Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Bianco.
Hi Kim, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I always wanted to be a singer from an early age and took piano lessons, voice lessons, dance lessons and was active in choir growing up. I am from a very small town called Lovington in eastern New Mexico. Lovington is 100 miles from any major airport or university. In the 9th grade I had an opportunity to participate in “South Pacific” at the local junior college 30 miles away and was immediately hooked! I was fortunate to be cast in my first leading role “Irene” in high school. I loved performing and knew I wanted to seek a college degree in music. There were no BFA MT programs at that time, so I studied classical voice at Texas Tech University where I received a BM in Music Education and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where I received a MM in Vocal Performance. While in school, I was constantly performing in musicals and plays. I was also fortunate to perform in professional theatre in the Bay Area, summer stock in Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania, children’s theatre across the east coast and Midwest as well as participate in several off Broadway readings in New York City.
I love performing but I think teaching has always been my calling. I started vocal coaching privately in graduate school and went back to my hometown to teach choir and direct my first musical, ‘Grease” during my little sister’s senior year in 1993. After New York, my husband and I moved back to San Antonio where we had lived after graduate school. I was given the opportunity to be the director of voice in the Musical Theatre department of the Northeast School of the Arts (NESA). I wrote the curriculum for the voice program that is still in place today. I have music directed/vocal coached over 50 musicals during my time there. I also started teaching master classes for the Las Casas Foundation, now the Majestic Empire Foundation, from the beginning of their high school scholarship program now known as the “Joci’s” in 2008. I developed a musical theatre program for the Advanced Learning Academy on the campus of Fox Tech HS in 2018.
I have performed locally at the San Pedro Playhouse, San Antonio’s Jewish Community Center, the former Sheldon Vexler Theatre, the Josephine Theatre and the Majestic Theatre with the San Antonio Symphony. I continue to be a part-time contractor and adjudicator for NEISD and currently maintain a private vocal studio where I teach all genres from classical to pop with a specialization in musical theatre.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Well, performing and making a living in NYC is no easy feat. I struggled to find my footing there and decided instead to focus on a teaching career and to start a family.
The life of a theatre teacher working long hours (often 12+ hr days) and being present for family life was very difficult. As a juggler of many hats, you have to decide when to give and when to take and it really forces you to balance work and home life. Having an independent studio helps with that work/life/home balance.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have been performing in local theatre in San Antonio for the past 30 years. I am a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) a former Actor’s Equity card holder and certified in all levels of Somatic Voicework ™ with the renown Jeanie LoVetri.
As far as performing experiences, I am most proud of 2 local performing experiences in San Antonio. The first as Marian in “The Music Man” in 1995. The production was a new collaboration with the San Antonio Symphony and the local theatre community to produce professional concert musicals on the Majestic Theatre stage. It was the idea of the San Antonio Symphony musical director, Christopher Wilkins at the time and he collaborated with artistic director of the San Pedro Playhouse, Vivienne Elborne. Vivienne adapted the scripts to fit in the orchestra union’s time constraints to tell the story complete with the musical score intact. We performed the musicals in front of the orchestra on stage as a part of the Symphony’s pop series. There were many of these concert musicals to follow at the Majestic and the format that Chris and Vivienne created in collaboration with the licensing company MTI (Music Theatre International) was developed and produced by many more orchestras across the country. It was an honor to be included in the first-time collaboration.
The second experience was as Margaret in the San Pedro Playhouse’s production of “A Light in the Piazza”. The production was directed by Frank Latson and featured a small chamber ensemble performing the difficult score on stage that included Geoffrey Waite at the piano and first chair string members from the orchestra program at UTSA. This was the first time the show had been produced locally. There were many outstanding production values including the touring company’s wig and makeup designer and a talented cast and crew that I will forever cherish being associated with. I was honored to win an ATAC (Alamo Theatre Arts Council) award for lead actress in a musical for 2010-2011 for this performance.
I am also most proud of the success of my students over the last 30 years. I have taught for NEISD & SAISD school districts, The Las Casas Foundation, Palo Alto College and privately out of my home. I have seen my students go on to have professional careers in teaching, directing, technical work and performing including film, television, national tours and on Broadway. It always makes me proud to know I had some part in their artistic growth as teachers, technicians, musicians and performers.
My teaching philosophy is to nurture a student’s individuality. Every student comes to a teacher with a different skill set, varying years of experience, and unique goals for their future in music. Understanding the student as an individual is the key to helping them grow as a singer. One method may work for Student A, but not for Student B. My experience as a private and class voice teacher has shown me that listening, explaining and modeling in different ways will help find what works for every student. A private teacher needs to have a relationship with their student that encourages open communication. Sometimes that teacher becomes a counselor, mentor, and role model for their students. Because singing is an emotional experience, students need to feel comfortable with their teacher and be able to share their vocal history to grow into confident performers.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I have arts administrative experience working in non-profits for the San Francisco Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony. At the symphony organizations, I worked in Marketing, Operations and Personnel Management respectively.
I also have on air radio experience. Upon graduation from Texas Tech University, I was the program director and on air announcer for the classical radio station, KOHM Lubbock. I had to open the station at 6am weekdays and cover the morning announcer shift. I also programmed all the live music during the day before they went to automated news feed at night. The station was working on their affiliation with NPR at the time. I helped develop a Saturday morning classical children’s show in collaboration with the Lubbock Independent School District.
I love word games! Scrabble and Wordle are my favorites 🙂
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