Mezzo-soprano Teresa Giardina earned her Bachelor’s degree in music from Hamilton College, where she studied with Lauralyn Kolb, and her Master’s degree in voice from Ithaca College, where she studied with Deborah Montgomery. While at Ithaca, she took part in two summer festivals, Lied Austria and La Festival di Musica da Camera. Teresa is an active performer as both a vocalist and an instrumentalist. She is an active member of the trombone section of the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band and Nostalgia Big Band. As a vocalist, her roles include Prince Ozia in Scarlatti’s La Giuditta and Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze de Figaro, both with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, as well as Third Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with Opera Theatre of Montclair, and Bastienne in Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne with Vari Musicisti, an orchestra founded in 2014 by Teresa and her husband, Rob Keiser. An avid baseball fan, Teresa can also be seen frequently at TD Bank ballpark singing the National Anthem before Somerset Patriots games.
Mr. Rob Keiser received his Bachelors in Music in piano performance from Ithaca College, winning the prestigious Mary Hayes North Piano Competition Award in 2008. He received his Masters of Arts in piano performance form Hunter College, CUNY, winning their coveted concerto competition in 2012 for his performance of Liszt’s Totentanz. Mr. Keiser is busy as a performer in New York and New Jersey, most recently playing several recitals at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan, where he is studying to receive his Doctorate degree.
He has extensive experience collaborating with vocalists and instrumentalists, most recently performing a recital with a vocalist at the CUNY Graduate Center. Mr. Keiser is currently teaching as an adjunct lecturer at Hunter College, where he teaches several theory, piano, and musicianship classes, along with private students. Mr. Keiser has been the musical director in several off-Broadway shows and continues to partner many vocalists and instrumentalists as collaborative pianist. Summer festival appearances include Italy’s Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in 2009 and the Brevard Music Festival in 2010. He is a student of Geoffrey Burleson at the Graduate Center.
Funding for the Madison Holiday Arts Festival is provided by the Madison Downtown Development Commission in association with the Madison Arts and Culture Alliance.
