is truly a young superstar!
Gino Gaudio began singing at a very early age, taught by his father Giuseppe Gaudio, operatic tenor, whose operatic career in Italy continued in New York and to the West Coast. Gino entered the Metropolitan Opera auditions and sings major arias such as Di Provenza from Verdi's La Traviata, and The Credo from Otello, as if second nature, with all the passion and beauty inherent in his Italian background and training. In addition to opera, Gino was understudy for Howard Keel in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, also starring Jane Powell. He appeared on Broadway with the same show starring Debbie Boone. Gino's leading roles include South Pacific, Man of la Mancha, Carousel, Camelot, and others, as well as television roles in General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, Murder She Wrote, and Highway to Heaven.
Dave Hood made a name for himself as leading man in many musical productions, including Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, Tribute to Andrew Lloyd Weber, Voice of the Crow in Jambirdee at the Las Vegas Hilton, as featured performer with the Riverside Pops and Riverside Philharmonic, Soloist for the Long Beach Playhouse Cabaret series, to name a few!
Gretchen Rolfe has devoted her life to the visual and dramatic arts for as long as she can remember. She has entertained for *-Star conventions with her band in Hawaii, performed snappy revues and trio ensembles hither and yon. She relishes torch and jazz songs, regularly neglects her doctorate in psychology and dreams of the return of people who actually dress for cocktails at *.
Leslie Tinnaro, a California native, appeared in the original cast of Evita at the Schubert Theatre in Los Angeles, followed by * years in New York City in the Broadway company of Evita. Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady is a favorite role for Leslie. Other leading role musicals for Leslie include Cabaret, The King and I, Carnival, Oliver, Company, Gypsy, and her own one woman show Music and Laughter.
Fred Wicknick, one of the "original" Showcase Singers, has become well known as producer, composer, director, and vocalist. Fred has traveled throughout Europe producing and performing classical concerts, featuring some of the world' greatest artists. Currently Fred produces musicales in Southern California as well as the San Francisco area in addition to delighting audiences with his rich baritone voice.
Virginia Towne, a lyric coloratura soprano, and dazzling redhead, has recently returned to California after living and singing for many years in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Amsterdam and Vienna. A UCLA graduate, Virginia was invited by German Television to sing opposite Nicolai Gedda in A Tribute to Leo Slezak. Her German theater debut was Lisa in The Land of Smiles opposite Giuseppe di Stefano. Among her many leading roles include Nedda in I Pagliacci, Margiana in Der Barber Von Bagdad. Gulietta in The Tales of Hoffmann, Lulcia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Violetta in La Traviata and many others. Recently Virginia performed as Melanie in Gone With the Wind, a musical, composed by Fred Wicknick.
Karen McBride, recognized as a singer at age * with a *-page solo in the family church, has had a non-stop career ever since! Her activities include singing with the LA Master Chorale with Roger Wagner at the LA Music Center, the William Hall Chorale, Opera Pacific, and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Karen has had leading roles in 'Lil Abner', as Mother Abbess in the Sound of Music, Nettie in Carousel, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, and others, and has made a name for herself as director/producer for recent productions of Nunsense, Dracula, The Fantasticks, and Quilters.
Jim White, tenor, an exciting new addition to the Showcase Singers, has performed as singer and dancer all over the world with Holland America Cruise Lines in Alaska, on the ship M.S. Noordan, also out of New York on the ship M.S. Westerdam in nightly performances of dazzling musical revues from Chorus Line, Miss Saigon, Les Mis, West Side Story, and Barnum to name only a few, in addition to touring with Anita Mann Productions in H.M.S. Pinafore and Cirque in Uruguay. We welcome this incredible talented entertainer, singer, and dancer.
Linda Eldridge, pianist and musical director of the Showcase Singers!!, comes from a family of country and bluegrass musicians in North Carolina, who have been performing musicians for decades. Linda found her niche in musical theater and opera and has been pianist and musical director for musical shows and concerts in Southern California since the late **s, appearing with the Mario Singers, Fullerton Civic Light Opera, La Mirada Theater, Barklay Theater, Camino Real Playhouse, The Five Crowns Restaurant, and numerous convention shows with the Showcase Singers. Linda continues to teach piano students and accompany vocalists and musicians for classical, operatic, and musical theater productions.
