VOICE INSTRUCTORS

 Oxana Senina

Voice

After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory with degrees in both voice and cello, Oxana made her operatic debut as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. The following year, as the winner of Russia’s prestigious Mozart Competition, she was invited to perform at the Mozart Festival in Moscow. Shortly thereafter, she moved to the United States and was awarded a scholarship to Princeton’s CoOPERAtive program, where she was featured in roles as Rosina, Zerbinetta, and Lakme. Settling in Los Angeles, Oxana also won several competitions there, including the Village Voice, Society of Singers, and Concerto Competitions, and was a semi-finalist in LA Opera’s Young Artist program. She has since performed with many of Southern California’s opera companies, including Opera Santa Barbara, Long Beach Opera, Opera San Diego, Repertory Opera Company, & Opera Nova and has performed roles such as Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Mimi and Musetta (La Boheme), Rosina (il Barbiere di Siviglia), Ann Page (The Merry Wives of Windsor) and Verdi’s Requiem. She has also performed roles in modern repertoire such as Queen Tye (Akhnaten), Martha Sheldon (The Crucible), and Cunegonde (Candide).

Over the past year Oxana has been featured in productions in the U.S., Europe, & Russia. In 2019, she was featured as a soloist in Opera Santa Barbara’s 25th Anniversary Concert, performed the role of La Prima Cercatrice in a production of Suor Angelica at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, and made her debut in Amsterdam, singing cantatas with the Bach Academy of Amsterdam. In the opening season for 2020, she will be singing in productions of Stabat mater (Pergolesi) and the Nursery (Mussorgsky) with the Amstel Strijkers Ensemble in Amsterdam, and will perform the role of Micaela in Carmen, with Opera op de Lelie.

Mentored since 2018 by renowned Italian tenor Salvatore Fisichella, the two have worked regularly together to hone her voice in the Italian Bel Canto style. Oxana is passionate about helping aspiring singers and musicians fulfill their dreams and has a very successful teaching practice in Los Angeles.

“Soprano Oxana Senina surrounded Kowalski with the beauty of sure high notes” — Los Angeles Times

Matthew Lourtie

Guitar, Voice, piano, composition & arranging, electronic music

Matthew Lourtie is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, electronic musician, and sound designer from Hermosa Beach, CA. His extensive and diverse background in performance and sound art includes classical music, playing in rock bands, musical theater (as actor, director, and musician), choral music, church music (traditional and contemporary), interactive computer music, and several Folk/World music genres.  He received a piano performance scholarship and earned a degree in music composition from California State University, Long Beach where he studied composition with Dr. Martin Herman and Dr. Alan Shockley. He has been Assistant Director of the CSULB Laptop Ensemble since Fall 2013.  With the ensemble, Matthew was an artist in residence at La MaMa Umbria during the 2013 Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. He received performances of his work in Seoul, Korea in 2013, and he participated in a tour to Hamburg and Berlin in January 2017.  Other notable performances of his works include a performance by the Electro-Acoustic Consort at the University of Southern California, and a world premiere by The California E.A.R. Unit. He also sang for a music video by Golden Globe winner, Rachel Bloom.

Matthew has instructed children, youths, and adults for over 15 years. His eclectic experience, from performing at Carnegie Hall to the Whiskey a Go Go, have brought him a unique perspective that gives him the ability to adapt lessons to the unique interests of his students.