Kelli Estes, Artistic DirectorCalifornia native Kelli Estes is known for singing the high-flying ladies of opera and the leading and comic ladies of the musical theater stage. She is an original cast member of Opera in the Heights, Opera Company of Brooklyn and Philadelphia's Center City Opera Theater. She is a member of the Actors' Equity Association and recently joined America’s first professional theater club, The Lambs. Since moving to New York City, Kelli has expanded her lyrical interests to include writing and directing. She is the Creative Director of the annual musical review The Other Side in Englewood, New Jersey, is the author of Imagine That!, a kindergarten-to-high school musical theater workshop, and arranges musical programs for the elderly called Your Songs which she performs from coast to coast. Kelli’s academic degrees, a BA (Fresno State) and MM (University of Houston), have helped her carve out a wide-ranging career in the creative lyric arts that continues to evolve. (Growing up with three brothers in an athletic family didn’t hurt, either.) She is extremely thankful for the teachings of Helene Joseph-Weil, Katherine Ciesinski, Rob Babbitt, Lois Alba and Buck Ross, and for her family's limitless support.
Roger Keele, Music DirectorRoger Keele is the former Director of Music at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (1999-2007) and the past Artistic Director of St. Cecilia Friends of Music Concert Series. He earned the degree Doctor of Musical Arts from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston and holds degrees from the University of Illinois and the University of North Texas as well. An artist of unusual versatility, Roger has enjoyed success in fields as diverse as vocal coaching and accompanying, stage directing, and musical composition. He has served on the faculties of the University of California at Santa Barbara and Texas Wesleyan University where he became the founding director of the Fort Worth Men’s Chorus. Roger served as the Assistant Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus in their 2002-2003 Season. Currently, he directs the Opera Workshop at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, is the temporary Director of the Kingwood Chorale (Spring 2008), and maintains a small private studio of singers and pianists. He has recently released a CD of light classical chamber music, On the Strings of the Rain: Roger Keele and Friends.
Nancy Markeloff, Assistant DirectorNancy proudly serves Lone Star Lyric as chief gopher and web lackey. She designed and maintains the company's web site, and does her best to keep pace with Ms. Estes' boundless energy and vision. A founding member and core singer with Col Canto Art Song and Vocal Chamber Music, she creates graphic designs, program translations and surtitles for many of their concerts, and assists with publicity. At Moores Opera Center, she was assistant stage director for L’Italiana in Algeri in 2002 and created the English surtitles for La Rondine from her own translation. She also wrote, produced and cued surtitles for MOC's The Dangerous Liaisons, Hansel & Gretel, Peter Grimes and Abduction from the Seraglio, and for the University of Houston's Shostakovich Festival in 2000. Originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Nancy has made her home in Houston since 1972. She holds a highest honors degree in Applied Voice from the University of Houston where, as a mid-life student, she studied voice, opera and stagecraft with Katherine Ciesinski and Buck Ross. A longtime domestic engineer, sometime commercial artist and the mother of two grown sons, she shares her home with a plethora of dust bunnies and her endlessly patient, supportive husband, Bob. To visit Nancy's web site, click here.
