About Us
How we came up with BVC is a funny, full-circle kind of story. Here's the scoop.
Cynthia Kortman Westphal
Cynthia Kortman Westphal is a music director, voice teacher, vocal coach, and professor who is equally comfortable in both the professional Broadway community, and the academic world.
Most recently, Cynthia music directed the first North American tour of COME FROM AWAY. With her husband and two children in tow, she conducted over 400 performances in over 30 cities across the US and Canada. Additional Broadway shows include: THE LION KING, (where she was an original company member, associate music director, conductor, and keyboard player for seven years), A CHRISTMAS STORY—THE MUSICAL (written by former students Benj Pasek and Justin Paul), THE GERSHWIN'S FASCINATING RHYTHM, and MISS SAIGON.
Regionally, she has music directed at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, where she was part of the very first all-female creative team in the history of that historic theatre. Additional regional theatre work includes Randy Newman’s FAUST at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, as well as productions at Hartford Stage Company, and Arizona Theatre Company.
She toured as a pianist with opera singer Andrea Bocelli on two U.S. tours, and has been an orchestral pianist for many other orchestras including American Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, and EOS Orchestra.
As a local keyboard player, she has played for over a dozen Broadway national tours including: WICKED, SISTER ACT, IN THE HEIGHTS, SPAMALOT, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, The 25th Anniversary Tour of LES MISERABLES, PETER PAN with Cathy Rigby, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, THE KING AND I, and ANNIE.
She is a tenured faculty member in the University of Michigan’s prestigious musical theatre department where she teaches performance classes, works one-on-one with singers, and created a rock/pop vocal styles class. She is also a Certified Master Trainer in Estill Voice Training.
While Cynthia wears many hats, she is passionate about working with singers—especially in helping them discover their ability to sing in the multitude of vocal styles that are happening today—and her current and former students can be seen in nearly every Broadway musical each season, as well as in regional theaters across the country, and in film and TV.
Chelsea Wilson
Chelsea Wilson is a voice teacher and vocal coach, providing unparalleled voice training to singers all over the world via online lessons. Her students have starred on Broadway and in Broadway national tours, have been featured in national commercials, and are pursuing independent musical careers in all genres.
Chelsea became the official associate vocal coach for the Broadway companies of SCHOOL OF ROCK in 2017, and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA in 2018. She was also the associate coach for the national and international tours of SCHOOL OF ROCK, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. She also had the pleasure of coaching for the off-Broadway production of ROCK OF AGES in 2020.
Chelsea graduated from the University of Michigan’s prestigious Musical Theatre Program, earning her BFA in 2012. Although she specializes in musical theatre, Chelsea is an expert in contemporary pop music and uses her strong background in technique to teach vocal skills in any style of music.
Chelsea began her voice teacher training in 2007 with Speech Level Singing. In 2013, she joined the newly formed Institute for Vocal Advancement, where she has since earned her Mentor-level certification after 10+ years of rigorous education. Chelsea has been able to travel the world (Seoul, Mexico City, Edinburgh, Vienna) teaching singers and voice teachers from all backgrounds. One of her greatest joys is helping to create “lightbulb moments” for her students, when they realize something is possible within themselves that they’d never imagined before.
After eight years living and working in New York City, Chelsea followed her pandemic romance to Washington State, where she now lives with her musical-theatre loving, piano-playing husband. They are expecting their first child in late 2021!
