DAN MONTEZ - Voice Instructor

Dan, General Director of Taconic Opera, has been an opera singer and stage director for twenty-five years. He has performed principal roles in or directed more than one hundred productions and has appeared in numerous houses, including San Francisco Opera, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He has also performed and conducted oratorios and recitals throughout the United States. Montez received a BMu from Brigham Young University in Vocal Pedagogy and his M.A. in Vocal Performance from San Jose State University. While in college he simultaneously held scholarships in piano and voice. Apart from singing, he made a debut as a concert pianist, performing Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto in San Jose, California. After completion of his degrees, he assisted in teaching and directing the Opera workshop program at San Jose State University for four years under the direction of Irene Dalis.  What few know about him is that he is a prolific liturgical composer.  

He has had his works performed for over 30 years across the United States. During this period, Montez has conducted three different hundred-voice oratorio choirs in three states, in addition to conducting numerous other church choirs. He has conducted the Taconic Opera chorus in oratorios for seven years now.  He saw the premiere of his first oratorio, The Condescension, performed in Saratoga, California and then last March saw the World Premiere of his new oratorio, Enoch, performed in Ossining and White Plains, New York.  His next oratorio, Jonah, will have it’s premiere at the Taconic Opera (taconicopera.org) in May and June of this year.  

Montez holds a Masters minor in Portuguese and also speaks Spanish, French, Italian, and German.  Montez is also an author and acted as editor ofPositive Life, a monthly subscription periodical dedicated to positive attitudes and goal-oriented living. He has recently published Don’t Believe It: How to follow your dreams in spite of those who say you can’t and Singing for Your Supper: What They Didn’t Teach You in College (can be found on amazon.com). His most recent book, also available on Amazon is Singing in your Sleep: The personality you will need to have a career in opera. He was published and appeared as the cover story in the Norman Vincent Peale foundation’s international magazine, Positive Living, another periodical dedicated to self-improvement. In addition, he was a cover story in the February 2006 Issue of Classical Singer Magazine. He also writes for the magazine and annually lectures at their conventions.