"I’ve been in New York for over 10 years and Badiene is the only vocal technician I trust!"
Kevin Csolak - Ahab in West Side Story | Broadway
After a 20-month, valiant battle with leukemia, my precious son, Erik, succumbed to the disease. Although I was still under contract for several performances starring as “Tosca,” my heart was not in performing. All I wanted to do was to honor my son’s dying wish to help children with leukemia and other cancers. “No kid should die waiting for a bone marrow donor!”
The only thing that kept me going was raising funds to help these children but I, whose middle name was “passion,” felt dead inside. You, my dear students, gave me back my desire to continue living, reignited my passion for music, and brought me the joy of helping each of you realize YOUR dreams!!
Most of my first students were teenagers, desperate to star on Broadway. Seeing their passion for singing, dancing and acting brought back the memories of my passion for performing when I was their age. Suddenly, my passion was ignited and I decided to dedicate my life to helping them achieve their dreams!
My mentors convinced me that I could help make students’ dreams of booking Broadway and other venues become a reality. They reminded me that with my Juilliard education and with the instruction from over 18 voice teachers during my career, coupled with an innate understanding of what was needed for each student, both technically and practically, I was ready for the challenge.
Not everyone had such lofty aspirations. Most important to me was to be able to help each soul who came to me achieve their personal goals, whether it be to learn to sing on pitch or to sing in their place of worship or to get cast in school or local productions, or just to enjoy singing as a form of expression and relaxation in their life!
From those early beginnings after that first Erik’s Wish fundraiser until now, today, you, my students, reignited my passion for life and gave me the will to go on living again after such a tragedy. THIS is why I teach!
I am excited to be teaching students, young and old, with an ardor and a dedication that I previously had held only for singing opera!!! Throughout my teaching career, I feel so honored to receive referrals from the most prominent voice teachers, agents, managers, physicians and colleagues in the world, and the most heartfelt of all, from students and parents who believe in what we, at the MVS do.
“You, my dear students, gave me back my desire to continue living, reignited my passion for music, and brought me the joy of helping each of you realize YOUR dreams!!”