Private Voice Faculty

Laura Lisk
Mezzo-Soprano

Laura Lisk, mezzo-soprano, is a native Houstonian. She was a voice student at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) before getting her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Houston (2016) and her Master’s Degree from Louisiana State University (2021). While a student at UH she was in the studio of Cynthia Clayton and during her time at LSU she was in the studio of Dr. Loraine Sims.

Her professional achievements include performing with Houston Grand Opera, CANTARE Houston, and Ashlawn Opera. She is currently a staff singer at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston. She has performed in masterclasses for Susan Graham, Audra McDonald, and Martin Katz. Some of her performance credits include Gianni Schicchi, Giulio Cesare, Two Remain, Sunday in the Park with George, and The Flying Dutchman. 
Fun fact about Ms. Lisk is that she is fluent in Italian! After completing her undergraduate degree she lived in Milan, Italy for a year, teaching English to elementary and middle schoolers. 
Ms. Lisk's goal as a music teacher is to foster self-confidence within her students and give them the work ethic and tools they need to be both successful musicians and students. She looks forward to working with you!

Dr. Gwendolyn Alfred
​Soprano

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Praised for her “bright and passionate tone” (Houston Chronicle), soprano Gwendolyn Alfred recently premiered a newly-commissioned work for Houston Grand Opera which landed her in the prestigious Texas Monthly magazine. She made her Houston Symphony debut as a featured soloist in their Summer Community Concert Series and sang the soprano solos in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Houston Civic Symphony) and Carmina Burana (Fort Bend Symphony). Her most notable opera roles include: Emeline (What Wings They Were), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni),  Giulietta (Les Contes D’Hoffmann), Magda (The Consul), Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Madama Cortese (Il Viaggio a Reims), Mrs. Gobineau (The Medium), Cinna (Lucio Silla), and Maria Corona (The Saint of Bleecker Street) with such companies as HGOco, Opera in the Heights, Miami Music Festival, and The Moores Opera Center.
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Dr. Alfred is an Assistant Professor of Voice/Area Coordinator at Texas Southern University. Her research on William Grant Still’s opera, Troubled Island, was recently published in Black Americans in Higher Education: A Review of Social Science Research, Volume 8. Her interest in African American composers and their underperformed and underrepresented repertoire has expanded to a new project featuring the art songs of Black female composers. Alfred has performed recitals on “The Black Female Composer” nationally and has presented her research at the Texoma NATS Regional Conference. Her most recent presentation of this material was featured at the 2020 NATS National Virtual Conference and in the Spring Edition of the NATS Journal of Singing. Her mission is to influence and build well-rounded musicians from diverse backgrounds with her love for a wide array of genres, and her eclectic experience with various musical styles.

John Gallagher
Baritone

John Gallagher graduated summa cum laude from the University of Houston with a bachelors in music education in 2009. He studied voice from Dr. Timothy Jones, and rehearsal technique from Dr. Betsy Weber, and has been teaching privately and in the classroom for a total of ten years. 

​Mr. Gallagher has sung professionally with the Houston Chamber Choir, CANTARE Houston, the Houston Ballet, and is currently a staff singer at Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Houston. Mr. Gallagher has had numerous solos with the Houston Symphony, including der Müller in Shumann's Der Rose Pilgefahrt, and as a baritone soloist in the symphony's world premiere of Gabriela Lena Franck's Conquest Requiem. He currently resides in Pearland with his wife, Jennifer and their daughter, Lily.

Stephen Hudson
Baritone

Houston native Stephen Hudson is constantly using his creativity to bring the best out of people. With a passion for performance art and music, Stephen has written songs, plays, and developed a company that inspires people to use what is inside of them to create a brighter future.

As a graduate of Houston’s High School of Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), Stephen began exploring his passion for music very early. Singing in numerous choirs across the city and his church since he was a child, his voice has had both gospel and classical training. He used his training to pursue and receive a Bachelors of Arts in Music Education from Loyola University in Louisiana.
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Once he obtained his degree, Stephen made a decision to use his knowledge to teach in the public school system. Stephen was offered a position in Houston with the Sheldon Independent School District, where he served as overseer of secondary choral music. He was directly responsible for teaching music theory and appreciation to grades 9-12, and promoting and recruiting for the music program of the high school. He also wrote and directed seven outstanding musicals with the students of C.E. King High School. During his fourth year with Sheldon ISD, Stephen decided to take his educational career to another level by starting and finishing the graduate program with the University of St. Thomas.

During his time in New York City, he was an active singer, director, teaching artist and producer. He worked as a teaching artist with the Dreamyard Project of New York, focusing on music directing and voice teaching for Bronx youth. Simultaneously, he worked with Broadway's Babies, a not for profit organization that collaborates with the Broadway community to provide performance and music education to underserved communities both nationally and internationally. Through that relationship, he became Co-director of the New York City Youth Pride Chorus for two years.

The director, voice teacher, producer has returned to Houston and is very excited to be working with I Colori Dell'opera.